Iran is at risk of losing its goalkeeper before ASIAD 19
Rezaei was present at Imam Khomeini Airport in the capital Tehran this morning, September 16, with the whole team, but was not allowed to leave the country. According to Iranian newspaper Khabarvarzeshi, Rezaei must go to the military service management agency tomorrow, September 17, to resolve the problem. If all goes well, he will be able to travel to China the same evening but it could take longer.
Iran currently has two goalkeepers: Hossein Hosseini and Sina Saeidifar. Hosseini, 31 years old, is one of two overage players along with 30-year-old striker Amir Arsalan Motahari. Hosseini replaced the injured Alireza Beiranvand in the opening match of the 2022 World Cup, which Iran lost 2-6. After that, he continued the match Iran lost 0-2 to Wales.
Iran also lost another pillar, Ali Pourdara - a midfielder born in 2001. The parent club Al-Kuwait did not release the player because ASIAD 19 was outside the FIFA Days schedule.
In the 2024 Asian U23 qualifiers, Iran won 3-0 in Hong Kong, 4-0 in Afghanistan, but lost 0-1 to Uzbekistan, causing them to be eliminated. Among the second-place teams, Iran has the same three points, +3 difference with Malaysia but lost the fair-play point due to receiving nine yellow cards compared to their opponent's four. That failure caused coach Reza Enayati to retain only eight players, calling for four new players from the 2001 group, eight players born in 1999 and 2000 to attend ASIAD 19. Iran aims to advance deeply at ASIAD 19.
Iran will play the Group B opening match against Saudi Arabia on September 19, then face Vietnam two days later. At ASIAD, Iran won 1-0 against Vietnam in the group stage in 2010, but lost 1-4 in the next round. Vietnam Olympic under the guidance of coach Toshiya Miura played good counter-attack defense and scored four goals thanks to Vo Huy Toan, Mac Hong Quan, Tran Phi Son and Ngo Hoang Thinh.
Iran has won ASIAD gold medals four times in 1974, 1990, 1998 and 2002. Their achievement is only one less than South Korea's crowning success. The last time Iran reached the semi-finals was in 2010 before losing to Japan 1-2, then losing to South Korea 3-4 in the bronze medal match.
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).
