Iran topped Group I after defeating the United Arab Emirates, Guam and Hong Kong, scoring 13 goals and conceding just two to book its fifth appearance in the continental showcase.
Aside from its winning qualifying campaign, Iran also has Kasra Taheri, the Qualifiers’ top scorer with five goals. The 19-year-old striker, who plays for Peykan in the Iran Pro League, claimed a hat-trick in its 6-0 defeat of Guam after coming on in the second half and grabbed a brace in their 4-0 win over Hong Kong, the-afc.com reported.
The team also has other capable scorers in the form of Esteghlal FC’s Ammir Mohammad Razaghinia, who put in a commanding performance in midfield, and team captain Mohammad Javad Hosseinnezhad, who plays for Russia’s Dynamo Makhachkala.
Head coach Omid Ravankhah would want his side to emulate the success of Iran’s senior team, who has shone on the continental and world stages, including consistently qualifying for the FIFA World Cup.
In contrast, the U-23 squad made it as far as the AFC U-23 Asian Cup quarter-finals in 2016, where it lost 3-0 to Japan. Its participation in 2013, 2020 and 2022 concluded at the group stage, and it failed to qualify in 2018 and 2024.
Iran will have to hit the ground running at Saudi Arabia 2026, first meeting 2020 champion Korea Republic followed by 2018 winner Uzbekistan and finishing against debutant Lebanon.