Iran qualify for 2018 FIFA World Cup

Iran became the second team to qualify for next year's World Cup finals as they beat Uzbekistan 2-0 with goals from Sardar Azmoun and Mehdi Taremi at the Azadi Stadium, SBS reports.

Azmoun's goal midway through the first half set Iran on track to qualify for the 2018 event in Russia before Taremi added a second two minutes from time as Iran reached back-to-back World Cup tournaments for the first time.

The three-time Asian champions, who also missed a penalty just after the break, join Brazil as the qualified nations so far.