The race to qualify for the AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Qatar 2024 will reach its finishing line on Tuesday. The 11 group winners and four best second-placed sides will join Qatar in the April 15-May 3, 2024 Finals.
Uzbekistan holds the edge, thanks to their superior goal tally but Iran will be up for the challenge.
That sets the stage for a thriller, with both 2018 champions Uzbekistan and Iran having impressed with their attacking football.
The match will be a serious challenge for head coach Reza Enyati who has still to convince the critics of his value for the teams. Despite some good individual players like Salmani, Sayyadmanish, Hezbavi , Hosseinnejad, and Touranian , to name a few, the overall teamwork has not been as expected. As usual, discipline is an issue too.
Failure to win the match will put Iran U23 in a difficult situation to qualify as the rest of the 11 groups have several teams with at least 6 points. However, the handsome goal difference could very well help Iran U23 to qualify as second in case of defeat.
Group E
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UZBEKISTAN | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 6 | |
| 2 | IR IRAN | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 6 | |
| 3 | AFGHANISTAN | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 12 | -11 | 0 | |
| 4 | HONG KONG, CHINA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | -13 | 0 |