Iran vs Afghanistan

A first-ever friendly meeting between Iran and Afghanistan pits the two Islamic countries against each other at the Stadion im. Dolena Omurzakova in Bishkek, Kirgizstan.

The Iranians have gone unbeaten in back-to-back exhibition matches after failing to make it out of the 2022 World Cup group stages (W1, D1) despite conceding the opening goal on both occasions. Still, new manager Amir Ghalenoei wouldn’t mind faster starts from his lads, with Iran failing to get on the scoresheet before halftime in any of their last six internationals. Indeed, each of their seven goals in that stretch came in the second half of play, suggesting home fans will need to be patient to see the ‘Cheetahs’ unlock Afghanistan’s defense. One way or another, they should get on the board, considering they’ve found the net in all but one of their last 20 home outings, a run stretching back to June 2018!

In the meantime, Afghanistan’s first-ever trip to Iran comes in the midst of a rough patch as they’ve suffered five defeats in their last six internationals (D1) after posting back-to-back wins between November 2021 and March 2022. Head coach Abdullah Al Mutairi’s number-one assignment is to stop his side’s defensive leaks after overseeing six straight matches without a clean sheet, four of which saw Afghanistan concede multiple goals. Achieving that task on foreign soil could be particularly tricky, considering the visitors haven’t managed a shutout across their last 11 international travels since a scoreless draw against Vietnam in 2017. What’s even more concerning for Al Mutairi is that his men conceded 2+ goals in 55% of those fixtures (6/11).