Iran qualified for the 2026 World Cup after Mehdi Taremi scored twice in a 2-2 draw with Uzbekistan on Tuesday.
The Inter Milan striker scored his second goal in the 83rd minute in Tehran, giving Iran the point it needed to qualify to a fourth straight appearance at the World Cup and a seventh overall.
The 48-team tournament will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Relations are tense between Iran and the United States. President Donald Trump has linked the actions of Yemen’s Houthi rebels to Iran, warning Tehran it would “ suffer the consequences ” for further attacks by the group. It's unclear how the strained relations will impact the Iranian team's preparations.
Uzbekistan, three points behind Iran in Group A, would have qualified for the first time with a victory and twice took the lead at the Azadi Stadium.
Khojimat Erkinov struck after 16 minutes but Taremi put Iran back on level terms seven minutes into the second half by firing an unstoppable volley into the roof of the net from the edge of the area.
Immediately, Abbosbek Fayzullaev restored Uzbekistan’s lead but, Taremi responded, this time from close range, to send Iran to the World Cup where it will attempt to progress past the group stages for the first time.
The top two from each of the three groups of six in Asia are guaranteed a place, while the teams that finish third and fourth will advance to a further stage to compete for two more places.
Third-placed United Arab Emirates defeated bottom team North Korea 2-1 to move four points behind Uzbekistan while Asian champion Qatar is out of the running for automatic qualification after a 3-1 loss in Kyrgyzstan.
Socceroos move closer to qualification
Earlier, Australia took a big step toward securing a spot at tournament with a 2-0 win over China in Hangzhou that also ended the hosts’ hopes of automatic qualification.
First-half goals from Jackson Irvine and Nishan Velupillay were enough for the Socceroos. Australia is second, three points clear of third-place Saudi Arabia, which drew 0-0 at already-qualified Japan.
China has yet to return to the World Cup since its 2002 debut and remains bottom of the group, level on six points with Bahrain who lost 1-0 in Indonesia.
Saudi Arabia is still in the hunt for a seventh appearance after a battling goalless draw in Japan. The hosts dominated at Saitama Stadium but were unable to get the breakthrough.
South Korea drops points again
In Group B, South Korea stayed top but dropped two points for the second time inside a week, drawing 1-1 at home to Jordan.
South Korea needed just six minutes to take the lead through Lee Jae-sung.
A win would have put the Koreans on the brink of an 11th straight appearance but Jordan was level on the half-hour thanks to Mahmoud Al-Mardi.
South Korea has 16 points, three more than Jordan. Iraq is in third with 12 after a surprise 2-1 loss against the Palestinian team. Oman beat Kuwait 1-0 to move onto 10 points.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
John Duerden, The Associated Press
