Porto striker Taremi scored in the 48th minute from inside the penalty box on a pass from midfield Ali Reza Jahanbakhsh at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran to secure World Cup qualification for the sixth time.

They extended their unbeaten run since Croatian head coach Dragan Skocic took over in February 2020, with 11 wins and one draw.

Iran have 19 points from seven games in Group A, two ahead of South Korea, who are within touching distance of a 10th successive World Cup appearance after a 1-0 win over Lebanon.

With Tottenham forward Son Heung-min out injured, replacement forward Cho Gue-song scored from close range in Sidon just before halftime. South Korea can secure qualification with a win against Syria on Tuesday.

The UAE stayed eight points behind in third with a 2-0 win over Syria. The top two teams from each group qualify automatically. The third-place teams advance to a playoff.

Both Iran and Iraq teams were hit by the absence of players following positive tests for Covid-19. Bayer Leverkusen’s Sardar Azmoun was among five Iranian players missing, along with eight Iraqi players.

Iran have played in the World Cup finals five times in the past – in 1978, 1998, 2006, 2014 and 2018 – while Iraq’s last and only participation was in Mexico 1986.

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