TEHRAN - Iran’s national beach soccer team defeated Italy 5-3 in a friendly match on Monday.
The match was held as part of preparation for the 2025 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
Muhammad Ali Mokhtari, Mehdi Shirmohammadi, Mehdi Mirjalili, Muhammad Ali Nazarzadeh and Mohammad Masoumizadeh scored for Iran in the match.
The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Seychelles 2025 kicks off on May 1, with the final taking place on May 11.
Team Melli is drawn in Group B along with Mauritania, two-time FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup champion Portugal, and Paraguay.
Host nation Seychelles will take on Belarus, Guatemala and Japan in Group A. Group C sees Spain, Senegal, Chile and Tahiti take to the sand, as Group D will see a rematch of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2024 final, as Brazil and Italy will feature in the group alongside El Salvador and Oman.
Ali Naderi’s Iran will take on Mauritania in its opening match. The Persians will also meet Paraguay and Portugal on May 3 and 5, respectively.
He said, Iran has set to get through into ninth FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
Keeping faith with his supremely talented squad from Thailand 2025, Naderi has plenty of options at his disposal for the global showpiece.
Ali Mirshekari, who bagged the Top Scorer and Most Valuable Player awards at Thailand 2025, will be the one to look out for but Iran has a wonderfully balanced squad capable of challenging the best at the World Cup.
Muhammad Ali Mokhtari, Movahed Muhammadpour and Muhammad Ali Nazarzadeh are all on equal standing with Mirshekari, further strengthening Iran’s armor.
With a multi-talented squad, Naderi is not deflecting expectations and fully expects his team to go all the way.
“In the previous FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, we finished third,” he said.
“We are focused on our team and we want to qualify for the final this time. We will try hard to make it happen.”
Iran will kickstart their Group B campaign against African champion Mauritania on May 1, with Portugal and Paraguay being their other opponents.