TEHRAN – Iran national football team head coach Amir Ghalenoei is going to field experienced and younger players against Hong Kong.

Team Melli are to face Hong Kong on Thursday in Group E of the 2026 World Cup qualifier at the Hong Kong Stadium.

“First of all, I have to say Jorn Andersen helped Hong Kong improve and his efforts are commendable. We edged past Hong Kong in our last match despite creating several goalscoring chances. On Thursday, we will lock horn for third time in seven months,” Ghalenoei said in the pre-match news conference.

“We have already advanced to the next round but the match is very important for us and that’s why we have traveled to Hong Kong with our complete team.

“We are going to field our experienced and younger players in the match against Hong Kong and want to win the match. Hong Kong football has improved in recent years in my opinion. In our last match held in Doha in 2022 AFC Asian Cup, Hong Kong were very disciplined and made conditions difficult for us,” Ghalenoei stated.