TEHRAN - Iranian football expert and head coach of U14 national football team, Asghar Maziar, shared his view about the failure of Iran U20 to book their place at the 2023 FIFA U20 World Cup Indonesia.

Iran failed to qualify for the 2023 AFC U20 Asian Cup semifinals after suffering a 1-0 loss against Iraq.

“Iran U20 team had the potential to qualify for the World Cup,” said Maziar in his exclusive interview with the Tehran Times.” We could have defeated Iraq if we had used some better strategies in the decisive game against them”.

However, Maziar supported the technical staff of the team.

“Considering the short time that the technical staff took charge of the team and the number of friendly games and preparation camps, I think they have done an acceptable job with the U20 team,” he added.

“Of course, I believe that Iran could have won the game against Iraq with some better tactical and individual decisions, but overall, the coaching staff of the team can earn passing grades because of their performance on the team.

“We should not forget that due to political sanctions against Iran, the country’s football federation cannot provide any friendly game requested by the national teams head coach in all categories, from youth team to the senior one,” added the head coach of U14 Iran football team.

When asked about the plans that the Iranian football federation should have for the U20 team, Maziar answered, “Football youth teams need stability in their coaching staff. In these teams, the development of the players should be more important than the results. The football community must be more patient regarding such teams and let their players and coaching staff work on long-term projects to make a new generation in the country’s football. This happens in developed countries and we should follow their paths.

“The support of the U20 team and their participation in various international tournaments should continue so that the talented players of this team can help Iran’s national teams in higher age groups, such as U23 and senior national team,” concluded Maziar.