Soccer: McCarthy - 'no qualms' about Iran flight

Republic of Ireland boss Mick McCarthy insists he has no qualms about flying to the Middle East this week to take a look at his side’s opponents for a place in the World Cup finals.

McCarthy will set off for Tehran on Wednesday morning to watch the first leg of the Asian World Cup qualifying play-off between Iran and the United Arab Emirates despite US air strikes on Afghanistan and the general unrest in the region.

Earlier the Irish boss had booked seats on a flight to Riyadh, expecting that it would be Saudi Arabia and the UAE who would be battling it out to meet the Irish in the final play-offs at Dublin’s Lansdowne Road on November 10 with the return five days later.

Saudi Arabia duly thrashed no-hopers Thailand 4-1 in Riyadh last night, but rank outsiders Bahrain also defeated Iran, allowing the Saudis to qualify automatically for the finals in Japan and South Korea next summer.

McCarthy said: ‘‘I have no problem flying to the Middle East. It’s an excellent opportunity for me to study our potential opponents both in Tehran on Thursday and then in the return leg six days later in Abu Dhabi.’’