Iran have made a habit of appearing at the World Cup, reaching each of the last three finals since missing out on South Africa 2010.

Team Melli began their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign in the second round, taking 14 points from six matches to finish top of Group E ahead of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Hong Kong.

Under Amir Ghalenoei, who has overseen 18 wins, four draws and just one defeat in his second stint in charge of the national team, Iran have proven to be a tough outfit to beat.

Team Melli, who are currently on a four-match unbeaten run, will be looking to extend their unbeaten run, which began with a 5-1 win over Kyrgyzstan at the 2023 CAF Africa Cup of Nations.

The hosts will be confident of another positive result on Thursday, having avoided defeat in each of their last 22 World Cup qualifiers.

Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan are in the third stage after finishing second in the second round, one point clear of Malaysia.

After losing 4-3 to Malaysia in their opening qualifier, Kyrgyzstan reeled off three straight wins, including back-to-back victories over Chinese Taipei.

They then drew 1-1 with Malaysia and Oman to finish in the top two and keep alive their hopes of reaching the World Cup for the first time.

Having reached the third stage, Kyrgyzstan will now be dreaming of automatic qualification via a top-two finish, or at least a third or fourth place, which would take them into the extra round.

Ultimately, their focus will be on Thursday's away game, where they will be looking to record their first win against

Iran possible starting lineup:

Beiranvand; Hardani, Khalilzadeh, Hazbavi, Jalali; Jahanbakhsh, Ghorbani, Ghoddos, Ghayedi; Taremi, Azmoun

Kyrgyzstan possible starting lineup:

Tokotaev; Zhyrgalbek uulu, Brauzman, Kozubaev, Kichin, Mishchenko; Akhmedov, Abdurakhmanov, Shukurov, Alykulov; Kojo

Prediction:Iran 3-1 Kyrgyzstan

Iran VS Kyrgyzstan stream and TV listing

International：Holasports