Lawmakers hail Iran’s 2018 World cup Qualifying win

A member of the presiding board of the parliament said 161 MPs, in a statement on Tuesday, expressed their gratitude to Team Melli’s coaches and players for qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

In a congratulatory message also on Tuesday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani had praised Team Melli’s advancing to the World Cup for the second time in a row as “glorious” and said it made the Iranian people happy.

“The powerful and early advance of the national football team is a sign of the high strength of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s dear youths…,” he said.

Team Melli defeated Uzbekistan 2-0 in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium on Monday night.
Sardar Azmoun, who was chosen as the Man of the Match, opened the scoring for Carlos Queiroz’s team in the 23rd minute. The Rostov striker has scored 19 goals in 26 matches for Team Melli.

Iran could have scored the second goal in the 48th minute but Masoud Shojaei missed a penalty kick.
Mehdi Taremi finished off Uzbekistan in the 88th minute, finding the back of the net from inside the area.

Iran cemented its position at the top of Group A with 20 points.

/SR