TEHRAN (Iran News) Mohammad Javad Hosseinnezhad of Iran is one of two players in the Iran squad who plays his club football abroad.

Hosseinnezhad has been pivotal for Dynamo Makhachkala in the Russian Premier League and also contributed two goals for Iran in the Qualifiers.

The Young Team Melli will open its campaign on January 7 with a high-profile match against South Korea.

Omid Ravankhah’s team will also play Uzbekistan and South Korea on January 10 and 13, respectively.

The 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from January 6 to 24.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) In a Group G decider, Malaysia will have to produce the extraordinary if it is to stop Iran.

The 13-time champion hit a total of 22 unanswered goals in its earlier matches against Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates and the Malaysian defense can expect to be thoroughly tested.

The host, however, is within touching distance of the Finals and will be motivated to perform.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) The 12 teams were drawn into three groups during a glittering ceremony at the Sydney Town Hall with the continental showpiece to run from March 1 to 21, 2026.

Hosts Australia, seeking to lift the coveted trophy for a second time, were drawn in Group A alongside Korea Republic, Iran and the Philippines.

Three-time winners DPR Korea will face defending champions China, debutants Bangladesh and Uzbekistan in Group B.

Japan, aiming for a third title, are the top seeded team in Group C with Vietnam, India and Chinese Taipei their challengers.”AFC ”

The top two teams from each group and the two best third-placed sides will advance to the quarter-finals. The four semi-finalists will book their tickets to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027, while the losing sides from the quarter-finals will advance to the playoffs, where two more spots at the global showpiece will be at stake.

Draw Result

Group A: Australia, Korea Republic, Iran, Philippines
Group B: DPR Korea, China, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan
Group C: Japan, Vietnam, India, Chinese Taipei

Hosts Australia, seeking to lift the coveted trophy for a second time, were drawn in Group A alongside Korea Republic, Iran and the Philippines.

Three-time winners DPR Korea will face defending champions China, debutants Bangladesh and Uzbekistan in Group B.” Women’s Asian Cup”

Japan, aiming for a third title, are the top seeded team in Group C with Vietnam, India and Chinese Taipei their challengers.” Australia 2026″

The top two teams from each group and the two best third-placed sides will advance to the quarter-finals. The four semi-finalists will book their tickets to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027, while the losing sides from the quarter-finals will advance to the playoffs, where two more spots at the global showpiece will be at stake.

Draw Result

Group A: Australia, Korea Republic, Iran, Philippines
Group B: DPR Korea, China, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan
Group C: Japan, Vietnam, India, Chinese Taipei

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TEHRAN (Iran News) It will be a first meeting for the two sides with Iran’s Tractor enjoying good form while Al Taawoun is stuck in mid-table in the Saudi Pro League.

Tractor, top of the Iran Pro League, will count on its fans to push them the extra mile as the team seeks a healthy advantage from the first leg.

It will, however, need to be tight at the back after having to work harder than expected in its 5-4 aggregate win against Bahrain’s Al Khaldiya in the Round of 16.

Al Taawoun had to work even harder to secure its spot, with its Round of 16 tie against Al Wakhrah of Qatar ending 4-4 on aggregate, with the Saudi Arabian side winning the shootout 4-3.

Al Taawoun will draw confidence from its unbeaten away record in the competition this season, having won three and drawn once.

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Philippines took the lead in the 19th minute when Alicia Barker was put through on the right and her cutback found Sofia Harrison, who saw her shot parried by Zahra Kajavi but Tahnai Annis was on hand to tuck home the rebound.

The Southeast Asian side were in control for much of the first half but just before the half-time break, Iran had a chance to equalizer but Zahra Ghanbari’s attempt in added time was pushed away by Olivia McDaniel.

Iran looked the better side after the break with the dangerous Ghanbari dominating midfield and even struck the crossbar in the 50th minute, forcing Mark Torcaso to make four changes in the 56th minute – including bringing on Jessica Miclat for goalscorer Annis.

The quadruple substitutions took the sting out of Iran’s momentum with the game becoming a more balanced affair for the remainder of the match as Philippines hung on for their second win.

Maryam Azmoun’s girls lost to hosts Australia 2-0 in their first match and were held to a goalless draw by Chinese Taipei.

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Porto forward Mehdi Taremi has been nominated for the AFC Asian International Player of the Year.

Kaoru Mitoma (Royale Union Saint Gilloise/Brighton & Hove Albion and JPN) and Kim Min-jae (Fenerbahce/SSC Napoli and KOR) are the other candidates.

Iran’s Amin Hazbavi has been nominated for the AFC Youth Player of the Year (Men’s) as well as Kuryu Matsuki (Aomori Yamada High School/FC Tokyo and JPN) and Lee Seung-won (Gangwon FC and KOR).

Iranian players Moslem Oladghobad and Saeid Ahmad Abbasi will vie with Guilherme Kuromoto (JPN) for the AFC Futsal Player of the Year accolade.

Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran is a candidate for the AFC President Recognition Awards for Grassroots Football (Bronze) accolade. Football Association of Brunei Darussalam, All India Football Federation and Syrian Football Association have been also nominated for the honor.

Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran is also a nominee for the AFC Member Association of the Year (Platinum) award as well as Japan and Uzbekistan Football Associations.

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Mohammad Ghorbani opened the scoring for Iran in the 30th minute and Hossein Gudarzi made it 2-0 seven minutes later.

Allahyar Sayyadmanesh scored Iran’s third goal before the hour mark and Mohammadjavad Hosseinnejhad scored the fourth goal in the 75th minute.

Iran had started the campaign with a 3-0 win over Hong Kong on Wednesday.

Iran will play Uzbekistan on Sept. 12.

All the group winners, together with the four best second-placed teams overall, will form the final cast of 16 alongside automatically-qualified hosts Qatar at the sixth edition of the competition, set to be played between April 15 to May 3, 2024.

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The win gives three-time winners Iran a head start in the race to advance to the quarterfinals while Qatar have it all to do after the defeat.

Iran were awarded a penalty in the 63rd minute when Farhad Zavoshi was brought down by Mohammed Mansour inside the six-yard-box with Hazbavi sending Katoul the wrong way.

Earlier in the day, Vietnam defeated Austrlai 1-0 in the group.

Iran will face Australia next on Saturday, while Qatar will have to defeat Vietnam to keep their hopes alive.

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