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Monday June 16th - 1:00PM | ||
| vs | NIGERIA | ||
| FIFA RANKING 37 | FIFA RANKING 44 | ||
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| HOW THEY QUALIFIED |
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| IRAN Under former Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz’s watch, Iran opened the preliminary competition brightly, scoring five unanswered goals past Maldives to progress. And Team Melli were met with little challenge in the next phase, maintaining their undefeated run as they finished section winners with three wins and three draws. However, despite logging an average of nearly three goals per match in the previous round,the fourth round proved to be more difficult for the strongly favoured Iranians. They found the net just twice in the opening five matches during which they lost twice and drew once to see their campaign in jeopardy. With so much at stake, Queiroz’s side rose to the occasion to see off both Qatar and Lebanon, before overcoming hosts Korea Republic 1-0 in the round’s final match to seal their return to the FIFA World Cup. NIGERIA Drawn in Group F with Malawi, Kenya and Namibia, the Nigerians were always massive favourites to reach the final play-off round of qualifying, and they did not lose any matches in the group stage. They did draw three times, once against each opponent, with the most worrying result a 1-1 at home to Kenya when only a second half injury time goal by Nnamdi Oduamadi won the point. Once in the two-legged play-off, the Eagles drew the lowest-ranked team in Ethiopia and despite the improvement of the east Africans, Nigeria were seldom threatened in winning away 2-1 and at home 2-0. |
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RECENT RESULTS |
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| IRAN | NIGERIA | ||
| 18/06/13 - KOREA REP 0-1 IRAN 11/06/13 - IRAN 4-0 LEBANON 04/06/13 - QATAR 0-1 IRAN |
16/11/13 - NIGERIA 2-0 ETHIOPIA 13/10/13 - ETHIOPIA 1-2 NIGERIA 07/09/13 - NIGERIA 2-0 MALAWI |
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| PLAYERS TO WATCH | |||
| IRAN Filling the void left by Mahdavikia is captain Javad Nekounam, who has quickly established his place as the team's talisman. Aside from providing leadership, the skipper provides creativity alongside former Osasuna team-mate Masoud Shojaei. Belgium-based striker Reza Ghoochannejhad stands out among the emerging generation, while Fulham man Ashkan Dejagah shores up the midfield alongside Andranik Teymourian. |
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| NIGERIA Coach Stephen Keshi has earned a reputation as a no-nonsense boss who is not afraid to choose in-form domestic players at the expense of more well-known stars, and that policy paid handsome dividends as Nigeria won the 2013 edition of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations. Keshi has kept a relatively stable spine of the team since then, with Chelsea's John Obi Mikel leaving his mixed past with the Eagles behind to become the lynchpin of the side. In goal, Vincent Enyeama is an important veteran, while Victor Moses, Ahmed Musa and Emmanuel Emenike are key parts of a deep attack. |
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