Iran and Afghanistan are ready for their Central Asian showdown in Group B at Bangkok’s Rajamangala National Stadium on Friday.
Champion once and runner-up twice, this will be Iran’s 12th appearance in the competition while it will be Afghanistan’s second, having made its debut in the erstwhile AFC U-16 Championship 2018.
Ahead of their opening match, Iran head coach Hossein Abdi voiced his determination for his team to feature in the final on July 2.
“Of course, we are here with a winning mentality. If I am not aiming for the title, there is no point in me being here at all. These are the best teams in Asia in this age group and we respect all our opponents equally.
“We have trained hard for a very long time and have emerged among the top 16 teams in Asia and we are happy with our preparations,” said Abdi.
Preparations for the 2008 champion started almost 13 months ago at the CAFA Championship and then several training camps followed. Some 14,000 players were observed before a squad was selected, according to Abdi.
“At this stage, the most important job at hand is to develop players and make them enjoy the beautiful game and that is what we are here to do,” said the 56-year-old.