“North Korea is a good team and it is difficult to play against them but their level of football is lower than Iran's. Therefore, we won't need a miracle to beat them,” the Iranian star said in an interview with ISNA on Tuesday.
“We must understand that North Korea is our last chance, we will regret these days for the next four years if we fail to achieve our favorite results against them,” he added.
“I'm sure that the Iranian soccer team is able to defeat North Korea. All the players should try their best for their country's football fate,” he explained.
The Iranian national further pointed out that it is important for Iran to qualify for the World Cup in 2010, as it will lead to a great development in Iran's football.
The Iranian star (known as 'Neku' in Spain) was also chosen as Iran's best player of the year and was awarded the 'Golden Ball' by Iranian Football Officials last year.
Iran, coached by Afshin Qotbi, faces an uphill struggle to secure a place at the World Cup, with two away matches in South and North Korea and a home match with the UAE to come.
The Iranian outfit is scheduled to visit North Korea for its sixth World Cup qualifier on June 6.
South Korea currently leads the group on 11 points, one point ahead of North Korea and Saudi Arabia. Iran sits fourth with six points, while the UAE is at the bottom of the group with only one point.
Asia has four automatic qualifying berths, with the third-placed teams in the two final qualifying groups playing off against each other for the right to take on Oceania zone victors New Zealand for a place in the finals.
Iran appeared in the 1978, 1998 and 2006 World Cups. It achieved its best result in France in 1998, when it beat the United States 2-1.