The path that National Teams have to go through to get to the FIFA World Cup is a very extensive one. For a lot of them, it’s a dramatic-filled journey that could end well or not. But for Iran it was on the other side of it. Due to their own merit, they were able to secure their place at Qatar 2022 with a lot of anticipation via great performances.

A good thing for them was the draw that sent them to Group B. There, Iran will have the complicated task of playing against title contenders England. However, they dodged the scenario of another powerhouse competing with them since the USA and Wales are the sides that complete this part of the schedule.

Iran’s style has been making plenty of foes struggle because of their defensive discipline. Though it was in a lower-level qualifier compared to confederations such as UEFA, this Asian opponent should not be overlooked. In the qualifiers, they were the most solid squad in the continent allowing very few goals when it mattered the most.

Iran’s road to Qatar 2022

As it happens with all the big national teams, Iran started in the second round. That part of the qualifiers is formed by eight groups of five sides each. In there, their opponents were Iraq, Bahrain, Honk Kong, and Cambodia. Unlike other zones in this stage, it was very even based on the final standings.

Iran ended up taking the first place, though it wasn’t easy. Their 18 points in eight games were only one more than what Iraq got, but they advanced to the final round. The format then was two halves of six participants each. After 10 appearances, the first two of each group would get directly to Qatar 2022. The third-place squads would have to continue competing for a playoff spot.

All the parity that was seen in the previous round stayed in the past. Iran took over immediately to have an almost perfect way to the FIFA World Cup. They got eight victories, one draw and only one loss in route to a comfortable lead with a total of 25 points. That was more than twice what the third national team got, so they were confirmed with a lot of ease.

Using this World Cup Predictor, you can see every potential outcome of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.