Get your bets down for Saturday's showdown: Iran or North Korea?

North Korea hosts Iran Saturday in a World Cup soccer qualifying match.

Though both teams are approximately a billion to one against winning the 2010 World Cup (San Marino is a trillion to one, by the Hlog's expert computations), this is a vital match all the same.

If you don't believe it, read this story from Financial Times' Web site.

Excerpts:

Some argue that failure to qualify – Iran needs to win its remaining three fixtures over the next 11 days to be guaranteed a place at next year's World Cup finals in South Africa – could damage the re-election hopes of Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, the president.

“The government of Mr Ahmadi-Nejad has shown it would like to make the best use of sports in politics and failure in football will surely have negative impacts on his votes,” said a senior reformist politician.

In an election expected to be close – and where Mir-Hossein Moussavi, the rival reformist candidate, is said to be gaining support – that could be significant.

Football is especially popular among young Iranians, and 60 per cent of the population is under 30. When Iran qualified for the 1998 World Cup, millions of people spontaneously celebrated in the streets, dancing, singing and even drinking alcohol, all unprecedented in the history of the Islamic Republic.

Mr Ahmadi-Nejad is seen as vulnerable to the “football vote” because his government is accused of interfering in the national sport. That interference partly explains the failures on the pitch – Iran lie fourth in their qualifying group with just five points from five games – say critics of the populist president.

Does this strike anyone else as insane? These two nations ARE NOT GOOD at soccer. Iran's soccer Iraniacs went wild in 1998, but that team ... wait a second, that team beat the U.S. at the World Cup, 2-1.

Never mind.