TEHRAN – Iran national football team head coach Amir Ghalenoei says that they need concentration to get a good result against Uzbekistan.

Team Melli are scheduled to meet Uzbekistan at the Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent in Group A of the 2026 World Cup qualifier on Thursday.

Iran and Uzbekistan are on six points, with the latter having defeated DPR Korea and Kyrgyzstan in their opening two matches while the Persians were victorious against Kyrgyzstan and the United Arab Emirates in Group A.

“We know that how strong Uzbekistan are and we will have a difficult task ahead but we are also Iran and must concentrate on our performance,” Ghalenoei said in the pre-match news conference.

“In our last two encounters, we missed our chances easily and the match ended in draw but in this match we must capitalize on our opportunities.

“In my opinion, the winners are the team that are more disciplined and concentrated because it will be a very close match and there will not be many goalscoring chances,” he added.

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced that the World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Qatar, originally scheduled to take place at the Emam Reza Stadium in Mashhad, will be held in a neutral country but Team Melli coach believes that the decision is unfair.

“We are one of the safest countries in the world and I believe an unfair decision has been made but at the moment we want to concentrate on Uzbekistan match,” Ghalenoei concluded.