Iran ready for 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup: Jafari

Iran have been drawn in Group A alongside Australia, South Korea, and the Philippines. The team will begin their campaign on March 5 against the hosts, Australia, Vatan News reported. 

“I have been with the national team since May. Under very difficult circumstances, including the 12-day war, we traveled to the qualification tournament and ultimately secured a place in the Asian Cup. After that, we played several friendly matches. We won a tournament in India and then faced Uzbekistan in additional friendlies. Although we did not have a full squad available for those matches, we delivered strong performances,” Jafari said.

“When I was offered the role of head coach, few people expected me to take charge because we had very limited time to prepare. I carefully considered whether I could help under those conditions. No one expected this team to qualify for the 2026 Asian Cup. We cannot expect miracles from the national team. The team need a long-term program, and discussions have been held to implement such a plan in the future,” she added.

Iran captain Zahra Ghanbari also acknowledged the challenge ahead.

“We cannot set qualification as an expectation for this team. We face a difficult task and are grouped with strong opponents. We will try to achieve the best possible results in Australia,” she said.

“The national team is a mix of experienced and young players. We will support these young talents so that we can achieve better results in the future,” Ghanbari concluded.

MNA