The Uzbekistan national team will take the field against the Persians in Tehran tomorrow as part of the 2026 World Cup qualifying round. We recall the victory over Iran during the qualifying round for the 2014 World Cup through the history of matches with Iran. We hope that Kapadze will manage to repeat Qosimov's success.
Our team, which started the final round of qualifying under Vadim Abramov, played its first match against the Iran national team. However, we ended up empty-handed with three points due to a last-minute goal conceded on our home ground. Frustrated by the result, football officials immediately dismissed Abramov after the match. Mirjalol Qosimov was appointed in his place.
In the return match held in Tehran, Qosimov took the field as the head coach. The match against the team led by Carlos Queiroz was the first serious test for the coach. A victory would significantly improve our team's standing in the group. Moreover, revenge was required for the painful defeat in Tashkent. The players were set to face 100,000 spectators at the "Ozodi" stadium. Before the match, our squad had significant absences.
Players like Odil Ahmedov, Anzur Ismoilov, and Temur Kapadze were not with the national team. To minimize their absence, Fozil Musayev, Shohruh Gadoyev, Artyom Filiposyan, and Islam To'xtakho'jayev were included in the starting lineup. We will not discuss Iran's lineup further. Stars like Javad Nekounam, Ashkan Dejagah, and Reza Ghoochannejhad are familiar to all of you.
From the first minutes of the match, the Persians organized dangerous attacks and were eager to open the scoring quickly. In the 10th minute, Ashkan Dejagah passed the ball to his teammate Andranik Teymuryan on the wing. The Iranian player then passed it to Muhammad Nuri, who was making a run from the center. Nuri's long-range shot found the net guarded by Nesterov. However, the head referee Ali Hamad Al-Badawi disallowed the goal. After Teymuryan's pass, the opposing striker was offside in our penalty area. The first half of the match ended with numerous struggles and fierce clashes.
In the 71st minute of the second half, an opposing player committed a foul against our player Sanjar Tursunov on the wing, violating the rules of the game. Server Jeparov approached the penalty spot as usual. The team captain's pass into the penalty area was converted into a goal by Ulugbek Bakayev, scoring what can be considered a historic goal. This practically secured the victory and brought us three important points.
Prior to this match, our national team had faced Iran in the 1998 Asian Games, the 2007 Asian Cup, and the first round of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, without achieving a positive result in any of those encounters. After this match, we struggled to find the net against other Iranians. Under Samvel Babayan's management during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, we played against Iran twice and failed to register a single accurate shot on goal. We lost valuable points with a score of 0:1 at home and 0:2 away. However, Abramov and Qosimov managed this task very well.
Although Abramov's team missed opportunities, Queiroz's disciples were quite challenged. Qosimov, on the other hand, secured his place in history as the coach who defeated Iran in the magnificent "Ozodi" stadium. Bakayev currently stands as the sole player who brought victory with his goal. By the way, on that day, the match was expertly commented on by the renowned commentator Mirzahakim To'xtamirzayev. In the match held in Tashkent, Srechko Katanec's disciples proved that they could play comfortably against the Persians. We hope that tomorrow they will celebrate victory at "Ozodi".
World Cup 2014. Qualifying round. Round 6
Iran – Uzbekistan 0:1 (0:0, 0:1)
Goal: Ulugbek Bakayev (71)
14.11.2012. Tehran (Iran). "Ozodi" stadium
Referee: Ali Hamad Al-Badawi (UAE)
Uzbekistan: 12. Ignatiy Nesterov, 19. Vitaliy Denisov, 20. Islam To'xtakho'jayev, 4. Artyom Filiposyan, 23. Akmal Shorahmedov, 7. Aziz Haydarov, 8. Server Jeparov, 14. Fozil Musayev, 17. Sanjar Tursunov (22. Islam Inomov, 90+2), 22. Shohruh Gadoyev (13. Oleg Zoteyev, 65), 10. Ulugbek Bakayev (15. Aleksandr Geynrix, 85)
Prepared by Abdulaziz Iskandarov
Source: Championat.asia
