With a place in the knockout stages up for grabs, Iran and USA go head to head at the Al Thumama Stadium in the final round of Group B fixtures on Tuesday.
Having played out draws in their opening two outings, Gregg Berhalter's men must claim all three points against Team Melli, who will be sky-high in confidence following last week's victory over Wales.
The Stars and Stripes kicked off their campaign with a share of the spoils against Wales on November 21, when Timothy Weah and Gareth Bale scored for either side, before playing out a goalless draw with England four days later.
Iran, on the other hand, bounced back from their opening-day humiliation in style as they secured an impressive 2-0 victory over Wales at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium last Friday.
Four days on from their 6-2 thumping at the hands of England, Carlos Queiroz's men looked like a different team entirely as Roozbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaeian scored stoppage-time goals to sink the Dragons.
Victory on Tuesday will secure Iran's place in the knockout stages for the first time ever and they will fancy their chances of getting the job done as they take on a USA side who have failed to win any of their previous two encounters.
Both sides first went head to head in Group F of the 1998 World Cup, when Hamid Estili and Mehdi Mahdavikia netted second-half goals to hand the Middle-East nation a 2-1 victory.
Two years later, Iran and USA squared off in a friendly contest at the Rose Bowl Stadium, where Mehdi Mahdavikia and Chris Armas scored for either side to force a share of the spoils.
IRAN VS. USA HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
Iran wins: 1
USA wins: 0
Draws: 1
Iran goals: 3
USA goals: 2
MATCH HISTORY
June 21, 1998: Iran 2-1 USA (FIFA World Cup)
January 16, 2000: Iran 1-1 USA (International Friendly)
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