TEHRAN – Iran forward Sardar Azmoun was shortlisted for the 2022 World Cup Asian Qualifiers Player of the Month.
Some of Asia’s biggest names produced the heroics required to keep their respective nations’ FIFA World Cup dreams alive, and they were joined by new faces eager to leave a mark of their own.
An elite 12 teams remain in contention for a place at next year’s global showpiece, but which player played the biggest role in shaping their side’s destiny? Who was the outstanding player in Asia’s momentous month?
Sardar Azmoun is one of them. He scored three goals in three games for Team Melli.
Iran arrived in Bahrain with four Group C matches remaining and their Qatar 2022 hopes very much in the balance. Had their fans known Sardar Azmoun would show up in such a blistering form they mightn’t have worried.
The Zenit star was simply electric for Dragan Skocic’s side, scoring twice in the crucial win against Bahrain before netting the decisive goal against Iraq which sent the Iranians to the top of the group, taking his international tally to an exceptional 37 goals in 55 matches in the process.
Azmoun will have to compete with Mahmoud Al Mawas (Syria), Wu Lei (China PR), Harry Souttar (Australia), Salem Al Dawsari (Saudi Arabia), Abdullah Fawaz (Oman), Takumi Minamino (Japan), Ali Mabkhout (UAE) and Son Heung-min (Korea Republic) to win the accolade.