The Brentford midfielder started the game as Iran went on to win 1-0 in their opening tie of the Third Round in Asian Qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Feyenoord winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored the only goal of the game at the start of the second half.
The win sees Iran sit top of Group A, ahead of Iraq, South Korea, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates and Syria. They will face each team twice in the Third Round of Qualifying and the top two teams in the group stage will be heading to the World Cup Finals in 2022. The second group comprises of Australia, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Japan, Vietnam and China. Third place teams in both groups will go into a Fourth Round play-off to compete for the final spot at Qatar 2022.
Iran now play Iraq on Tuesday 7 September, looking to give themselves the best possible start and stay top of Group A ahead of the next set of fixtures with South Korea and UAE in October.
Elsewhere, Iceland lost 2-0 to Romania in UEFA Qualifying. Patrik Gunnarsson was named on the bench as his side conceded goals to Nicolae Stanciu and Dannis Man.
The result leaves Iceland fifth in Group J with six games to play. Surprise package Armenia lead the way from Germany, North Macedonia, Romania, Iceland and then Liechtenstein. The top side in each of the ten groups gains automatic Qatar 2022 qualification, while each second place side goes into the Second Round play-offs.
Their next game is on Sunday 5 September when they take on North Macedonia.