Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Syria scored deep into stoppage time at Iran to keep alive its hopes of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time.
Facing elimination from Asian qualifying, Omar al-Soma’s late goal clinched a 2-2 draw in Tehran and a place in the playoffs.
While Iran had already qualified for the FIFA showpiece in Russia next year, Syria will have to do it the hard way.
Syria will discover later Tuesday who it will play in a two-match Asian series next month. To make the World Cup, the winner will then have to beat a team form the CONCACAF confederation covering North and Central America, and the Caribbean.
Iran, which clinched qualification for the World Cup in June, is a regional political ally that has provided crucial political and military support to shore up Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces in the war.
Big screens were set up in the Syrian capital Damascus for public screening of the game featuring a national team is made up of government-approved supporters.
