Team Melli will face host Kyrgyzstan in the final group match of CAFA Nations Cup 2023 today Friday 16th June at 18:30 Iran time.
The winner of this match will go through to the CAFA Nation Cup 2023 final as the leader, while the losing team will play in the ranking match.
Iran leads the group on goal difference with three points and a goal difference of 5 and Kyrgyzstan with three points and a goal difference of 3 as both assured a trip to Uzbekistan for the next stage. The third team, Afghanistan lies at the bottom of the table without any points. If Iran needs only a draw against Kyrgyzstan, to qualify for the Final match which will be against Uzbekistan.
in Group A, Uzbekistan has qualified for the final match by heading the group while one team from among the teams of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Oman will be playing the 3rd playoff match.
Iran and Kyrgyzstan have faced each other three times before today, which resulted in three victories of 6-0 (1995), 3-1, and 7-0 (1976) for Iran.
| H / A / N | Matches | W | D | L | Goals | + / – |
| H | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 – 1 | +8 |
| A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 – 0 | +0 |
| N | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 – 0 | +7 |
| Total | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 – 1 | +15 |
| Date | Comp. | H / A / N | Final score | Stadium | Attendance |
| 07.06.2016 | Friendly | H | 6 – 0 | Azadi Stadium, Tehran | 4500 |
| 09.06.1997 | World Cup Qualifier / Group 2 | H | 3 – 1 | Azadi Stadium, Tehran | 50000 |
| 04.06.1997 | World Cup Qualifier / Group 2 | N | 7 – 0 | Al Abbasyeen Stadium , Damascus | 25000 |
This is Iran’s first participation in CAFA Nations Cup and regardless to the results, it would be a confidence booster for Team Melli preparing for AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023. In the first game, Team Melli defeated Afghanistan 6-1 to head group B table and did not have a hard time against its rival. For the second game, Team Melli will face a team that is ranked 97th in FIFA, and in the last meeting between the two teams in 2015, they won 6-0 against the Kyrgyz Republic. In that meeting, Mehdi Taremi, Mehdi Torabi, Sardar Azmoun, Masoud Shojaei, and Karim Ansarifard scored for Iran.
Despite needing a draw only to face Uzbekistan in the final, Team Melli under Amir Ghalenoei will be aiming for a win in Bishkek in front of an expected full-capacity stadium. The Kyrgyz national football team, the host of the CAFA Nations Cup 2023 Group B, has made good progress compared to previous years. In their first game, they won 1-0 against Afghanistan, and the only goal of the game was scored in the 97th minute, which did not amuse the Afghanistan team. While the team protested an ugly scene led by the Kuwaiti coach Abdulla Mutairi ensued. He forced and pushed the Afghan Player to leave the field.
As a result, according to the decision of the disciplinary committee of the tournament, Kyrgyzstan was declared the winner 3-0, despite scoring one goal only. Kyrgyzstan needs to defeat Iran to advance to the final while it is assured a place in the top four. According to local media, the match is sold out hours before the start with Kyrgyz spectators grabbing the most. Their fans are hoping for a miracle from their country’s team and a famous victory against ran.