Amir Ghalenoei is wasting no time in his quest to prepare Team Melli for the two upcoming friendlies on FIFA Day.

The newly appointed Team Melli head coach will announce the list of 23 to 26 players after the conclusion of the match between Golgohar and Foolad Kusestan in the Hazfi Cup. on March 17th. The training camp will commence on 19th March as the players will start arriving at the National Teams Training center in Tehran. Despite the prior announcement that the coaching team has already been selected, the assistants to  Amir Ghalenoei in the Iranian national team has not yet been determined, and considering that Mehdi Taj is away from the country, attending the FIFA Congress, Ghalenoei had meetings with the executive officials of the national team today to prepare for the camp. Mehdi Taj announced yesterday that the names of Ghalenoei’s assistants have not yet been determined, but a foreign coach will be part of the coaching staff alongside national coaches.

On the other hand, an ongoing poll by ISNA on the question of whether Ghalenoei is the right choice for Team Melli had a 50-50 split.

Iran will play Russia and then Iraq on the first FIFA Day of the year