Iran national under-23 football team
| Nickname(s) | Team Omid ("Team Hope") | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | FFIRI | ||
| Confederation | AFC (Asia) | ||
| Head coach | Mohammad Khakpour | ||
| Captain | Rouzbeh Cheshmi | ||
| Home stadium | Azadi Stadium | ||
| FIFA code | IRN | ||
| 
 | |||
| First international | |||
| .svg.png) Iran 2–1  Kuwait (Kuwait City, Kuwait; December 3, 1977)[1] | |||
| Biggest win | |||
|  Iran 10–0 Afghanistan U23   (Busan, South Korea; September 28, 2002) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
|  Iran 2–6 Japan U23   (Tehran, Iran; February 9, 2001) | |||
| AFC U-22 Championship | |||
| Appearances | 2 (First in 2013) | ||
| Best result | Quarter-finals: 2016 | ||
| Asian Games | |||
| Appearances | 4 (First in 2002) | ||
| Best result | Champions: 2002 | ||
Iran national under-23 football team, also known as Iran U-23 or Iran Olympic Team; represents Iran in international football competitions in Olympic Games, Asian Games and AFC U-22 Asian Cup, as well as any other under-23 international football tournaments. It is controlled by the Iran Football Federation.
History
The winner of the gold medal at the 2002 Asian Games, the team was prepared to defend its championship title at the football tournament of the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. Despite a suspension by FIFA, preventing Iran to enter any international football competition,[2] the Iran under-23 team was given special permission to participate in the Asian Games,[3] where they won the bronze medal.
Tournament records
Olympic Games
| Olympic Games record | Olympic Games qualifications | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosts/year | Result | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA | Squad | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA | |
|  1992 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 6 | |
|  1996 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | |
|  2000 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
|  2004 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 9 | |
|  2008 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | |
|  2012 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |
|  2016 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 9 | |
|  2020 | To be determined | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Total | 0/8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 40 | 18 | 7 | 15 | 81 | 46 | |
- Prior to the 1992 Olympic Games campaign, the senior national team played in qualification.
AFC U-23 Championship
| AFC U-23 Championship record | AFC U-23 qualification | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosts/Year | Result | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA | Squad | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA | |
|  2013 | Group stage | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | Squad | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 | |
|  2016 | Quarter-finals | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | Squad | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 2 | |
| Total | 2/2 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 12 | - | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 4 | |
Asian Games
| Asian Games record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | PLD | W | D | L | GS | GA | 
|  Busan 2002 | Champions | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 
|  Doha 2006 | Third place | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 
|  Guangzhou 2010 | Fourth place | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 8 | 
|  Incheon 2014 | Group Stage | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 
| Total | 4/4 | 21 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 42 | 21 | 
- Prior to 2002 Asian Games, the senior national team participated in the tournament.
Wild card players
 Busan 2002 Busan 2002- Ali Daei (33)
- Ebrahim Mirzapour (24)
- Yahya Golmohammadi (31)
 
 Doha 2006 Doha 2006- Hassan Roudbarian (28)
- Arash Borhani (24)
- Jalal Hosseini (24)
 
 Guangzhou 2010 Guangzhou 2010- Mehdi Rahmati (27)
- Gholamreza Rezaei (26)
- Jalal Hosseini (28)
 
- Prior to 2002 Asian Games, the senior national team participated in the tournament.
WAFF U-23 Championship
| Hosts/Year | Result | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  2015 | Champions | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 
| Total | 1/1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 
Results and fixtures
Win Draw Loss
Previous matches
| Date | Competition | Venue | Opponent | Result | Iranian scorers | Report | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | ||||||
| 12 January 2016 | 2016 AFC U-23 Championship | Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha |  Syria | 2–0 (W) | Motahari  64', Mi. Mohammadi  72' | Report | 
| 15 January 2016 | 2016 AFC U-23 Championship | Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha |  Qatar | 1–2 (L) | Karimi  90+1' | Report | 
| 18 January 2016 | 2016 AFC U-23 Championship | Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha |  China PR | 3–2 (W) | Motahari  38', Pahlavan  40', Torabi  48' | Report | 
| 22 January 2016 | 2016 AFC U-23 Championship | Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha |  Japan | 0–3 (a.e.t.) (L) | Report | |
Forthcoming matches
| Date | Competition | Venue | Opponent | 
|---|---|---|---|
Coaching staff
| Position | Name | 
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Mohammad Khakpour | 
| Assistant coach |  Hadi Tabatabaei | 
| Goalkeeping coach |  Saeid Azizian | 
| Fitness coach |  Ken Stead | 
| Analyzer |  Mohammad Asghari | 
| Doctor |  Mehdi Abarashi | 
| Technical director |  Mohammad Mayeli Kohan | 
| Technical adviser |  Mojtaba Taghavi | 
| Team manager |  Habib Kashani | 
| Executive director |  Mohammad Rasaei  Hossein Okhovat | 
Players
Current squad
The following players have been called up for 2016 AFC U-23 Championship.[4][5]
Match date: TBA 
Opposition: TBA 
Caps and goals correct as of: 22 January 2016
| # | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Mohammadreza Akhbari | 15 February 1993 | 13 | 1 |  Tractor Sazi | ||
| 12 | GK | Ali Mohsenzadeh | 13 February 1993 | 1 | 0 |  Persepolis | ||
| 22 | GK | Amir Abedzadeh | 26 April 1993 | 3 | 0 | Unattached | ||
| 2 | DF | Mohammad Daneshgar | 20 January 1994 | 11 | 2 |  Naft Tehran | ||
| 3 | DF | Vahid Heydarieh | 2 January 1993 | 13 | 3 |  Persepolis | ||
| 4 | DF | Rouzbeh Cheshmi | 24 June 1993 | 16 | 2 |  Esteghlal | ||
| 5 | DF | Hossein Kanaani | 23 March 1994 | 5 | 1 |  Malavan | ||
| 13 | DF | Ali Abdollahzadeh | 4 January 1993 | 70 | 1 |  Sanat Naft | ||
| 15 | DF | Mohammad Hossein Moradmand | 22 June 1993 | 5 | 2 |  Padideh | ||
| 18 | DF | Saeb Mohebi | 28 August 1993 | 4 | 0 |  Zob Ahan | ||
| 21 | DF | Reza Aliari | 15 March 1994 | 5 | 0 |  Naft Tehran | ||
| 6 | MF | Mahan Rahmani | 15 June 1996 | 7 | 0 |  Saipa | ||
| 7 | MF | Ali Karimi | 11 February 1994 | 18 | 5 |  Sepahan | ||
| 8 | MF | Farshid Esmaeili | 21 February 1994 | 8 | 0 |  Esteghlal | ||
| 9 | MF | Mohsen Karimi | 20 September 1994 | 3 | 0 |  Esteghlal | ||
| 11 | MF | Milad Mohammadi | 29 September 1993 | 15 | 3 |  Terek Grozny | ||
| 14 | MF | Milad Kamandani | 7 July 1994 | 13 | 1 |  Persepolis | ||
| 16 | MF | Alireza Naghizadeh | 4 March 1993 | 11 | 5 |  Siah Jamegan | ||
| 17 | MF | Mehdi Torabi | 10 September 1994 | 6 | 1 |  Saipa | ||
| 19 | MF | Ehsan Pahlavan | 25 July 1993 | 20 | 3 |  Zob Ahan | ||
| 20 | MF | Shahin Saghebi | 25 August 1993 | 13 | 1 |  Tractor Sazi | ||
| 10 | FW | Amir Arsalan Motahari | 10 March 1993 | 21 | 14 |  Naft Tehran | ||
| 23 | FW | Mehrdad Mohammadi | 29 September 1993 | 7 | 3 |  Rah Ahan | ||
Recent call-ups
The following players were called up in the last 12 months.
| # | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | ||||||||
| GK | Goudarz Davoudi | 7 April 1993 | 0 | 0 |  Esteghlal Khuzestan | |||
| GK | Aria Hashemi | 3 April 1993 | 0 | 0 |  VV Rood Wit | |||
| GK | Payam Niazmand | 6 April 1995 | 0 | 0 |  Paykan | |||
| GK | Hojjat Sedghi | 7 February 1993 | 2 | 0 |  Paykan | |||
| Defenders | ||||||||
| DF | Mohammad Roshandel | 2 July 1995 | 0 | 0 |  Sepahan | |||
| DF | Jalal Abdi | 26 December 1993 | 4 | 0 |  Esteghlal Khuzestan | |||
| DF | Hojjat Haghverdi | 3 February 1993 | 0 | 0 |  Zob Ahan | |||
| DF | Iman Salimi | 1 June 1996 | 3 | 0 |  Fajr Sepasi | |||
| DF | Yousef Vakia | 30 September 1993 | 5 | 0 |  Foolad | |||
| DF | Omid Ghorbani | 12 February 1993 | 1 | 0 |  Saba Qom | |||
| DF | Mohammad Ali Faramarzi | 1 January 1994 | 2 | 0 | Unattached | |||
| DF | Majid Hosseini | 20 June 1996 | 2 | 0 |  Rah Ahan | |||
| Midfielders | ||||||||
| MF | Ahmad Nourollahi | 2 February 1993 | 7 | 0 |  Persepolis | |||
| MF | Mehdi Mehdipour | 18 February 1994 | 1 | 1 |  Zob Ahan | |||
| MF | Danial Esmaeilifar | 26 February 1993 | 0 | 0 |  Zob Ahan | |||
| MF | Arash Rezavand | 5 October 1993 | 2 | 1 |  Naft Tehran | |||
| MF | Reza Shekari | 31 May 1998 | 0 | 0 |  Zob Ahan | |||
| MF | Saeid Ezatolahi | 1 October 1996 | 0 | 0 |  Rostov | |||
| MF | Ahmad Abdollahzadeh | 11 January 1993 | 0 | 0 |  Foolad | |||
| MF | Mohammad Ali Mardani | 28 August 1994 | 1 | 0 |  Padideh | |||
| MF | Ehsan Sokhandan | 6 January 1994 | 1 | 0 | Unattached | |||
| MF | Valid Mashaeizadeh | 11 January 1993 | 1 | 0 |  Niroo Zamini | |||
| Forwards | ||||||||
| FW | Hossein Fazeli | 12 June 1993 | 12 | 2 |  Sepahan | |||
| FW | Reza Karmolachaab | 12 July 1997 | 2 | 0 |  Mafra | |||
| FW | Behnam Barzay | 11 February 1993 | 11 | 7 |  Esteghlal | |||
| FW | Mohammad Amin Darvishi | 20 May 1993 | 0 | 0 |  Gostaresh | |||
| FW | Alireza Jahanbakhsh | 11 August 1993 | 6 | 1 |  AZ | |||
| FW | Sardar Azmoun | 1 January 1995 | 4 | 4 |  Rostov | |||
| FW | Mohammadreza Nejat | 21 March 1993 | 1 | 1 |  Nassaji | |||
| FW | Morteza Aghakhan | 5 April 1993 | 1 | 0 |  Paykan | |||
Honours
 Gold Medal (1): 2002 Gold Medal (1): 2002
 Bronze Medal (1): 2006 Bronze Medal (1): 2006
- 4th place (1): 2010
†U-23 teams were favoured by AFC and the IOC since 2002 Asian Games.The Senior team competed in the games before 2002.
 Gold Medal (1): 2015 Gold Medal (1): 2015
Friendly Tournaments
-  Semi-finalists in  1999 Dunhill Cup 1999 Dunhill Cup
- 1st place in  2002 Asian Games 2002 Asian Games
- 1st place in  2006 VTV-T&T Cup (Spring Cup) 2006 VTV-T&T Cup (Spring Cup)
- 3rd place in  2008 Turkmenistan President's Cup 2008 Turkmenistan President's Cup
- 1st place in  2010 Velayat Cup 2010 Velayat Cup
- 2nd place in  2010 Ho Chi Minh City Cup 2010 Ho Chi Minh City Cup
- 1st place in  2013 International Friendship Youth Tournament 2013 International Friendship Youth Tournament
- 1st place in  Antalya Tournament Antalya Tournament
Managers
.svg.png) Heshmat Mohajerani (1977) Heshmat Mohajerani (1977)
 Iraj Soleimani (1980–1982) Iraj Soleimani (1980–1982)
 Mahmoud Yavari (1982–1984) Mahmoud Yavari (1982–1984)
 Iraj Soleimani (1984–1992) Iraj Soleimani (1984–1992)
 Hassan Habibi (1992–1994) Hassan Habibi (1992–1994)
 Enver Hadžiabdić (1994) (temp) Enver Hadžiabdić (1994) (temp)
 Hans-Jürgen Gede (1994–1995) Hans-Jürgen Gede (1994–1995)
 Hassan Habibi (1995) Hassan Habibi (1995)
 Ebrahim Ghasempour (1997–1999) Ebrahim Ghasempour (1997–1999)
 Egon Coordes (1999) Egon Coordes (1999)
 Mehdi Monajati (1999–2002) Mehdi Monajati (1999–2002)
 Branko Ivanković (2002–2003) Branko Ivanković (2002–2003)
 Mohammad Mayeli Kohan (2003–2004) Mohammad Mayeli Kohan (2003–2004)
 Hossein Faraki (2004) (temp) Hossein Faraki (2004) (temp)
 Renê Simões (2005–2006) Renê Simões (2005–2006)
 Vinko Begović (2006–2007) Vinko Begović (2006–2007)
 Nenad Nikolić (2007–2008) Nenad Nikolić (2007–2008)
 Gholam Hossein Peyrovani (2009–2010) Gholam Hossein Peyrovani (2009–2010)
 Human Afazeli (2010–2011) Human Afazeli (2010–2011)
 Ali Reza Mansourian (2011–2014) Ali Reza Mansourian (2011–2014)
 Nelo Vingada (2014) Nelo Vingada (2014)
 Mohammad Khakpour (2014– ) Mohammad Khakpour (2014– )
See also
- Iran national football team
- Iran national under-20 football team
- Iran national under-17 football team
References
- ↑ http://www.varzesh3.com/news/1295157/%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%AA%DB%8C%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AE-(%D8%B9%DA%A9%D8%B3)
- ↑ "FIFA suspends Iran Football Federation". FIFA. Archived from the original on 2007-01-02. Retrieved 2006-11-27.
- ↑ "FIFA President announces temporary lifting of Iran ban". the-AFC.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2007. Retrieved 2006-11-27.
- ↑ http://www.ffiri.ir/news/detail/%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA-%DB%B2%DB%B3-%D9%86%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%87-%D8%AA%DB%8C%D9%85-%D9%85%D9%84%DB%8C-%D9%81%D9%88%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%B4%D8%AF/133965/news.aspx
- ↑ http://www.the-afc.com/afcasfeeds?stageid=385&tMode=C&fixtureid=9798&teamid=482&view=ajax&show=finalregistration
External links
- Official Website of IR Iran Football Federation
- Interview With Iran U-23 Coach Rene Simoes
- http://www.football3.ir
| 
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 
 | ||||||||||
| 
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 
 | ||||||||||||||
| 
 | ||||||||||













