Football Federation of Iran has announced that the tickets for Iran-Uzbekistan friendly match on Saturday night at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium are free. The game is part of the final phase of preparations of the national team for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Russia.
According to ISNA, the clash is the last of friendly games to be held inside the country; the rest are planned in Russia and one in Turkey against the national squad.
The public relations office of the federation has invited Team Melli fans to attend the game and show support for their national team ahead of the World Cup games.
The match will give Carlos Queiroz a chance to gauge his players as the Portuguese head coach works on his 35-player squad ahead of the FIFA World Cup which kicks off on June 14.
Queiroz will have to trim his final squad to 23 players and Saturday’s friendly against Uzbekistan and the May 29 tie against Turkey will be the final opportunities for the players to prove their worth. The final squad has to be named by June 3.
Queiroz revealed his 35-man preliminary squad earlier this week with Dutch Eredivisie top scorer Alireza Jahanbakhsh heading the bill as Team Melli, Asia’s top ranked team, gets ready for playing in back-to-back FIFA World Cups for the first time in its history.
Mehrdad Steven Beitashour, who has not appeared for his country since Brazil 2014, also has the opportunity to make the final squad, while U-20 World Cup captain Omid Nourafkan was also presented with the chance to prove himself, alongside his Esteghlal teammate Majid Hosseini.
Sardar Azmoun’s inclusion also means the striker is set to face off against Spain in the Kazan Arena, where he plays club football with Rubin Kazan. Iran will also face European champions Portugal and Morocco in Group B.
Also the Adidas-made official kit for Team Melli will be unveiled at the Saturday game against the Uzbeks.
