Last week South Korea decided to bid for either the 2018 or 2022 World Cups. Tonight, attention is focused solely on qualifying for the 2010 version as the national team takes on Iran in Tehran.
100,000 fans (all male – though female Korean fans are allowed with headscarves) will cram into the imposing Azadi Stadium in the Persian capital to watch a big match between two of Asia's biggest rivals.

No sport changes coaches as much as football and with the World Cup over a year away, moves are being made in the hopes that a teams fortunes will take a positive turn towards World Cup qualification. Usually, the move that's made is a change at the top of the coaching ladder. After this past round of qualifying matches some coaching changes occurred that could change the fortunes of their respective teams.

Written by Martin Reza Babry
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
PFDC - TEHRAN, Team Melli thrashed Indonesia 5-0 in a test match in Azadi stadium, who due to their league schedule had sent their Olympic squad to Iran's capital.
Ferydoon Zandi scored a brace, while Khalatbari and Borhani each scored one and assisted another.

As the eyes of the footballing world switch to the glittering international events, no not the friendlies, that are the World Cup Play-offs to see just who will take final spots in the world's biggest football tournament, so we take a look back over some of the finest play-offs in World Cup history.

Afshin Ghotbi has been appointed the new national team coach of Iran, following the resignation of Mohammad Mayelikohan. Mayelikohan lasted less than two weeks in the hot seat after the sacking of Iranian football legend Ali Daei.
Iranian football is in turmoil as the national team are struggling to qualify from Asian Zone Group 2, headed by the two Koreas.

Soccer America's Paul Kennedy reports that Iran has hired its third national team coach in less than a month, and it is an Iranian-born and U.S.-educated coach.
Afshin Ghotbi has mostly recently been coaching in Iran for Persepolis in 2007 and 2008. Ghotbi, who attended UCLA and was credited for discovering John O'Brien while working as a youth coach in Southern California, replaced Mohammad Mayely-Kohan, who resigned after only two weeks on the job.