TEHRAN – Iran’s U-20 football coach Hossein Abdi says they are fully focused on facing Japan at the AFC U-20 Asian Cup China 2025 quarterfinal.
Iran’s defensive resolve will be put to the test when it takes on Japan at the Shenzhen Youth Football Training Base Center Stadium on Sunday.
Iran will go into the tie boasting not only a perfect record in the group stage but having conceded only once, while Japan will be determined to fire on all cylinders after a mixed start.
“There’s little time left to make major changes or improvements. We’ve already done the work that needed to be done, and now we’re fully focused on fighting through each match,” said head coach Hussein Abdi.
“We’re moving forward, adjusting our approach based on the strengths of our upcoming opponents, and preparing for the quarterfinal. But we’re taking it one step at a time.”
Iran cruised to a 3-0 win over Indonesia and 6-0 defeat of Yemen and then showed resilience to edge defending champions Uzbekistan 2-1 to top Group C.
Standing in Iran’s quest for a fifth title is 2016 winner Japan, who began with a commanding 3-0 victory over Thailand but dropped points in its next two Group D games, drawing 2-2 with Syria and 1-1 against Korea Republic.