Four of the six Iranian footballers who wore green armbands in Iran's 1-1 draw with South Korea in a recent World Cup qualifier have been handed life bans from the national team. Ali Karimi, 31, team captain Mehdi Mahdavikia, 32, Hosein Ka'abi, 24 and Vahid Hashemian, 32 have been "retired" from national team duty and are reported to have had their passports confiscated. Karimi, Mahdavikia and Hashemian have all played with top clubs in Germany.

During the first half of the Group 2 Asian World Cup qualifier in Seoul between South Korea and Iran six of the Iranian team including the captain wore green wristbands in a show of support for the ongoing protests over the disputed elections in Iran . The players removed their wristbands for the second half after officials of the Iranian team asked them to do so. The match ended 1-1 leaving Iran's chances of reaching the finals in South Africa in the balance. Iran went ahead through an own goal, but Manchester United's Park Ji-Sung equalized for the hosts.

For South Korea, the 2010 World Cup qualification campaign is almost over and first place in the group guaranteed. There is still one act to be played out however and it promises to be an intriguing one. The final game takes place on Wednesday. South Korea have bagged the first of two automatic qualification spots which leaves one up for grabs. There are three teams that would very much like to take that second slot, third place is not the end of the world as it offers a play-off route to South Africa. Fourth equals nothing. The Taeguk Warriors will have a big say in just who gets what. At the moment, North Korea is in second with eleven points, above Saudi Arabia on goal difference while Iran is in fourth and just a point behind. But it really is anybody’s place. North Korea travels to Saudi Arabia for the last match while Iran comes to Seoul led by Afshin Ghotbi, a former assistant coach of the South Korean national team.

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.

The Group of Death doesn’t seem so scary after all – though the supposed nightmare is only half over. With four down and four to go in the final round of qualification for the 2010 World Cup, South Korea sits on top of Group Two with eight points. The latest point of the octet came courtesy of a 1-1 draw against Iran in Tehran on Wednesday evening. The hard part is over – or it should be. Three times have South Korea ventured overseas to the home of its three biggest rivals Saudi Arabia, Iran and North Korea (Ok, that game was played in Shanghai and not Pyongyang) and the Taeguk Warriors came away with a win and two draws. With three of the remaining four matches to take place at Sangam, Huh Jung-moo’s men are on course for a seventh successive appearance on the global stage. Prior to the match in Tehran, there had been much talk in the media beforehand, more than is usual in Asian football. A lot of it came from the Iranian side, a symptom perhaps of the host’s greater need to win. Whatever the reason, Korea, as the cliché goes, did its talking on the pitch. It may not have been especially articulate or make for pleasant listening but it was full of passion and a statement was made. It was a deserved point for the visitors. Park Ji-sung, who scored his second goal in three games for the national team, headed home with nine minutes left after Javad Nekounam had put Iran ahead with a fantastic free-kick 20 minutes earlier. It doesn’t mean that a place in South Africa is a given. Much work is still to be done but coach Huh Jung-moo would have definitely accepted an offer of eight points from the first four games if such a offer had been on the table a few months ago. "It is only half-time,” said the happy Huh as he stepped through the arrivals gate at Incheon International Airport on Friday. “It was a tough game but it is behind us now. We are focused on the task ahead. The good thing about the games that we have played so far is that injuries have given the younger players a chance and they have grown as players as a result.” We are now looking at the game against North Korea. We will do our best to prepare well. The team may be a defensive one but it does have the likes of Jong Tae-se and Hong Yong-jo in attack.” For fans of the beautiful game in the Korean peninsula, it was a good week. Before the Tehran tussle, North Korea defeated traditional Asian powerhouse Saudi Arabia 1-0 in Pyongyang to take second place in the group. It was an insipid performance by the visitors in the Kim Il Sung stadium, though the various layers of clothing worn couldn’t have helped. If the qualifying stage ended now, the two Koreas would be heading to the 2010 World Cup. For North Korea it would be only a second appearance at the global tournament and if the teams from both sides of the 38th Parallel made it to the world cup, one can only imagine the effect it would have on the Seoul media. Offices in Yeoido and Gwanghwamun would explode. The Taeguk Warriors are not in action for the next round of qualification on March 28.The players will be able to take a rest and watch rivals do battle elsewhere. Saudi Arabia, who sits in fourth place with four points, travels to Iran where another defeat will almost certainly end chances of a fifth successive World Cup. South Korea would be delighted for the Saudis to take a point from that match. On the same evening, North Korea hosts bottom team UAE. A win for DPRK would likely see the team go top of the group. That would set things up nicely for a game in Seoul three days later between north and south. It will be some game. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

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. It will not be a night for the faint-hearted. It could have been a lot worse however. The Taeguk Warriors take the field in Tehran with seven points from three games so far, two points clear at the top of Group Two in Asian qualification. The top two teams automatically qualify for South Africa. Iran is in second with five while Saudi Arabia and North Korea, who meet in Pyongyang, have four each. UAE is virtually out of the running with one. A win for Huh Jung-moo's men would put them well in control of the group at the halfway stage. As three of those last four games take place in the Land of the Morning Calm, it would be a huge step along the road to 2010. In truth a draw would be more than satisfactory. In three matches in Tehran, Korea has never won. On paper, it is the toughest of the five remaining games. Iran is a formidable opponent. Javad Nekounam plays for Osasuna in Spain and is one of Asia's best midfielders – powerful and inspirational. Much has been made in the Korean media of the fact that ‘Neka' will be faced by young Seoul star Ki Sung-yung. If Ki – tipped for great things – can hold his own against the Persian Prince on his own turf then it could be a night to remember. Nekounam believes that older heads than Ki's will struggle at the Azadi Stadium. Park Ji-sung plays for Manchester United, the champions of England, Europe and the world but his Iranian counterpart believes he may struggle to handle the Azadi atmosphere. "Even Park, with his high level of experience, will face a different kind of atmosphere in Azadi. They have never before played under the pressure of 100,000 passionate fans. It will be hell for them," he said. "I've played in huge stadiums in Spain. But Azadi is odd. They will be awestruck when they come out of the dressing room. Korea will taste the real feeling of loneliness. We have never lost with such fabulous support. Korea will be no exception." Ali Daei holds the record for most international goals scored and is now the head coach of Iran – coincidentally, denying South Korea's former assistant, Afshin Ghotbi, the job. While the pressure is on Iran to win, Daei is confident. "South Korea is a good team but I think we are much better than them and can defeat them with our foreign-based players in front of our fans," Daei told Tehran news agency ISNA . "The Iranian media has exaggerated South Korea. I have seen their friendly matches against Syria and Bahrain. They are not as big as what we have been led to believe." Maybe not but those two warm-up ties extended the Taeguk Warriors' unbeaten run to 17 matches. Daei does have a point as the second of those two matches, a 2-2 draw against Bahrain was littered with defensive mistakes. Those errors need to be ironed out against an Iran team that hasn’t tasted defeat since the quarter-finals of the 2007 Asian Cup - against South Korea. Park Ji-sung and the other European-based players arrived in Tehran on Monday, giving them little time to acclimatize to the conditions, which include a stadium located 1200 meters above sea level. That shouldn't be high enough to induce dizziness but three points for Korea in the Iranian capital will put Korea clear at the summit of the group and within sight of their South African objective. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting