Korea's World Cup hopes dented by Iran

South Korea’s Lee Chung-yong lies on the ground during the 2018 World Cup qualifying football match against Iran at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, Tuesday. / Yonhap

By John Duerden

Iran defeated South Korea 1-0 on Tuesday in this big 2018 World Cup qualifier in Tehran, marking the Persians’ fourth successive victory over the East Asians.

But this time was different. The other three games could have gone either way with Iran riding on luck on occasion. This time however, the victory was well-deserved. The host was dominant and is not only on top of Group A with 10 points and looking set for Russia, but will be asking how it did not win by more.

Korea was never really in the game, barely threatening the home goalkeeper. Playing in Tehran is never easy -- the fans, the altitude and the travel all add up -- yet in the past, the Taeguk Warriors have competed. On Tuesday, there was only one team that was going to win and it was apparent from the early stages.

Iran was everything Korea was not. The players knew their jobs and knew those of their teammates, and the team kept in shape and knew exactly what coach Carlos Queiroz wanted.

The former Real Madrid coach is perhaps the best tactician in Asian football and provided a master class. Iran was sharp and clinical as it showed in the first half when talented striker Sardar Azmoun put Iran ahead, demonstrating why many top European clubs have been watching him.

Perhaps his one mistake was to settle for a 1-0 win. Had Iran treated Korea with a little less respect, it could have been more.

It will be an uncomfortable journey back to Korea for the coach and those players still based in the Land of the Morning Calm.

In four games so far, Korea has collected seven points. The two wins were both 3-2 victories, one against China and one against Qatar at home in which the reds were hanging on for dear life at the end. The other was a poor 1-1 tie against Syria in neutral Kuala Lumpur.

For a team that is looking to qualify for a ninth successive World Cup, it is not too encouraging. Only the top two teams in the six-team group qualify automatically.

Iran has shown what can happen when a top-class coach gets time to build a team.

Nobody expects Stielike to be at the same level as Queiroz. Lee Yong-soo, the head of the Korea Football Association’s technical committee who appointed the German, admitted that he is not a world-class coach but such people do not come cheap, if they come at all.

Yet after the 2015 Asian Cup in which Korea was unlucky to lose in the final to Australia, it became time for the coach to make a difference -- to know what his best team is and how he wants it to play. At the moment, it is not clear and it seems as if the players are unsure of what to do.

The next game is massive. In November, Uzbekistan comes to Korea. The Central Asians are two points ahead in second spot and if they were to win, the gap would grow to five. That would make automatic qualification unlikely.

Korea needs to improve and quickly.