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India restart their 2018 World Cup Qualification match on the 8th of August against the best very best Asian Football as to offer in Iran. India have had a horrible start to their qualification campaign losing both their opening games to Oman and Guam respectively.
If India want to keep their hopes alive of qualification to the next round of the qualifiers they have to pull off an upset against Iran, who are the team fancied to win the group. A loss against Iran would not only make it difficult to qualify for the World Cup but also for the 2019 Asian Cup to be held in UAE.
Here are all the statistics ahead of the match:
FIFA Rankings
Iran: 40
India: 155
Iran are placed a massive 115 places above India in the latest FIFA rankings released recently. In the Asian Confederation, Iran are the best team ranked at 40 while India are the 27th best team in Asia.
Iran have played in four World Cups throughout their history, making appearances in three of the last five. In the 2014 World Cup, they missed their chances against runner-ups Argentina and were punished by an exceptional Lionel Messi goal.
Iran are managed by former Real Madrid manager Carlos Queiroz, who was praised for his team’s performances in Brazil. In the 12 matches that since the World Cup, Iran have won eight of the matches including a win over Copa America winners Chile at the Azadi stadium.
Since Stephen Constantine has taken over the reigns of the National team, India have won just one game, losing two and drawing two. However, if they are able to get a result out of this game, it would be a morale boost for the team, who are trying to qualify for the Asian Cup.
Form Guide
Iran: W-D-W-L-W
India: D-L-L-D-W-L
Iran have been in exceptional form since the World Cup scoring 20 goals in 12 matches. They had a slow start to the World Cup Qualifiers drawing with lowly ranked Turkmenistan but returned to winning ways in style with a 6-0 thrashing of Guam. A win against Copa America winners Chile was followed by a defeat to Zlatan Ibrahimovic led Sweden in an International friendly.
India, on the other hand, have not been able to capitalize on the winning start under Stephen Constantine losing the two World Cup Qualifiers they have played in. A draw against Nepal, who were playing their first match since March, doesn't really inspire confidence in the fans.
Last match
Iran: Won against Guam 6-0
India: Drew against Nepal 0-0
Iran got off to a bad start in the World Cup Qualification campaign, drawing against minnows Turkmenistan in their first game. In the second game, they destroyed group toppers Guam 6-0 with Sardar Azmoun and Mehdi Taremi grabbing a brace. If Iran want to top a difficult group they will need to beat India to keep the pressure on Oman.
India played Nepal in their last match as a warm up game for the Iran game but were unable to breach the Nepal defense as the visitors were able to pull off a very respectable draw. India did not look like a confident side as Constantine tried an attacking 4-3-3 formation. It is highly unlikely that the Englishman will try the same formation against Iran but he might revert to a defensive version of the same formation to stock up the midfield.
Head-to-head record
| Teams | Played | Won | Lost | Draw | Goals Scored | Goals Conceded | Goal Difference |
| Iran | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 9 |
| India | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 13 | -9 |
Indian and Iran have played each other on six occasions with the first one coming in the Asian Games final that the Indians won 1-0 in a very dominating game. That is the only time India have beaten their illustrious opponents.
Since then Iran have won three games and drawn one with the last match being a comprehensive 3-0 win in the Asian Cup Qualifiers in 1992. The head to head record makes sure that the match looks like an uphill task for the Indian contingent, but football has always provided upsets and India will be hoping for the same in this match.
Predicted starting line-ups
Key Players
Iran
Sardar Azmoun
Sardar Azmoun, known as the ‘Iranian Messi’, is the man to watch out for in the Iran side. The 20-year-old narrowly missed out on a place in the 2014 World Cup squad, but he was recalled to the National team as soon as the campaign ended. He currently plays his football on loan for Russian club Rostov, but he is officially contracted to Rubin Kazan.
The youngster is blessed with blistering pace and an eye for goal that Guam found out the wrong way when he scored a brace against the team that beat India 2-1. His performance for Rostov have attracted the interest of English giants Liverpool and Arsenal.
India
Sandesh Jhingan
On the eve of the India-Oman match, Stephen Constantine’s news that Jhingan would not take part in the first match of the Qualifiers was met by a collective groan by the media present. That tells you everything you need to know about his importance to the team. In the two games that followed, the Indian defense looked at sixes and sevens conceding four goals in two matches.
Even though Sunil Chhetri is the main goal threat, Jhingan will play an important role in organizing the defense for the home team. The 2014 AIFF Emerging Footballer of the Year and Emerging Player in the inaugural edition of the ISL has to be at the top of his game to keep the Iranian attack at bay.
Venue: Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru
Timing: 7:00 pm
Indian TV listings: Sony Six, Sony Kix
