We’re thankfully more than a week separated from Team Melli’s previous match, a 2010 World Cup qualifier draw against South Korea, which by most measures was a huge disappointment. Instead of going over Iran’s countless faults in the match, be it the lack of effective midfield passing, sloppy defending, or a subpar tactical display from coach Ali Daei, I’d rather ramble a bit more optimistically. Here are my top ten, scratch that, seven reasons why Iran will still be heading to South Africa in 2010.

7. Andranik Teymourian and Mehdi Mahdavikia have brushed off their respective injuries and have played with pretty good form recently. They should be called up for national team duty soon.

6. In the course of the past couple months, Saudi Arabia no longer looks like the threat it used to be.

5. Masoud Shojaei has been displaying some very skillful runs and through passes, and he can only mature with each passing game.

4. Arash Borhani, the IPL’s former top goalscorer, is too talented to only play for a few minutes as a sub (After the South Korea match, Daei took a lot of heat for that). Look for him to start in upcoming games as Team Melli moves away from a one-striker formation. Or at the very least, look for him to get significant minutes, as well significant goal-scoring opportunities.

3. Mehdi Rahmati is, unlike Team Melli, a model of athletic consistency. He is the next Abedzadeh of Iranian goalkeepers.

2. In spite of all its flaws and shortcomings, Team Melli can definitely defeat Bahrain, Qatar, and New Zealand. Why the hell does this matter, you may ask? Well, if Iran fails to crack 2nd place in its current qualifying group (however, I predict 1. South Korea, 2. Iran, 3. North Korea) and lands in 3rd place, it will play the 3rd place team from the other AFC group in a 2-match playoff. This team will probably end up being either Bahrain or Qatar. And the winner will play the winner of the Oceania Football Confederation, New Zealand, in a similar playoff, with the victor qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. Say what you will about the IFF, Ali Daei, or Team Melli in general. But even the harhest of Iran soccer critics won’t deny that we can clearly beat these 3 teams in an aggregate home-away playoff. This isn’t at all a scenario that we should hope for, but in the case that it happens, the odds are good.

1. Luck. Luck has undeniably been on our side for our last 4 qualifying matches. Through matches where we have been outshot, outhustled, and largely outplayed for most of regulation, we have still managed to avoid defeat. We didn’t deserve a victory in Riyadh or Dubai, and we were embarassed during much of the second half when we played North Korea in Azadi. I’m not going to even mention how many shots that have bounced off our woodwork, or how many point-blank missses our opponents have had, to our relief. We can’t rely on Lady Luck forever, but she certainly has served as a pleasant mistress thus far in our World Cup qualification matches.

Let me know what you all think. I’ve gotta pass the time until Team Melli’s next, must-win match against Saudi Arabia on March 28 somehow.

-Kevin