TEHRAN, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Pacemaker Iran keep their seventh consecutive clean sheet in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, beating China 1-0 at the Azadi Stadium here on Tuesday.
Iran beat China 1-0 at World Cup qualifier on March 28, 2017. (Xinhua photo)
Midfielder Mehdi Taremi scored only 40 seconds after the interval. Chinese left-back Jiang Zhipeng failed to clear the ball with his header in a goalmouth melee, gifting Taremi a wonderful chance to volley home in close range.
Iran managed to lead Group A with 17 points from seven games to date, followed by South Korea which overcame Syria 1-0 at home to collect 13 points.
Group A has Iran, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Syria, China and Qatar. After a home-and-away round robin, the top two finishers will qualify for the World Cup finals directly and the third-placed team will enter the playoffs with its counterpart in Group B.
With only five points out of the seven matches, China has a slim chance of surviving Group A with only three matches remaining.