TEHRAN – Iran defeated Hong Kong 4-0 here in their opening 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Thursday.

Sardar Azmoun put his side two goals in front inside the opening 15 minutes at the Azadi Stadium.

The AS Roma striker opened the scoring in the 13th minute and made it 2-0 two minutes later.

Porto forward Mehdi Taremi added the third with three minutes remaining and Ramin Rezaeian curled in an injury time free kick for the fourth.

Iran will travel to Tashkent to face Uzbekistan in Group E next on Tuesday while Hong Kong will seek home comforts when they host Turkmenistan on the same day.