Iran’s national football team has blanked Uzbekistan with two goals to be the second country that has booked tickets for the 2018 World Cup, scheduled to be held next summer in Russia.
Carlos Queiroz's squad secured their place in the 2018 World Cup after the Monday night match in a fully-packed Azadi Stadium in Tehran thanks to goals by Sardar Azmoun and Mehdi Taremi.
Unbeaten in eight qualifying games, Team Melli maintained the dominant position in Group A with a stunning clean sheet on their way to the World Cup. Iran is the first Asian country that can start planning for the global event and second only to Brazil, which downed Paraguay last week to qualify for the tourney.
President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif posted on their social media pages to express congratulations to all Iranians and appreciations to Team Melli players. In his twitter account, Rouhani congratulated the players on their “decisive advance” to the 2018 World Cup, and thanked them for “making all Iranians happy,” and Zarif posted a photo of cheerful Iranian fans in the stadium with a congratulatory caption.
