TEHRAN – Shoja Khalilzadeh and Ali Gholizadeh are not fit for the 2023 CAFA Nations Cup.

Iran national football team winger Gholizadeh has undergone surgery for a knee injury and is not ready for the competition.

Iran defender Khalilzadeh has also suffered a muscle tear in his abdomen and will be sidelined for three months.

Team Melli are drawn along with Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan in Group B of the competition.

Group B consists of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Oman.

Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan will host the competition from June 10 to 20.

The teams drawn in group B will play their matches on June 10, 13 and 16 and Group A matches will be held on June 11, 14 and 17.

The final match and the match for the third place will be played on June 20 in Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan.