TEHRAN - The 2023 CAFA Nations Cup was a good tournament for the Iran national team, according to Mohsen Bayatinia, an Iranian expert, who believes that the current situation should be taken into account.

Iran emerged victorious in the first-ever CAFA Nations Cup, winning the tournament's trophy after defeating Uzbekistan 1-0 in the final match.

“The national team's technical staff used the occasion to gather the players and gain a better understanding of them,” said Bayatinia in his interview with the Tehran Times.

“The condition of our football and the priorities of the national team should be taken into account. When I say ‘condition’, I'm asking was there a tournament that would be a better fit for us to participate in? Amir Ghalenoei, head coach of the national team, needed to have his players in a training camp. While Iran's opponents were playing friendly matches, we couldn't reject the tournament and wait for a better one than CAFA,” said the former Iranian football player and current coach.

Some Iranian media and fans questioned Ghalenoei's decision to use all of Team Melli's top players in the CAFA Nations Cup. However, Bayatinia backed him up in this regard.

“It was the first tournament that the new head coach of the national team had all his players available. It was a tournament that the technical staff could field the top players and the young players were also used in the CAFA tournament.

“The coach had no choice but to play the star players in the tournament made them more coordinated,” concluded Bayatinia.