TEHRAN – Iran claimed the title of the 2022 CAFA U16 Championship on Friday.

The five-nation competition was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan in an eight-day round-robin tournament.

The competition also served as crucial preparation for October’s AFC U17 Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers.

Iran and Uzbekistan earned 10 points from four matches but Hossein Abdi’s boys won the title thanks to a superior goal difference.

Iran and Uzbekistan shared a spoil in a 2-2 draw in the opening match.

Iran earned three successive win over Afghanistan (1-0), Kyrgyzstan (2-0) and Tajikistan (7-0) and won the title.

Iran’s Reza Ghandipour was also named the campaign’s MVP.