TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Finally on top of their group after a patchy start, Iran is now in a good position to book its passage to the next round of Asian World Cup Qualifiers with a game to spare.

A win would see Iran, with coach Ali Daei's, join the last ten, although they cannot afford to underestimate the Syrians, who held the Iranian squad to a goalless draw in Tehran earlier this year.

The hosts, meanwhile, still have all to play for as they can even overtake the Iranians with a win. But as coach Mohammed Kwid admitted after the 4-2 defeat by Kuwait last week, Syria is experiencing serious problems at the back and will need to learn from their defensive mistakes.

Kuwait got their campaign back on track thanks to Ahmad Al Azemi's hat-trick in a 4-2 win over Syria, which provided a flying start for their interim coach Mohammed Ibrahim. Next up is the UAE, who beat the Kuwaitis 2-0 in February.

The UAE's goal drought has been a major concern for coach Bruno Metsu; his players have failed to score for 216 minutes since Ismail Matar found the net against Syria on Match day 2. Although the Frenchman has reminded his critics that his side still has six points to play for, they will have to end their disappointing run in front of goal in order to advance.

1- Iran 6
2- UAE 5
3- Syria 5
4- Kuwait 4
 

... Payvand News - 06/14/08 ...