"We have a good team, great players and I don't think we're weaker than Japan," said Asian player of the year, Server Djeparov, whose team are fourth in Group 1 on four points.
"We've waited a long time to play in the World Cup and now is the time to end this wait."
"We need to refresh our minds for the Uzbekistan game and come home with a win," Okada told reporters. "I know my team so no secrets, no surprises. It won't be easy but we are ready."
Tim Cahill defended criticism about Australia's tactics and playing style in the campaign so far and said points, not pretty play, were all that mattered.
"We've had a lot of stick over these qualifying rounds and how we've performed but sometimes it's about getting the job done," said the Everton midfielder.
"If we play a solid defence and get a scrappy goal, we'll take that now."
"We've come here to qualify for the finals, we need to do that as fast as possible and I expect us to win," said Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung, who last week became the first Asian to play in a Champions League final.
"The Iran team is oozing quality from every pore," he told the FIFA website (www.fifa.com) on Wednesday.
Ghotbi is Iran's third coach since their 2-1 home loss to Saudi Arabia on March 28 -- the only defeat of their 10 qualifiers so far.
"We have the strengths to play any team in Asia and win," he added. "If we keep playing well we can achieve our goal."
