North Korea vs Iran Prediction, Preview, Team News, and Lineups | World Cup Qualifiers, November 14, 2024

North Korea vs Iran Preview

• Tournament: FIFA World Cup Qualifiers
• Date: Thursday, November 14, 2024
• Time: 12 PM GMT
• Venue: New Laos National Stadium

North Korea will host Iran in a crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers fixture at the New Laos National Stadium in Laos.

Iran sits at the top of Group A standings with 10 points from four matches. They have won three and drawn one of their four matches so far and are above second-placed Uzbekistan only on goal difference.

North Korea, meanwhile, are at the bottom of the group and are yet to win a game. They have faced two defeats and played out two draws in their four matches and hence, have just two points. They sit a point behind Kyrgyzstan. If they are to have any hopes of qualification to the next round, it will be crucial to beat Iran. However, seeing the table and their form, it would be a mammoth task.

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North Korea Team News

North Korea will have all of their players available for the clash against Iran.

Iran Team News

Iran will also have all of their players available for the clash against North Korea.

Predicted Lineups

North Korea Predicted lineup (4-4-2):

Goalkeeper: Ju-Hyok Kang

Defenders: Sung-Hye Kim, Yu-Song Kim, Kuk-Chol Jang, Ok-Chol Choe

Midfielders: Il-Song Ri, Kuk-Bom Kim, Kuk-Chol Kang II, Chung-Song Paek

Attackers: Jo-Guk Ri, Kuk-Jin Kim

Iran predicted lineup (4-2-3-1):

Goalkeeper: Alireza Beiranvand

Defenders: Milad Mohammadi, Shoja Khalilzadeh, Ali Nemati, Omid Noorafkan

Midfielders: Mohammad Karimi, Saeid Ezatolahi, Mehdi Taremi

Attackers: Mohammad Mohebi, Sardar Azmoun, Medhi Ghayedi

North Korea vs Iran H2H Record

The two sides have met just once in the past and it came in the Asian Cup more than a decade ago.

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Key Players to watch in North Korea vs Iran

Il-Song Ri

Just like the other North Korean players in the squad, Il-Song Ri only plays for the national side and has no recognizable club side. He plays either on the left wing or on the left wing for the North Korean national team.

The 20-year-old is a promising player for the side and has made just nine appearances. However, he has been able to show his prowess in his short career so far, scoring two goals as well.

One of those goals came in the second round of the World Cup Qualifiers as he scored in a 4-1 win over Myanmar. His second goal came in the third round of the Qualifiers in a 2-2 draw against Qatar. He will be hoping to add to his tally against Iran on Thursday.

Sardar Azmoun

Sardar Azmoun is a centre-forward for Iran and has also played for some top clubs across Europe like Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma. He moved from Leverkusen to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli in the summer this year. He has scored 11 goals and provided one assist in 13 games across competitions this season so far.

For Iran, Azmoun is second on the list of their all-time top scorer behind the legendary Ali-Daei. Azmoun has scored 55 goals and provided 15 assists in 87 games across competitions. He will look to add to his tally against North Korea, an opponent Iran are likely to dominate.

North Korea vs Iran Prediction

Both sides have had a contrasting time in the their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign so far. While Iran sits at top of the table, North Korea are at the bottom.

Iran are ranked 19^th in the FIFA World Rankings and have lost just one match since their defeat against the USA at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. That loss, however, came earlier this year as they lost 3-2 against Qatar in the Asian Cup. They have won six of their next eight fixtures and drawn two.

Iran hammered Qatar 4-1 in their last World Cup Qualification match in October. Meanwhile, North Korea lost 1-0 against Kyrgyzstan in their last match last month. They are without a win in their last four matches but had won their two matches before that.

With North Korea still winless, they will definitely put up a good fight in an attempt to earn all three points. However, Iran are in good form and have the quality to secure a comfortable win.

Predicted Score: North Korea 0-3 Iran

Where to watch North Korea vs Iran Live?

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