Poor results of U23 football team discredit Iran football

TEHRAN – Iran were knocked out of the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026 very soon. Omid Ravankhah’s side unbelievably finished in fourth place in Group C without scoring a sole goal.

The young Persians started the campaign with a goalless draw against Korea Republic. The team could have even won the match but failed to find the back of the net.

Iran, then, were held to a 0-0 draw by Uzbekistan in a match they created more chances compared to their first match but lacked cutting edge.

Iran suffered a 1-0 loss against Lebanon in the match they wanted to beat their opponents with two goals but they were stunned by their rivals.

Iran were dominant in all three matches but could not capitalize on their chances. Lebanon defeated Iran courtesy of a penalty spot. It shows that Iran’s defensive line performed well during the preliminary stage but the midfield and attacking lines showed poor performance.

Iran sit the bottom of the table with just two points.

Uzbekistan and Korea Republic advanced to the knockout stage with seven and four points, respectively. Lebanon came third with three points.

The results in the tournament discredited Iran football as one of the heavyweight football teams in Asia.

Iran will have to participate in the 2028 Olympic Games qualification but it seems there is a difficult task ahead of the team in the tournament.

The football federation of Iran must change its strategy and find a great coach for the team to win a place in the Olympics for more than several decades.