English
Iran Edges Out North Korea in Thrilling Match
Vientiane, Laos – Iran secured a 3-2 victory over North Korea in a thrilling encounter at the New Laos National Stadium. The match, part of the 5th round of the Asian World Cup 2026 qualifying third round, was characterized by intensity and a fluctuating scoreline.
Mehdi Mohebi emerged as Iran’s hero with a brace (41′ and 45′), while Mehdi Ghayedi opened the scoring in the 29th minute. North Korea fought back with two goals, an own goal by Taremi (56′) and a strike by Kim Yu-song (59′). Despite a missed penalty by Taremi (67′) and the sending-off of Saeid Khalilzadeh (52′), Iran managed to hold on to their lead until the final whistle. The game saw several cards, with two yellow cards for North Korea (J. Ri and K. Kang II) and one for Iran (A. Yousefi), in addition to the red card for Iran. Both teams displayed strong attacking intent, with Iran registering 18 shots (12 on target) and North Korea 17 (4 on target). Possession was evenly split, with North Korea holding 51% and Iran 49%.
Substitutions iran: at minute 54 H. Kanaani came in and M. Ghayedi went out., at minute 68 A. Jahanbakhsh came in and M. Karimi went out., at minute 68 M. Ghorbani came in and S. Azmoun went out., at minute 81 S. Moghanlou came in and M. Taremi went out., at minute 81 O. Noorafkan came in and M. Mohebi went out.
Substitutions north korea: at minute 68 Ri Un-Chol came in and T. Kye went out., at minute 68 Pak Kwang-Hun came in and Kim Yu-song went out., at minute 73 Jong Il-Gwan came in and K. Han went out., at minute 90 Jong Kum-Song came in and J. Ri went out.
The teams lined up as follows:
North Korea
Titulares:
Iran
Titulares:
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