Iran on Tuesday became the second Asian side to secure a place at the FIFA World Cup after twice coming from behind to draw 2-2 with Uzbekistan in Tehran, handing organizers a likely diplomatic headache.
Iran, the second-highest ranked AFC side in the FIFA standings, needed only a point to join Japan in qualifying for the finals in the US, Canada and Mexico.
However, Iran would head to North America with relations strained as US President Donald Trump takes a hard line over opening new nuclear talks with Tehran.
Photo: AFP
The Group A leaders were made to work hard at the Azadi Stadium by upward-trending Uzbekistan, with Mehdi Taremi scoring seven minutes from time — his second of the match — to seal the point.
“We have to thank the fans who filled the stadium today, and thank God they did not leave empty-handed,” Iran captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh said.
Third-placed United Arab Emirates defeated bottom team North Korea 2-1 to move four points behind Uzbekistan, while Asian champions Qatar are out of the running for automatic qualification after a 3-1 loss in Kyrgyzstan.
Photo: Reuters
Earlier on Tuesday, Australia beat China 2-0 to boost their chances of automatic qualification, but Saudi Arabia stayed in touch in Group C with a goalless draw in Japan.
In Asian Group B, Son Heung-min’s South Korea remain top and favorites to progress, but they put in another toothless performance as they were held at home for the second match in a row — this time 1-1 by Jordan.
Elsewhere, Argentina celebrated their World Cup qualification with a dazzling 4-1 thrashing of archrivals Brazil in Buenos Aires.
Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister and Giuliano Simeone sealed an emphatic win for the world champions, who had been assured of their World Cup berth after Bolivia’s 0-0 draw with Uruguay earlier on Tuesday.
That goalless stalemate ensured a festive atmosphere at the Monumental before a ball had been kicked and Argentina kept the party going with a blistering performance.
Additional reporting by AP
“I don’t remember the moment, but ever since I was a kid, that’s the first thing I loved,” two-time NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas said of his lifelong romance with basketball. However, that journey unfolded against the limitations of his size in a game where height often dictates opportunity — a reality he confronted throughout his career. At 175cm, Thomas is less than 2cm taller than the average Taiwanese adult male, while NBA players during his career stood at about 200cm on average. Compared with the NBA’s average career length of less than five years, Thomas’ 13-season career stands out as
Hans Niemann declares he would become a “stone cold killer” in a Netflix documentary released on Tuesday about his feud with five-time classical world champion Magnus Carlsen, a pledge that injects new edge into the lingering fallout from the cheating scandal that shook elite chess. “I’m gonna be a stone cold killer the rest of my life,” the US’ Niemann says in the film. “I’m going to become the best player in the world, and no one is going to believe that now, but this clip will play over and over again in 10 years — just wait.” “I just
Dakar and Rabat have longstanding ties, but relations have been strained since the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, which Senegal won in mid-January before being stripped of the title, which was transferred to Morocco. Now, the AFCON trophy is something of a thorn in the two countries’ sides. On Rue Mohamed V, the street where Moroccan vendors are based in the Senegalese capital, a police van is parked. “The police have been on high alert since the Confederation of African Football [CAF] decided to award the title to Morocco, but there have been no incidents,” a local resident said.
Top seeded Jessica Pegula on Friday once again fought back from a set down to reach the WTA Charleston Open semi-finals with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win against Russia’s Diana Shnaider. Defending champion Pegula has lost the first set in all three of her matches at the tournament so far, but again dug deep to maintain her hopes of retaining the title. The world No. 5 from the US took 2 hours, 10 minutes to defeat 19th-ranked Shnaider, relying on a formidable service game that included eight aces. Shnaider battled well in the first two sets and broke early for a 2-0 lead
RSS