Skip to content
Subscriber Only
Politics

Syria Pursuit of Soccer History Alive After Draw With Ally Iran

  • Syria now faces home and away series against Australia
  • National team hasn’t been able to play at home due to war
Syria players in action against China in June.

Syria players in action against China in June.

Photographer: Stanley Chou/Getty Images
Updated on

War-torn Syria kept its chances of a first-ever soccer World Cup finals qualification alive after an injury time goal earned it a draw with battlefield ally Iran.

Finishing third in its group means Syria now faces a home and away series next month against Australia. If it eventually emerges as the winner, it would enter an intercontinental playoff in November. It took a 93rd-minute goal in Tehran to secure a 2-2 tie with Iran, one of two nations whose support has enabled forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad to gain an upper hand in the country’s six-year conflict.