Agencies/Tehran

Qatar coach Paulo Autuori talks to Lawrence Quaye during a training session in Tehran yesterday
Qatar hope to bounce back from their 4-1 thrashing by South Korea on Friday when they take on a strong Iranian side in their Group A Asian World Cup qualifier here today. The match begins at 6.30pm Qatar time.
After a creditable 1-0 win over Lebanon that gave them three away points, Qatar crashed to earth on Friday,  their sloppy defending allowing the Koreans to get back into the game after being down by an early goal.
Qatar coach Paulo Autuori conceded the Koreans were a superior side but at the same time wanted his team to forget about the loss as quickly as possible and concentrate on the crucial match ahead.
“It’s a big defeat but we need to get it out of our minds,” Autuori said. “Iran are also a strong side, one of the strongest in Asia, and we need to keep our minds tension free to be able to beat them,” he said.
It’s not that Qatar have not done well against Iran. In fact, as recently as in February this year, Qatar clinched a sensational 2-2 draw against Iran in the third qualifying phase, something the team hope to draw inspiration from.
“We have done well against Iran in the past and we hope to do it again,” Qatar captain Wissam Rizk said before their game against Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Iran midfielder Mojtaba Jabari, who was substituted in the 75th minute in Iran’s 1-0 win over Uzbekistan on Sunday, will miss the match against Qatar after opting out due to a series of recent health-related complaints.
The Esteghlal midfielder failed to complete the match in Tashkent where Iran pulled a dramatic last-minute 1-0 win to take the initiative in the final round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers.
According to reports, coach Carlos Quiroz has decided not to get any replacement for Jabari as star midfielder Ali Karimi is expected to play in a more advanced role against Qatar.
Meanwhile, South Korea coach Choi Kang-hee is hoping for an early goal to settle any nerves in today’s qualifier against Lebanon. The Koreans have made the trip back home from Doha after posting a 4-1 comeback win on Friday and welcome a Lebanon side who drew 1-1 with Uzbekistan having begun their campaign with a 1-0 defeat by Qatar last week.And while Korea beat the Cedars 6-0 at the start of the third round campaign at Goyang Stadium in September last year, Choi knows his side face a tough task to collect a second victory to remain on course for an eighth consecutive appearance at the FIFA World Cup finals.
“We’re training well with a great atmosphere after coming back home with such a nice win,” said former Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors coach Choi.
“Although we have to overcome the same difficulties – adapting to the time difference – as our opponents, we’ve got to recover from fatigue and believe in our mental strengths in order to win the games to come.
“We did beat them 6-0 here last year, but as we’ve experienced around the continent it’s always difficult to play against defensive-minded teams. If we fail to score early and become nervous in the second half, it could be very difficult for us. We need all three points after all, so we’ll play well enough to get what we want.”