Buoyant Iran to take on desperate North Koreans

FIFAWORLDCUP - Iran have travelled to Korea DPR for their FIFA World Cup qualifying match on Wednesday overflowing with confidence, but their desperate hosts are sure to come out fighting after two defeats.

Iran sit at the top of the Group B standings along with Bahrain after defeating Japan 2-1 in front of 100,000 fans at Tehran's Azadi stadium last week, and coach Branko Ivankovic believes his in-form team can be equally impressive in Pyongyang.

"We are going to North Korea to get the full three points," Ivankovic told reporters after the win over Japan, who won the Asian Cup last year but are now languishing in third place in the group. "We have overcome the champions of Asia. We have overcome the biggest obstacle."

In contrast, the North Koreans are bottom of Group B after losing to an injury-time goal away to Japan and then suffering a demoralising 2-1 defeat by Bahrain in Pyongyang last week.

A third straight loss could close the door on their hopes of reaching the World Cup finals for just the second time. Korea DPR's only previous appearance was in 1966 when they famously upset Italy 1-0 on their way to the quarter-finals.

The speedy North Koreans dominated for much of the match against Bahrain and were extremely unlucky not to have found the net more than once, but their vulnerability to the counterattack allowed the visitors to capitalise.

Korea DPR coach Yun Jong-Su blamed the loss on the referees and said he was considering lodging a complaint with FIFA, but spent the five days between the Bahrain and Iran matches more concerned with hardening up his defence.

"We lost the last two matches because of weakness in our defence so we are aiming to intensify our defence," team manager Pak Jong-Hun told reporters on Tuesday.

To that end, Korea DPR will welcome the return from suspension of their captain and defensive pillar, Ri Myong-Sam. The key to a North Korean upset may well rest with their ability to contain Iran's trio of Bundesliga stars, Mehdi Mahdavikia of Hamburg, Kaiserslautern's Fereydoun Zandi and Vahid Hashemian of Bayern Munich.

Hashemian scored both of Iran's goals in the Japan match, while Mahdavikia and Zandi along with Ali Karimi were among the team's key playmakers. Veteran captain Ali Daei, who Ivankovic initially ruled out of the game because of a hamstring injury, travelled with the team and is still in with a chance to play.