Raphael Durand
Dailysports's expert
One of the matches in the 8th round of the World Cup qualifying tournament will be played on Tuesday in Tehran, where Iran will host Uzbekistan at the Azadi Stadium. I suggest betting on the outcome of this encounter with a good chance of success.
Match preview
Iran continues to demonstrate stability and high-quality play in the qualification for the 2026 World Cup. The team has not suffered a single defeat in the second stage of qualification, collecting 14 points and confidently taking first place in their group. The third round is also going successfully — in seven matches, the Iranians have collected 16 points.
On the last matchday, the Iranian team played a home match against the UAE, which ended in a confident 2-0 victory. Notably, the match was suspended in the first half due to a malfunction of one of the floodlights. Ultimately, Iran opened the scoring in the 45+27th minute.
As for Uzbekistan, the "White Wolves" continue to be one of the strongest teams in Asia, but the dream of a World Cup berth remains elusive. At the Asian Cup, the team showed character, reaching the quarter-finals, where they narrowly lost to the future tournament winner, Qatar, in a penalty shootout.
In the qualification for the 2026 World Cup, Uzbekistan once again demonstrated their stability, taking second place in the second stage, trailing Iran only on goal difference. In the third stage, the team also started with good results — 16 points after seven matches allowed Uzbekistan to secure the second position. In their last game, the "Wolves" narrowly defeated Kyrgyzstan (1-0).
Probable lineups
- Iran: Beiranvand; Hardani, Kanaani, Khalilzadeh, Mohammadi; Noorafkan, Ezatolahi; Jahanbakhsh, Ghoddos, Ghayedi; Taremi
- Uzbekistan: Yusupov; Alijanov, Alikulov, Ashurmatov, Eshmuradov, Nasrullayev; Khamrobekov, Shukurov, Masharipov; Urunov, Shomurodov
Match facts and head-to-head
- In the first round, the teams played to a 0-0 draw
- The last three matches between these teams ended in draws, although Iran won the previous seven matches
- The "Total over 2.5" bet played out in two out of five matches
Prediction
Bookmakers are expectedly siding with Iran and offer odds of 1.85 for their victory. However, Uzbekistan has already proven to be a very tough opponent, and it's better to take "Total under 2.5" at 1.60 here.
