By Paul Doyle
Iran walloped the United Arab Emirates 3-0 in Abu Dhabi this afternoon to set up a two-leg play-off with Ireland for a place in next summer’s World Cup.
Mick McCarthy was in the Al Wahda stadium to see the Iranians turn a potentially tricky tie into a comprehensive victory.
Leading only 1-0 from last week’s home leg, Iran expected to be put under the cosh from the first whistle, but instead grabbed a precious away goal after just seven minutes when star striker Ali Daei curled home a free-kick.
Minutes later, the Iranians complicated matters for themselves when Jamshidi was sent off for a second bookable offence.
However, the home side failed to make their numerical advantage pay and then lost it when, in the 52nd minute, Abdulrahman got his marching orders for a foul on Daei.
Karim Bagheri and Mehrdad Minavind added goals in the last ten minutes to complete an emphatic win. Iran will take on Ireland at Lansdowne Road on November 10th, with the return leg in Tehran five days later.