TEHRAN – Pointing to Iran’s dramatic win over Lebanon, a Lebanese sports analyst says that it was an important step in the qualification process towards the 2022 World Cup Qatar 2022.

In a match held at the Saida Municipal Stadium in Sidon on Thursday, Iran football team beat the national team of Lebanon in 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier 2-1.

With this precious win, the ‘Persian Leopards’ cemented their place at top of group A with 13 points.

South Korea are second with 11 points and Lebanon sit third with five points.

“Gaining the three points from Lebanon is an indication of the Iranian team’s insistence on qualifying as the leader of Group A,” Mazen Naim told Tehran Times.

“I think it is an important step in the qualification process towards the 2022 World Cup Qatar, and I predict that Iran will qualify for the event as the first team,” he said. 

“Since the draw took place, it was clear that Iran and South Korea would qualify from this group,” Naim remarks.

Following is the text of the interview:

Q: What is your comment on the result of the match between Iran and Lebanon? What were the expectations about this match?

A: The result of the match was predictable because the Iran football team are a candidate to qualify, and the expectations were in their favor.  However, the way they won, and specifically turning the table in the last minutes of the match, was not expected. The Lebanese outfit took a lead and was expected to show their ability in the rest of the match, by resorting to harsh defense, which could break Iran’s attacking system.

But in sum, the Iran’s football team, given their high level of proficiency, managed to come away with all three precious points of the match in their course to qualify for the World Cup.

Q: How do you see the level and performance of the Iran national football team? 

A: Gaining the three points from Lebanon is an indication of the Iranian team’s insistence on qualifying as the leaders of the group. I think it is an important step in the qualification process towards the World Cup Qatar 2022, and I predict that Iran will qualify for the World Cup in the next two matches.

Q: How do you evaluate the performance of the Lebanon national football team and what are the expectations regarding Lebanon's qualification for the finals next year in Qatar?

 A: The chances of the Lebanese team to qualify for the play-off and achieve third place in the first group are still within reach, as Lebanon football team and their Emirati, Syrian and Iraqi counterparts are in the same level, and even the Lebanese are ahead of these teams in some aspects, especially since it will host the next four matches, and this will constitute a motivation and can raise the morale for all players and coaching staff.

As for evaluating Lebanon's performance against Iran, it is difficult to judge this point, because the level and differences between the two teams are many, and we cannot compare the performance of the Lebanese team with Iran.

Q: The Iranians ask about the performance of some Lebanese players when they were trying to waste time in the last minutes of the match before the Iranian players score two goals. What is your comment on that?

A: The Iranian people have the right to express their anger at the way the Lebanese players managed the match.  But there was no other way for Lebanon to maintain progress, especially since the difference between the two teams is big.

 It is expected for Lebanon players to waste time in such matches because technical solutions wouldn’t help due to the high level of the Iranian team.