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According to Al Kass, the 30-year-old will leave Qatari club Al-Sailiya at the end of the season.

Ansarifard was a member of the Persepolis football team in 2012-13 before joining Tractor.

He has also played in Spanish football team Osasuna and Panionios and Olympiacos of Greece.

According to Qatari media reports, Ansarifard is on the verge of returning to Persepolis.

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Iran will take on the Vietnamese team at the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the UAE on Saturday.

“Every match is like a final for us. We won Yemen 5-0 in our first final and now we concentrate on our second final against Vietnam,” Ansarifard said.

“There will be no easy games for Iran since the teams have progressed a lot. Turkmenistan made life difficult for Japan on Wednesday. We are here to do our best and I believe that Vietnam and Iraq are strong teams and we will not underestimate them,” the Nottingham Forest striker added.

Ansarifard, who scored an equalizer against Portugal in the 2018 World Cup, came off the bench as a substitute in the second half.

“We don’t care who scores and who becomes the top scorer, what is the most important is that we keep progressing in the tournament. The Iranian fans are always supporting us and it brings positive energy in the competition,” Ansarifard added.

Iran sit top of the table after beating Yemen in their opener on Monday.

Iraq are second thanks to a 3-2 late win over Vietnam.

Team Melli last won the Cup in 1976 and the Persians are looking forward to end their 43-year trophy drought in the UAE.

The 2019 AFC Asian Cup is being held in the UAE from Jan. 5 to Feb. 1.

Reporting by Masoud Hossein

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Ansarifard has relished the two appearances he has made at the City Ground so far, including on his debut for the club, against Sheffield United last month.

And he is determined to help give the crowd something to cheer about this season as a promotion push continues to gather pace for Aitor Karanka’s men.

“The fans are happy with how we are playing and they want to get behind us and see us promoted,” Ansarifard told nottinghampost.com.

“They are going to help us and we need them to support us, whether we are 1-0 up or 1-0 down. We need the support from them and believe me, all players will give 100 percent to make them happy and achieve our goals,” he said.

After having his Olympiacos contract cancelled in August, Ansarifard had to wait for work permit approval before he could complete his move to the Reds last month.

He has featured four times for the club so far, all of them from off the bench, with his first game coming in the final minutes of the 1-0 win over the Blades.

“It was very good for me. We have great fans here, they support us for the whole game and they are really behind us,” the forward said of his debut.

“The people here are passionate and it makes us want to play better to give our best for them. Football is here because of the fans and we have to play our best to make them happy and to make them excited, that is the most important thing,” Ansarifard added.

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The former Olympiacos player is yet to get a proper taste of the action with Nottingham Forest – but Karanka believes he is mentally and physically prepared.

Ansarifard made his second appearance for his new club, coming off the bench in the 2-0 win at Hull as an 86th minute substitute, as a replacement for Lewis Grabban.

The 28-year-old was again away playing for his country during the last break, playing 77 minutes and scoring the only goal against Trinidad and getting 25 minutes of action as a sub, in a 1-1 draw with Venezuela – which was played in Qatar.

But Reds boss believes the chance to get some minutes under his belt with his country will have done Ansarifard good, as he looks to find his feet in the Championship.

“Qatar is a nice place to be at this time of year, surely, when you look at the weather here?” said Karanka. “No, I think he is fine.

“When you have not been playing with your club and you go away with your national team, score a goal in your first game and then come back here, you will be more motivated than anyone.

“He will be motivated and I will need to choose between him and Daryl for a place in the squad,” Karanka told Nottinghamshire Live.

Karanka would have liked the chance to work more with Ansarifard during the international break at the Nigel Doughty Academy – but believes that was balanced out by the time he got on the pitch with Iran.

“Karim is very good. It is a shame for me that he could not work with us, but it is good for him to be with his national team,” said Karanka.

“When he arrived I said he is a player who is going to help us a lot, because of his experience. He has scored a goal for Iran in one of the games, which will give him more confidence.

“That is good, because when we played against Sheffield United, the attitude he had in the final few minutes was amazing. He has settled in well and, when he is confident, he will score goals and he will help us a lot,” he concluded.

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Nottingham Forest have boosted their promotion push with the signing of Iran international Karim Ansarifard.

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Iran will enter the Asian Cup with high expectations, boasting what is arguably their strongest roster in the recent years.

Iran have been drawn in Group D along with Yemen, Iraq and Vietnam.

The Asian Cup three-time champions had good performances in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Iran picked up four points in their three games in Russia, including the country’s second-ever World Cup win with a 1-0 victory over Morocco, to narrowly miss out on a place in the last 16, despite being in the same group as Spain and Portugal.

“We achieved the best results in our history at the 2018 World Cup. We could have qualified for the next stage with a little bit of luck,” Ansarifard said.

“Now, the 2018 World Cup is finished and we are determined to get the best result in the competition. We are facing high expectations because Team Melli are the Asian first team in FIFA rankings and we must meet the fans’ expectations,” he added.

“Beyond that, under leadership of a great coach like Carlos Queiroz, I think it’s available to win the AFC Asian Cup title,” Ansarifard stated.

The 28-year-old striker has recently joined English Championship side Nottingham Forest from Olympiacos.  Ansarifard is optimistic about his future in the team.

“I know that I have a difficult task ahead since Nottingham Forest are among the best teams in Championship but I will do my best and I’m happy and I hope to help the team to achieve our goals. I think so many football players dream of playing in England,” Ansarifard said.

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