South Korea's national football team fell to Iran 1-0 in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match on Tuesday.
At the match held at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, Sardar Azmoun scored the first and only goal for the home team in the 25th minute, handing the opponents their first loss in the final qualifying round.
South Korea, who entered the match as runner-up after Iran in Group A due to goal difference, is now at third trailing Uzbekistan, which beat China 2-0 at home on Tuesday.
In the last seven matches against Iran, South Korea lost five and tied twice. South Korea and Iran have played each other 29 times in total, with Team Korea winning nine times and losing 13 times.
The latest loss to Iran has dampened South Korea's hope to win a ninth consecutive berth to the World Cup finals. The two best teams in each group will automatically advance to the Russian World Cup, while teams in third place will vie for the remaining berth in the playoffs.
South Korea, two points behind Uzbekistan, has six more matches to play in the group.
South Korea will host Uzbekistan on November 15th, four days after having a friendly match with Canada in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.