Iran’s national football team won over Uzbekistan in a friendly match at Azadi Stadium in Tehran on Saturday.
It was the last of Team Melli’s games at home as it prepares for the upcoming World Cup in Russia.
Rouzbeh Cheshmi’s 17th minute effort secured Iran a 1-0 over Uzbekistan as Carlos Queiroz’s men kick-started their final phase of preparations, IRNA reported.
It has been two weeks since the beginning of the national squad’s training sessions for the World Cup. Due to the fact that players were playing in the league games, they could not attend sooner.
So it resulted in the lack of discipline in the beginning of the game but the team soon closed ranks in defensive and offensive situations.
The Portuguese manager used the young players in the initial lineup such as keeper Amir Abedzadeh to help familiarize them with the international atmosphere of the games.
Scoring situations did occur for Ghoochannejad and Voria Ghafouri but to no avail.
In the second half Iran experienced a change in the formation by substituting youngsters with those who played internationally for the team before.
Team Melli roared at the Uzbek side since the first minutes of the second half. Karim Ansarifard attacked the goal with a striking shoot but it was saved with a good reaction from the Uzbek goalkeeper.
Mehdi Torabi and Mehdi Taremi also had their chances but none resulted in a goal and the game ended with the same first half result, 1-0 win over Uzbeks.
The win is seen as a morale booster for Iranians ahead of their World Cup where they are drawn in Group B alongside European champion Portugal, World Cup winner Spain and African Nations Championship winner Morocco.
Saturday’s win at home turf was Iran’s fourth consecutive triumph over Uzbekistan, which narrowly missed out on qualifying for the World Cup.
Queiroz had named a training squad of 35 players for the match and after Saturday’s friendly he cut the list to 24.
On May 29, Iran will meet Turkey in the neighboring country and it will be the final chance for the national players to prove their worth. The final squad will be named before June 4.
Iran will open its 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign against Morocco on June 15 before taking on Spain (June 20) and Portugal (June 25).
