The Series of Iran's Football Exits from Asia: Youth, Young Adults, and Hopes

After the elimination of Iran's national youth and U-23 football teams, the national U-17 team was unexpectedly eliminated in the Asian qualifiers. Eleven months ago, Iran had reached the quarter-finals of the U-17 World Cup. A victory by four goals against Germany and a win over Mexico were among Iran's outstanding results in the World Cup. Abbas Chamanian remains the head coach of Iran's U-17 team, but the new generation he fielded failed to achieve the expected results to qualify for the final stage. Iran had previously earned a spot in the World Cup as the runner-up in Asia, winning three consecutive group stage matches against Guinea, Germany, and Costa Rica, and defeating Mexico in the Round of 16 before being eliminated by the star-studded Spain. This time, Iran's U-17s lost their first Asian match 2-0 to Indonesia, with the second goal beautifully scored through a series of dribbles by Indonesian players. In the second match against India, Iran missed a penalty and ended in a goalless draw, results that were unbelievable for football fans in Iran. Chamanian's team scored five goals against Vietnam in their last game, but this ceremonial victory did not prevent Iran's elimination. In this group, India drew 0-0 with Indonesia, allowing both teams to advance, while Iran and Vietnam were eliminated. This year, Iran's failure in youth football was completed with the U-17 team's exit. Previously, Iran's U-23 team had also been eliminated from the Asian Games. The U-23s managed only one win against North Korea and failed to score in other matches. The intentional defeat of the U-23s against Myanmar to avoid facing South Korea drew severe criticism from the media and members of Iran's football community. Earlier, the youth national team had also failed to win against Syria and Jordan, missing out on advancing to the next stage. The Football Federation, while its president Mehdi Taj is embroiled in the issue of banning the employment of retired civil servants, has yet to respond to the series of eliminations of the youth teams. Chamanian told reporters, 'Our tactics were effective and changed the situation in our favor, but our clear chances did not convert into goals, which is called luck. Participating in these games was a great lesson for the players of Iran.' The Iranian boys were eliminated while the Iranian girls' football team in the U-17 category advanced to the next round of the Asian Championship with minimal media attention and resources.