The men's national soccer team on March 24 beat Iran for the first time in 11 years to top Korea's group in the final Asian qualifying round of this year's World Cup in Qatar. Shown here is team captain Son Heung-min (No. 7) celebrating after scoring the opening goal in the 2-0 win at Seoul World Cup Stadium in the city's Mapo-gu District. (Yonhap News)

By Aisylu Akhmetzianova and Lee Jihae

The national soccer team has beaten Iran for the first time in 11 years.

Team captain Son Heung-min of England's Tottenham Hotspur and Kim Young-gwon of Korea's Ulsan Hyundai on March 24 each scored in the 2-0 home win. The victory came in the ninth Group A game of the final Asian qualification round of this year's World Cup in Qatar at Seoul World Cup Stadium in the capital's Mapo-gu District. 

Korea thus topped its group with 23 points from seven wins, no losses and two draws, ahead of second-place Iran with 22 points from seven wins, one draw and one loss. Having earlier clinched a World Cup berth, the Taegeuk Warriors can win Group A by beating the United Arab Emirates in their final preliminary game on March 29.

The victory was Korea's first over Iran since a 1-0 win in the Asian Cup quarterfinals in 2011.

The 64,000-capacity Seoul stadium was fully opened with no restrictions on the number of attendees. Thus the game was a sellout for the 10th time in the stadium's history and the first in three years since a friendly in March 2019 between Korea and Colombia. 

The number of spectators on March 24 was 64,375.

In an interview after the game, Son said, "Iran always held us back when we prepared for the final qualifying round," adding, "Iran is a very strong team in Asia but it felt great to show that we're better."

aisylu@korea.kr