Coaches:
Iran: Carlos Queiroz (POR)
Uruguay: Diego Alonso (URU)
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Sept 23 (Reuters) - Carlos Queiroz made a winning start to his second stint in charge of Iran as Mehdi Taremi scored in the second half earning his side a 1-0 win over fellow World Cup qualifiers Uruguay in Vienna on Friday.
Taremi came off the bench to score the 78th-minute winner after the Iran side had ridden their luck to keep a dominant Uruguay at bay until the Porto striker scored a late goal.
It was the perfect start to Queiroz on his second spell in charge of Team Melli after the Portuguese replaced Dragan Skocic this month and with the World Cup looming.
Iran is due to meet England, Wales, and the United States during the finals in Qatar while Uruguay has been drawn to face Portugal, Ghana, and South Korea.
The South Americans, however, controlled the game, with Darwin Nunez prompting Beiranvand to take action after 15 minutes when the striker let fly from distance, forcing the Iranian goalkeeper to tip the ball over the bar.
Luis Suarez sought to lob Beiranvand in the 38th minute but his attempt sailed over while a later effort from the former Barcelona forward curled wide.
Beiranvand was again called into action five minutes after the restart when he pushed Federico Valverde snap-shot from 20 yards to safety while Mehdi Torabi squandered a rare chance for Iran at the other end.
Taremi was introduced for Jahanbakhsh and, nine minutes later, the Porto striker hit what turned out to be the winner.
The forward started and finished the move, feeding Saman Ghoddos on the left, and his pass through to Karim Ansarifard was played back into the path of Taremi who side-footed home. |