Friendly Matches Very Helpful for Iran, U-23 Coach Says
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran U-23 football team coach Hamid Estili says that three friendly matches against Indonesia and Qatar have helped his team to get prepare for the AFC U-23 Championship.
Iran was held to a 1-1 draw against Indonesia last week and lost to the team 2-1 in the second match.
The Persian also lost to Qatar 2-1 on Thursday in Doha.
“The friendly matches are very helpful for our team because we can realize our weak points. We conceded two early goals against Qatar but dominated the match and created several scoring chances,” Estili said.
“We tested our players in the other positions and they worked well in their new posts. I am satisfied with my team’s performance,” the ex-Iran midfielder added.
Iran is preparing for the AFC U-23 Championship.
The team has been drawn in Group C of the competition along with Uzbekistan, China and South Korea.
The AFC U-23 Championship will be held in Thailand from January 8 to 26 and the top three teams of the tournament will qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics men's football tournament in Japan as the AFC representatives.
