AFC U17 Asian Cup Thailand 2023 – Group B: IR Iran v Afghanistan [Preview]

AFC – BANGKOK, Islamic Republic of Iran and Afghanistan are ready for their Central Asian showdown in Group B of the AFC U17 Asian Cup™ Thailand 2023 at Bangkok’s Rajamangala National Stadium on Friday.

Champions once and runners-up twice, this will be Iran’s 12th appearance in the competition while it will be Afghanistan’s second, having made their debut in the erstwhile AFC U16 Championship 2018.

Ahead of their opening match, Iran head coach Hossein Abdi’s confidence in his charges is steadfast as he voiced his determination for his team to feature in the final on July 2.

“Of course, we are here with a winning mentality. If I am not aiming for the title, there is no point in me being here at all. These are the best teams in Asia in this age group and we respect all our opponents equally.

“We have trained hard for a very long time and have emerged among the top 16 teams in Asia and we are happy with our preparations,” said Abdi.

Preparations for the 2008 champions started almost 13 months ago at the CAFA Championship and then several training camps followed. Some 14,000 players were observed before a squad was selected, according to Abdi.

“At this stage, the most important job at hand is to develop players and make them enjoy the beautiful game and that is what we are here to do,” said the 56-year-old.

Afghanistan, on the other hand, are the only team in the group to have never lifted the title but head coach Mohammad Yosuf Mohandis Zada, while accepting that the task at hand is not an easy one, is cautiously confident.

“We know the group is a tough one. We are aware of their capabilities but we have studied them and prepared accordingly.”

Reluctant to think too far ahead, Zada’s focus is entirely on facing Team Melli Nojavanan.

“Tomorrow is the first match and if we can manage to get points, it really sets us up nicely to qualify to the next round,” said Zada.

“We are not going to concern ourselves over the remaining matches right now. We know Iran are a good team, but we have prepared our plans for them. We will be playing for three points, that’s the best-case scenario and if that’s not possible, we will aim for at least a draw,” he added.