TEHRAN – Iran national football team have what it takes to defeat defending champions Qatar when the sides meet in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup semifinals on Wednesday but the team face selection dilemma ahead of Qatar.

So far the competition, Team Melli have been very inconsistent and it could be dangerous in the vital match against Qatar, where the Persians have an opportunity to advance to the final after 48 years.

Iran overpowered minnow Palestine 4-1 but earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over underdog Hong Kong in Group C.

Amir Ghalenoei’s side also showed a powerful performance against the UAE in the group stage, beating the team 2-1 but were forced to beat Syria in the penalty shootout in the knockout stage. Iran, once again, came back to the math when they came from a goal down to beat Japan 2-1 in quarterfinals in a splendid way.

Now, they will have to play against hosts and holders Qatar at the Al Thumama Stadium in Doha on Wednesday and the Team, in my opinion, have what it takes to defeat their Persian Gulf’s neighbor.

In the match against Qatar, Ghalenoei faces a problem, fielding Mohammad Mohebbi and Milad Mohammadi as replacement for Mehdi Taremi and Ehsan Hajisafi, respectively.

In the match against Japan, he was forced to change the line-up and it was one of the reasons Iran won the match. Mohebbi and Mohammadi did well and the tactic worked. Now, he has to choose the best line-up for the match against Qatar but I believe that Ghalenoei faces a selection dilemma ahead of the match because he will probably choose Taremi and Hajisafi in the main roster.