Uzbekistan, Iran Share Spoils in 2026 World Cup Qualifier


TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Uzbekistan and Iran settled for a goalless draw in their AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to 26 Group A tie on Thursday.

Iran went down to 10 men in the second half following Saleh Hardani's sending off but there was to be no winner in the evenly-matched contest as the two sides moved up to seven points.

There was drama in stoppage time when Evans awarded a penalty to Iran after the ball seemed to have struck Rustamjon Ashurmatov’s hand at the Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent but upon a VAR review, the decision was reversed as the sides shared the spoils.

Uzbekistan will host the United Arab Emirates next on Tuesday while Iran will meet Qatar.

Team Melli is to face Qatar in Dubai after AFC confirmed that the match will be held in neutral field.