Iran's Olympic team went to China to attend the 19th ASIAD without goalkeeper Alireza Rezaei due to paperwork problems.
Rezaei arrived at Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran this morning, September 16, with the entire team, but was not allowed to leave the country. According to the Iranian newspaper Khabarvarzesh i, Rezaei must go to the military service management agency tomorrow, September 17, to resolve the issue. If everything goes smoothly, he will be able to travel to China that evening, but it could take longer.
Iran Olympic goalkeeper Alireza Rezaei. Photo: Khabarvarzeshi
Iran currently has two goalkeepers, Hossein Hosseini and Sina Saeidifar. Hosseini, 31, is one of two overage players along with 30-year-old striker Amir Arsalan Motahari. Hosseini replaced the injured Alireza Beiranvand in Iran's opening match of the 2022 World Cup, which Iran lost 2-6. He then played in Iran's 0-2 loss to Wales.
Iran also lost another key player, Ali Pourdara - a midfielder born in 2001. The home club Al-Kuwait did not release him because ASIAD 19 was not scheduled for FIFA Days.
In the 2024 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, Iran beat Hong Kong 3-0 and Afghanistan 4-0, but their 0-1 loss to Uzbekistan eliminated them. Among the runners-up, Iran had the same three points and a goal difference of +3 as Malaysia, but lost fair-play points due to receiving nine yellow cards compared to their opponents' four. That defeat forced coach Reza Enayati to retain only eight players, calling up four new players from the 2001 generation, and eight players born in 1999 and 2000 to attend the 19th Asian Games. Iran aims to go deep in the 19th Asian Games.
Iran U23 was unfortunately eliminated from the 2024 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers when they lost to Malaysia in the fair-play index. Photo: Khabarvarzeshi
Iran will play their opening match of Group B against Saudi Arabia on September 19, then face Vietnam two days later. At the ASIAD, Iran beat Vietnam 1-0 in the group stage in 2010, but lost 1-4 in the next tournament. Vietnam Olympic team under coach Toshiya Miura played good defensive counter-attacks and scored four goals thanks to Vo Huy Toan, Mac Hong Quan, Tran Phi Son and Ngo Hoang Thinh.
Iran has won four gold medals at the Asian Games in 1974, 1990, 1998 and 2002. Their record is only one less than South Korea's. Iran last reached the semi-finals in 2010 before losing 1-2 to Japan, then losing 3-4 to South Korea in the bronze medal match.
Iran Olympic roster
Goalkeepers (3): Hossein Hosseini, Alireza Rezaei (Esteghlah), Sina Saeidifar (Shams Azar)
Defenders (8): Sarman Touranian (Esteghlah), Hossein Goudarzi (Shams Azar), Sarman Fallah, Amir Jafari (Gol Gohar), Amin Hazbavi (Al Sadd), Sina Shahabbasi (Foolad), Majid Nasiri (Mes Rafsanjan), Mohammad Reza Bordbar (Malavan)
Midfielders (9): Mohammad Hossein Eslami (Zob Ahan), Omid Hamedifar (Esteghlal), Mohammad Khodabandelou, Mehdi Mamizadeh (Gol Gohar), Mohammad Omri, Yasin Salmani (Persepolis), Gholamreza Sabet Imani (Paykan), Fardin Yousefi (Zob Ahan), Mohammad Reza Ghobeishavi (Foolad)
Strikers (2): Amir Arsalan Motahari (Esteghlal), Aria Barzegar (Nassaji).
Hieu Luong
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