They may have had three bites at the cherry, but Iran are through to the World Cup finals. After finishing second behind Saudi Arabia in their qualifying group, Iran had to play Japan in a one-off, winner takes all play-off. It finished 2-2 at full time so it went into extra time only for Japan to score a third goal which saw them go through to the finals. However all was not lost for Iran as they had another chance. They had to play the winner of the Oceania group in a two-leg, home and away situation. The winner of this group was former England manager, Terry Venables’ Australia. Australia had won all of their qualifying matches so it seemed a difficult task. The first leg was on the 22nd November 1997 in Tehran in front of a crowd of 120,000 men. The match ended 1-1, with goals from Harry Kewell and Khodadad Azizi, and the British press thought that Australia had done the hard part. Throughout the week preceding the second leg, Terry Venables appeared on the news cheerful and optimistic of getting a positive result. The following Saturday, in Melbourne, 85,000 Australians gathered to watch their beloved Socceroos try and defeat Iran. Iran started badly and Australia could have been three up in the first ten minutes. Finally in the 32nd minute, Harry Kewell scored as he did in the first leg and then just three minutes into the second half, Australia scored again with Vidmar and they seemed to be coasting. Then, in the 77th minute, Karim Bagheri, who was suspended for the first leg, scored after a mix-up in the penalty area. This set up a frantic finish to the match since one goal would take Iran through on away goals. Suddenly Khodadad Azizi, Asia’s player of the year, broke the offside trap after a lovely pass from Ali Daei to score a memorable second It was enough to send Iran to the World Cup finals for only the second time in their history after a brief visit in 1978. "I don’t think I have ever been involved in such a cruel result. But that is football," were the words spoken by Terry Venables after the match, "My players did everything I asked of them and they did not deserve this outcome." Even the Iranian manager, Brazilian Valdir Vierra, admitted that if there was to be a winner in the match, it should have been Australia. After the match, people flocked the streets in Tehran, cheering for Iran. Celebrations were estimated to be as big as the day Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi left the country. An estimated 70,000 Iranian football fans including about 3,000 women who ignored an official order banning their presence, packed Tehran’s Azizi stadium to welcome home the national squad. Observers said the women rushed through the gates despite police attempts to enforce a ban on female fans attending the event. Once inside, however, they were seated in separate stands from the male fans. Confectioners and florists handed out goods to passers-by in the streets as flag-waving youths stood on top of cars shouting "Iran! Iran!"
Iran, seeded 46th in the World, have been drawn in Group F with Germany, Yuglosavia and USA. In his first reaction to the draw, Iran’s head of the Football Federation, Dariush Mostafavi said, "It is a good draw. We want to learn from Germany because they play the best football outside Brazil. But the other two teams we can beat." German coach Berti Vogts warned against underestimating Iran. He noted, "Don’t forget that three Iranian players, Ali Daei, Karim Bagheri and Khodadad Azizi are playing in the German football league that is a sign of their quality." However all the attention of the draw has been focused on one extraordinary encounter: the showdown with USA, the Great Satan. For the past 18 years, millions of voices have chanted in unison, "Marg bar Amrika" - "Down with America." Now 11 men from the two countries are pitted against each other, face-to-face, in the mother of all grudge matches. Congratulating Iran on reaching the final, the US state department spokesman, James Foley, said, "If this soccer match is a sign of our ability to deal with each other in a civilised and positive way, that’s something we should applaud." When Kasey Keller, the American goalkeeper heard that Iran had become one of their opponents he said, "Interesting political line-up." Iran’s first opponents will be Yuglosavia in St. Ettienne on June 14, followed by the game against US in Lyon on June 21. Iran’s final match will be versus Germany in Montpellier on June 25.
By beating the team that had ended Iran’s hopes of direct qualification, Saudi Arabia, coached by Carlos Alberto Parreira, the man who led Brazil to victory in the 1994 finals, reached the World Cup final for the second time in the brief history of Saudi soccer. Sami Al Jaber scored in the 63rd minute as they beat Qatar and finished top of their qualification group. Hopes are high among the crowds celebrating Saudi Arabia’s victory that at the very least Saudi Arabia will improve on its last appearance in the final when a breathtaking Saudi goal by Owairan was screened to go alongside Diego Maradona’s famous solo effort against England. Saudi Arabia, ranked 33rd in the World, have been drawn in Group C with the hosts, France, South Africa and Denmark. After the draw, Saudi federation Faisal Bin Fahad said, "We are triple Asian champions and are competing in our second successive World Cup. We are confident we can do better than last time and reach the last 16, even if we don’t underestimate France who must be our group favourites." He added, "We will play every match to the full and we think we can surprise quite a few people."
Saudi Arabia have had some practice against World class opponents when they took part in the FIFA Confederations Cup held in Riyadh last month. They were placed in a group with the World Champions Brazil against whom they lost 3-0, Mexico where they lost 5-0 and Australia against whom they won 1-0 after a goal by Mohammed Al-Khilaiwi inflicting Australia’s first defeat under Terry Venables. Saudi Arabia failed to qualify for the next round and on December 21, 1997 Brazil defeated Australia 6-0 in the final, with hatricks from both Ronaldo and Romario to win the Cup.
Other teams that qualified for the World Cup with particular interest to the Muslims are Tunisia, Morocco and Nigeria. Tunisia (23rd in the latest World Rankings) have been drawn in Group G with Romania, Columbia and England. It may seem like a tough draw but is nothing when compared to Morocco’s opponents. Morocco (15th in the World), in Group A, face the favourites Brazil, Scotland and Norway, the only team to have beaten Brazil in the last 12 months.
From all the Muslim teams, Nigeria are expected to go the furthest despite being ranked a lowly 71st (mainly due to the lack of competitive matches played). Nigeria won the 1996 Olympic title defeating Brazil and Argentina on their way. However they have been drawn in the "Group of Death" - Group D with Spain, Paraguay and Bulgaria. Literally anyone of those teams could make it through, but which ones actually do is anybody’s guess.
Copyright © Afzal Merali