Iran's national football team, Team Melli, will play its third friendly international in Turkey next Tuesday, October 6, the final day of the current FIFA international window. The squad returned to Tehran from Kazan, Russia, today and is set to depart for Turkey on Saturday.
The Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) is in talks with its Turkish counterpart to confirm the match venue, but the opponent has yet to be announced. The fixture was originally intended to be a meeting with Venezuela in Qatar, but that plan collapsed after Venezuela secured a different opponent.
Head coach Amir Ghalenoei, who faces mounting pressure from both the public and the media to step down, will field the same squad that has endured two straight defeats—a 3-1 loss to Uzbekistan and a 2-0 defeat to Russia. Team Melli has now gone five matches without a win, a drought that has intensified scrutiny of the coaching staff and the federation's preparations.
With the match just days away and no opponent confirmed, questions remain over whether the friendly will go ahead as planned—and whether it can offer Iran any real opportunity to reverse its fortunes before the window closes.
LATE ADDITION:
The name of the opponent of Team Melli's last match in the FIFA Day is Guinea-Bissau [according to Tehran Times.
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Guinea-Bissau's Recent Form: Guinea-Bissau is coming off a strong 3–0 victory over Nigeria in their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification group match.