TEHRAN (Dispatches) – Qatar football captain Hassan Al Haidos says that it is always very tough against Iran and even more so away from home, in front of their fans.
Speaking to FIFA.com, Al Haidos acknowledged the difficulty of their opening Group A fixture against Iran in the FIFA World Cup qualification at the imposing Azadi Stadium – but spoke confidently of Qatar’s chances.
Iran v Qatar Preview
Asia’s number one ranked side Iran begin their Road to Russia 2018 by entertaining 2022 FIFA World Cup hosts Qatar, who seek to qualify for the World Cup on their own merit. Iran coach Carlos Queiroz hopes for home comforts and a sell-out crowd at Azadi Stadium.
* Jose Daniel Carreno insists his Qatar side will be the surprise package in the FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.
* There are no suspensions or reported injuries for either team.
* Iran won Group D without losing a game, tallying six wins and two draws.
* Qatar was the first nation to qualify for the Russia 2018 Asian Qualifiers Final Round after winning Group C.
Match Details
Date: 1 September 2016 (Thursday)
Kickoff time: 8pm IRST, 4:30pm GMT
Venue: Azadi Stadium, Tehran
Referee: Crishantha Dilan Perera (Sri Lanka)
Coach Quotes
Carlos Queiroz, Iran
"The celebrations for reaching the 2018 FIFA World Cup will begin for us tomorrow. Certainly, it will be a difficult path for each of the teams in the group. We will have difficult matches but I hope that we will secure one of the qualifying spots on this road. Our aim is to reach the World Cup finals. Last night I had a bad headache and had to take pills since choosing the starting squad is very difficult. The squad has no injuries and we have 25 prepared players who want to play tomorrow.
"Qatar is one of the main candidates for qualification and they have invested well in order to qualify. We will have a difficult match against Qatar. The Qataris have been preparing very well and they have good players but I hope the Azadi Stadium will be full of supporters and I hope that we will succeed tomorrow.”
Jose Daniel Carreno, Qatar
"Tomorrow, we will play our first match in the third qualifying round. Our first match is against the highest-ranked team in Asia and we have had plenty of time for analysis of Iran. We are prepared and know that Iran is the favorites to qualify. We will try to achieve a good result in tomorrow’s match.
"We are united; the coaching staff, players, everyone is prepared for success. If Iran beat us tomorrow it will be due to their quality of playing not because of any lack of unity among us. And if we beat Iran it will be due to Qatar’s qualities. We have a good chance to reach the World Cup finals. We know that Iran is the better ranked team but there are surprises in football. We will be one of those surprises.”
Head To Head Record
15/01/15 Qatar 0 – 1 Iran
05/06/13 Qatar 0 – 1 Iran
13/06/12 Iran   0 – 0 Qatar
29/02/12 Iran   2 – 2 Qatar
07/09/11 Qatar 1 – 1 Iran


** Carlos Queiroz