Iran, Russia Share the Spoils in Friendly
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - World Cup host Russia drew 1-1 with the Iranian national football team in a friendly in Kazan on Tuesday.
Russia fell behind when Iran striker Sardar Azmoun beat back-up goalkeeper Andrei Lunev in the 57th minute after Mehdi Taremi powered through the Russian backline.
St Petersburg striker Dmitry Poloz scored the equalizer in the 74th minute after receiving a pass from Alexander Samedov.
Russia came into the game on the back of a confidence-boosting 4-2 win against South Korea at the weekend.
The friendly against the Korean team was Russia's first international test since it exited the Confederations Cup at the group stage in June, which added to a long list of recent failures.
Iran had defeated Togo 2-0 in a friendly math in Tehran last week.
Iran, three-time Asian champion, finished first in its qualifying group for the World Cup. Team Melli will be making a fifth World Cup appearance next year.
