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South Korea entertain Iran at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification fixture on Thursday.
The two sides have already secured their place in the finals as they are unbeaten in the qualification campaign thus far. Korea are second in the Group A standings with 20 points while Iran have 22 points and occupy the top spot.
The hosts face UAE in their final qualifying game on Tuesday, while Iran wrap up their campaign with a home game against Lebanon. Both sides are on a four-game winning streak at the moment, with the hosts overcoming Syria 2-0 in their previous outing while Iran beat UAE 1-0.
South Korea vs Iran Head-to-Head
The two sides have locked horns 36 times across all competitions, with the last three games ending in draws. Iran currently enjoy a slight advantage in the head-to-head record with 15 wins to their name. Korea are not far behind with 12 wins while nine games have ended in draws.
The visiting side have five wins in their last 11 encounters and will be looking to extend their unbeaten streak against the Tigers of Asia. The reverse fixture at the Azadi Stadium in October ended in a 1-1 draw as Son Hueng-min and Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored in the second half.
South Korea form guide (all competitions): W-W-W-W-W
Iran form guide (World Cup qualifiers): W-W-W-W-D
South Korea vs Iran Team News
South Korea
Paulo Bento has named a 25-man squad for the final two qualifying stage fixtures. There were some last-minute changes to the squad as Hong Chul was injured and replaced by Park Min-gyu.
Paik Seung-ho, Kim Jin-kyu, Jeong Woo-yeong and Na Sang-ho tested positive for COVID-19 and are ruled out for the game against Iran. Won Du-jae, Nam Tae-hee, Cho Young-wook and Ko Seung-beom took their places in the squad.
Injuries: Hong Chul
Suspension: None
Unavailable (COVID-19): Paik Seung-ho, Kim Jin-kyu, Jeong Woo-yeong, Na Sang-ho
Iran
Iran have named a 28-man squad for the two qualifying games against Korea and UAE. Saeed Ezatolahi will serve a one-game suspension due to his second yellow card of the campaign. Sadegh Moharrami is also suspended following his red card against UAE.
There are no reported injury concerns, but Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Mehdi Taremi, and Saman Ghoddos have tested positive for Covid-19 and will sit this one out.
Injuries: None
Suspensions: Saeed Ezatolahi, Sadegh Moharrami
Unavailable (COVID-19): Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Mehdi Taremi, Saman Ghoddos
South Korea vs Iran Predicted XI
Korea Republic Predicted XI (4-3-3): Kim Seung-Gyu (GK); Kim Young-Gwon, Won Du-jae, Park Min-gyu, Kim Jin-Su; Kwon Chang-Hoon, Hwang Ui-jo, Kim Jin-Gyu; Cho Gue-Sung, Song Min-Kyu, Son Heung-min
Iran Predicted XI (4-3-3): Amir Abedzadeh (GK); Danial Esmaeili, Shojae Khalilzadeh, Milad Mohammadi, Omid Noorafkan; Ahmad Nourolahi, Vahid Amiri, Mehdi Mehdipour; Karim Ansarifard, Sardar Azmoun, Allahyar Sayyadmanesh
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South Korea vs Iran Prediction
Both sides are unbeaten in the qualification campaign and the only points Iran have dropped were in the reverse fixture against Korea. Team Melli have two key players - Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Mehdi Taremi - ruled out for the game and that might impact their performance here.
Home advantage might just be able to do the trick for the Koreans, who we expect to eke out a narrow win.
Prediction: South Korea 2-1 Iran
