TEHRAN – Iran national football team forward Mehdi Taremi says that the win against Qatar in the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to 26 will pave their way to secure their place in the 2026 World Cup.

Iran and Qatar are set for a blockbuster clash when they meet in Group A in Dubai’s Rashid Stadium on Tuesday.

Iran lead the standings together with Uzbekistan while a win for Qatar will see the two-time AFC Asian Cup champions drawing level with Tuesday’s opponents.

Iran had to be satisfied with a draw against Uzbekistan on Thursday and will know that it can’t afford to drop points against Qatar.

“We want to pave our way to reach the 2026 World Cup and defeating Qatar will help us to reach our goal. There is no excuse but we would rather play Qatar in our field not neutral field,” Taremi said.   

Team Melli lost to Qatar 3-2 in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup but Taremi believes that they will not try to avenge the loss.

“We have lost to Qatar just one time in our 10 recent matches and we are not here to avenge them. This is different and both teams try to reach the 2026 World Cup,” he added.

“We played well in the matches against Kyrgyzstan, the UAE and Uzbekistan but failed to capitalize on our chances. We have not conceded a single goal as well and it shows that we are a strong team in defense,” he added.

“All players are ready and motivated to play a good match against Qatar and we want to win the match, that’s why we are here,” the Inter Milan striker concluded.