Iran National Football Team Draws Again Against Uzbekistan

The Iran national football team, in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia's fifth group, drew once again against Uzbekistan in front of over 15,000 spectators at Azadi Stadium. Mehdi Taremi hit the post once during the match. Iran, which had previously drawn 2-2 in the first leg in Tashkent, failed to score against their opponents in this match. The Iranian team showed a better performance in the second half, with Taremi hitting the post again, but they could not find the net. Coach Amir Ghalenoei sent players including Alireza Beiranvand, Mohammad Hossein Kananizadegan, Shoja Khalilzadeh, Saleh Hardani, Milad Mohammadi, Omid Noorafkan, Mohammad Ghorbani, Saman Ghoddos, Abolfazl Jalali, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Mehdi Torabi, Shahryar Moghanlou, Mehdi Taremi, and Sardar Azmoun onto the field. Iran and Uzbekistan reached a draw in this match to determine the group leader, having both been equal on 13 points prior to the match. Both teams had previously defeated Turkmenistan and Hong Kong in their past matches in this group. This was Iran's second consecutive draw against Uzbekistan under Ghalenoei's leadership. In the post-match press conference, Ghalenoei praised his team's second-half performance, stating that Iran deserved to win. He attributed the team's lack of vitality to the travel conditions to Hong Kong and the long return flight. Uzbekistan's coach, Srečko Katanec, expressed satisfaction with the result, noting that they played defensively and did not give Iran many opportunities. This was Iran's third draw in 14 matches against Uzbekistan, with Iran winning 10 times and losing once. With this draw, both Iran and Uzbekistan advanced to the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers with 14 points each, ranked first and second in the group respectively due to goal difference.