: HOW THEY QUALIFIED

Iran finished second behind Japan (5-1-0, 15 points) in Asian Group B of the third qualifying stage with a 4-1-1 record and 13 points. (The top three teams in the two groups qualified with the fourth-place team, Bahrain, moving onto a special playoff with CONCACAF's fourth-place side, Trinidad & Tobago.)

On June 8, 2005, Iran became the second team to qualify for the World Cup (Japan was the first, earlier that day) with a 1-0 triumph over Bahrain in Tehran with one game to spare. Defender Mohammad Nosrati, who has but three international goals, scored off a header in the 47th minute. "I had a dream last night about scoring a goal," Nosrati told Reuters. "With God's help, we won. We played very well and deserved to win." The victory touched off a vociferous celebration as hundreds or thousands of fans spilled onto the Tehran streets, setting off firecrackers, blowing whistles and waving national flags.

QUALIFYING RESULTS
2/18/04 Iran 3, Qatar 1
3/31/04 Laos 0, Iran 7
6/9/04 Iran 0, Jordan 1
9/8/04 Jordan 0, Iran 2
10/13/04 Qatar 2, Iran 3
11/17/04 Iran 7, Laos 0
2/9/05 Bahrain 0, Iran 0
3/25/05 Iran 2, Japan 1
3/30/05 North Korea 0, Iran 2
6/3/05 Iran 1, North Korea 0
6/8/05 Iran 1, Bahrain 0
8/17/05 Japan 2, Iran 1