CAFA Nations Cup 2023: Kyrgyzstan vs Iran [Preview]

Sportskeeda – BISHKEK, Iran play Kyrgyzstan at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium in Bishkek on Friday in the 2023 CAFA Cup, looking to build on their emphatic start to the campaign.

Team Melli smashed Afghanistan 6-1 in their opening game on Tuesday, led by a sensational hat-trick from Mehdi Taremi.

Sardar Azmoun opened the scoring for Iran in the 20th minute and Taremi doubled their advantage just a minute later. In the 28th minute, the Porto striker made it 3-0 while Alirezah Jahanbakhsh added a fourth in the final minute of the opening stanza.

Afghanistan were no match for Iran but there was more misery to follow after the break as Taremi brought up his hat-trick-clinching goal just six minutes into the restart to make it 5-0.

Farshad Noor pulled one back for the Lions of Khorasan and reduced the deficit in the 57th minute, but Reza Asadi restored Iran’s five-goal advantage soon after by adding a sixth goal.

With such a huge win, Iran took pole position in Group B after their game, with Kyrgyzstan in second on goal difference, having been awarded a 3-0 win over Afghanistan.

Ernist Batyrkanov scored in the 97th minute for the White Falcons, but Afghan coach Abdullah Al Mutairi protested it and walked out, with his players also following suit.

This led to the executive committee of CAFA awarding Kyrgyzstan a 3-0 win. Now, they have to beat Iran to progress to the finals, as a draw or a defeat would favor Team Melli.

Kyrgyzstan vs Iran Head-To-Head and Key Numbers

Iran and Kyrgyzstan have played each other thrice before, with Team Melli winning every time.

Iran beat Kyrgyzstan 7-0 in their first encounter on June 1997 in a World Cup qualifier, followed by a 3-1 win a few days later.

In 2016, Iran thrashed Kyrgyzstan once more in a 6-0 friendly win.

Kyrgyzstan’s win over Afghanistan was their first in all competitions in five games.

Iran are unbeaten in their last three games and have won their last two.

Iranian forward Mehdi Taremi has scored four of their last nine goals, although three of them came against Afghanistan in their last match.

Kyrgyzstan vs Iran Prediction

Kyrgyzstan are a good team but can’t be compared to Iran, the highest ranked team in the cup. Team Melli boast real quality in every department, especially the attack, spearheaded by the peerless Taremi.

Iran should win this match quite comfortably.

Result Prediction: Kyrgyzstan 1-3 Iran