Still in search of their first victory in the qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup, Cambodia welcome an Iran side who sit at the other end of group C.

The reverse fixture of this game in the group in 2019 saw Iran come away with a 14-0 victory in Tehran, the biggest defeat in Cambodia's history.

Match preview

Since returning to World Cup Qualifying action for the first time since the campaign kicked off in 2019, Cambodia have suffered two heavy defeats, conceding 12 goals while only netting one at the other end.

Firstly, the Angkor Warriors suffered an 8-0 defeat at the hands of Bahrain away from home last Thursday.

Braces from Kamil Al Aswad, Ali Madan and Ismail Abdullatif alongside goals from Mohamed Al-Rumaihi and Jasim Al-Shaikh condemned Cambodia to a crushing loss, which was quickly followed by a 4-1 defeat at the hands of group leaders Iraq.

Their opponents led for the entirety of the encounter thanks to Mohanad Ali's opener in the first minute, with Bashar Rasan and Ali Adnan stretching their lead before Soeuy Visal's consolation for Cambodia was followed by another goal for Iraq as Safaa Hadi found the net in the dying minutes.

They were not the only heavy losses for Cambodia in this qualifying campaign, as they fell to a 14-0 defeat then they last met with Friday's opponents in 2019.

Karim Ansarifard bagged a four-goal haul alongside a Sardar Azmoun hat-trick, braces from Mehdi Taremi and Mohammed Mohebi, and goals from Ahmad Nourollahi, Hossein Kanaanizadegan and Mehrdad Mohammadi to hand Cambodia their heaviest defeat of all time.

After a poor run of results, the Angkor Warriors will be desperate not to see a repeat of that crushing loss, and will instead look to bounce back from a losing run with a surprise victory on Friday.

Their opponents come into the game in an opposite run of form, having won all three of their games since the turn of the year.

Following a 3-0 victory in a friendly against Syria, Iran have recorded back-to-back wins in the World Cup Qualifying group, firstly defeating Hong Kong 3-1 in Bahrain.

Goals from Ali Gholizadeh, Vahid Amiri and Ansarifard saw The Cheetahs take a 3-0 lead, before Cheng Siu Kwan netted a consolation goal for Hong Kong with five minutes to go.

Dragan Skocic's men then followed that up with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Bahrain, as Sardar Azmoun netted a brace before Mehdi Taremi added a third to cap off a strong outing.

As a result of their impressive form in qualifying, Iran sit comfortably in second spot, just two points behind group leaders Iraq, having collected 12 points from their opening six games.

They now go in search of a third straight victory as they continue their push to move to the top of group C.

Team News

Although every player in the Cambodia squad plays their domestic football within their home country, there is still plenty of experience in the side, especially in attack.

Keo Sokpheng has featured 49 times for his country, netting 11 goals in those games, while his potential strike partner, Pray Mony Udom, has netted 10 goals in his 57 international appearances.

Meanwhile, Kouch Sokumpheak and Sos Suhana could play key roles in the midfield, having played 61 and 58 times for their nation respectively.

Captain Soeuy Visal will lead the defence, while he was also the unlikely scorer in their recent defeat to Iraq.

Iran currently boast a particularly strong collection of talent, and they should look to field a full-strength side as they look to secure their passage from this qualifying group.

Porto attacker Mehdi Taremi is one of the stars of the squad with 23 international goals, while Zenit St Petersburg frontman Sardar Azmoun has netted an eye-catching tally of 36 goals in 54 appearances for his nation.

They should be joined by experienced forward Karim Ansarifard, while the likes of Brentford's Saman Ghoddos and Brighton and Hove Albion's Alireza Jahanbakhsh will operate further back.

They will be led by captain Ehsan Hajsafi, who has featured 114 times on the international stage for Iran.

Cambodia possible starting lineup:
Soksela; Rosib, Visal, Meng, Krya; Chanpolin, Sokumpheak, Suhana, Bin; Sokpheng, Udom

Iran possible starting lineup:
Beiranvand; Mohammadi, Pouraliganji, Kanaanizadegan, Hosseini; Ghoddos, Hajsafi, Jahanbakhsh; Taremi, Azmoun, Ansarifard

We say: Cambodia 0-5 Iran

The previous result in this fixture combined with the two sides' form in qualifying only points to a comfortable victory for the visitors on Friday.

While we do not see an extraordinary scoreline like that in 2019, Iran should have more than enough to get past Cambodia in a fairly straightforward manner.

Previews by email