With January’s AFC U23 Championship edging ever closer, join the-afc.com as we continue our look at the teams who will be vying for honours in Qatar, at a tournament that also doubles as the qualifiers for the men’s football tournament at the 2016 Olympic Games.
IRAN
A long tradition of developing talented youngsters and an impressive performance in Group C of the qualifiers sees Iran head into the AFC U23 Championship as one of the genuine title contenders.
While their qualification campaign did end with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in a top-of-the-table clash, emphatic victories over Nepal (5-0), Palestine (3-0), and Afghanistan (6-0) ensured Iran qualified comfortably for Qatar as one of the five best group runners-up, with their record second only to that of Group G’s second-place finishers Thailand.
Four of those goals came courtesy of the impressive Sardar Azmoun, who has already been in eye-catching form for the senior Iran national team, with the Russia-based forward also scoring four times in the joint qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup and twice during the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia, which included a sublime individual effort against against Qatar.
Meanwhile, Arsalan Motahari has been making his mark as a potential Team Melli star of the future with a standout performance as Iran won the inaugural WAFF (West Asian Football Federation) U-23 Championship, which was also hosted in Qatar.
The Naft Tehran front man, who scored three times in the AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, netted the second goal as Iran defeated Syria 2-0 in the WAFF U-23 final and was also named the tournament’s best player at the regional competition back in October.
Iran’s Group A Fixtures
January 12: Iran v Syria (Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha)
January 15: Iran v Qatar (Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha)
January 18: Iran v China (Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha)
CHINA
After a disappointing debut at the inaugural tournament two years ago, when they finished bottom of their group after three successive defeats, China will be determined to put in a better showing in Qatar after qualifying for the 2016 AFC U23 Championship in impressive fashion.
China kicked-off their qualifying campaign with back-to-back 5-0 victories over Mongolia and Singapore to set up a top-of-the-table clash with Group J hosts Laos, which the ended with a comfortable 3-0 win for the East Asians as Fu Bo’s side departed Vientiane with a 100% record.
China’s 13 qualifying goals were spread throughout the team with five players scoring twice while coach Fu also has at his disposal three squad member who have experience with clubs in Europe namely Zhang Yuning, who signed for Dutch side Vitesse last July, and substitute goalkeeper Yeerjieti Yeerzati and defender Chen Zhechao, who play in the Portuguese lower leagues with Gondomar and Torreense respectively.