Late goal takes Syria into World Cup play-off

Syria kept alive their hopes of reaching their first World Cup finals after a dramatic 2-2 draw against already-qualified Iran in Tehran.

Omar Al Somah scored three minutes into injury time to grab the point required to send his team into next month's two-legged play-offs for a place in Russia.

Due to the war ravaging their homeland the Syrians have been forced to play all their games away from home, including last month's vital 3-1 win over Qatar.

An early goal from Tamer Haj Mohamad briefly gave Syria hope of qualifying automatically alongside Iran from Group A.

But two goals from Sardar Azmoun changed the course of the match, with the Syrians looking set to miss out on a play-off place until Al Somah's late strike.

South Korea qualified directly in second place after a goalless draw in Tashkent against Uzbekistan, who were pipped to the play-off slot by the narrowest of margins.