It was a truly incredible match valid for the fifth day of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup (third phase) won by Iran 3-2 in Vientiane against North Korea. The Inter player is the absolute protagonist Mehdi Taremi: the striker led his team with three assists in the first half (a brace from Mohebi and a goal from Ghayedi) but in the second half he kicked off the hosts’ almost comeback with an own goal, which came immediately after Khalilzadeh’s sending off , which complicated the plans of the guests, who remained 10 for the rest of the match.
Kim scored the 2-3 for Hope half an hour from the end, seven minutes later Taremi missed the penalty kick which would have effectively ended the game once and for all. The former Porto player was finally replaced in the 81st minute, not even 10 minutes of injury time helped North Korea secure a draw that would have been sensational.
Thursday 14 November
Australia – Saudi Arabia 0-0
North Korea – Iran 2-3
Bahrain – China
Kuwait – South Korea
Oman – Palestine
United Arab Emirates – Kyrgyzstan
Iraq – Jordan
Qatar – Uzbekistan
Friday 14 November
Indonesia – Japan
RANKINGS
GROUP A
Iran 13 *
Uzbekistan 10
United Arab Emirates 4
Qatar 4
North Korea 3 *
Kyrgyzstan 2
GROUP B
South Korea 10
Iraq 7
Jordan 7
Oman 3
Kuwait 3
Palestine 2
GROUP C
Japan 10
Australia 6*
Saudi Arabia 6 *
Bahrain 5
Indonesia 3
China 3
* one more game