On January 6, Iran media posted that AFC has confirmed the Iran game on March 25.
According to the announcement, Team Melli will host Hong Kong on
March 25 at Azadi Stadium of Tehran before playing with Cambodia five
days later at Phnom Penh National Olympic Stadium.
The letter comes as earlier reports claimed that the AFC has decided
to hold all the matches of this stage in Qatar given the country’s
successful hosting of the 2020 AFC Champions League.
In the letter to the Iranian Federation, the AFC has called on teams
to send their correspondence about the needed arrangements. It also
notes that if conditions for hosting the mentioned matches are not
prepared due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the body will decide to hold the
matches in a centralized manner or not.
At the moment, fans are just happy that our domestic season kickstarted last December and is proceeding smoothly. FAM have reportedly arranged two friendlies against UAE; one in the Emirates and the other in Maldives. There's a curiosity to see how the team performs under the management of the Dutch duo Martin Koopman and Rene Hiddink, whom were appointed in January 2020 but we haven't yet played a match under their stewardship.
No talks about neutral venues yet. I really hope we get to invite Syria for the first time ever. We ran them really close in the away match and it will be interesting to see how they fare in the confines of Male'.
China are pushing hard to host the remaining fixtures of Group A, according to Maldivian media. Guam have already accepted this proposal, while Philippines looks set to do the same. Syria probably won't mind this as they will avoid long, potentially tricky trips to Guam and Maldives and the inevitable visa issues while attempting to enter Guam. Maldives were the only ones to reject China's offer, but it looks like we're going to get outvoted.
I'm not sure if similar discussions are taking place within India's group. You guys have Qatar, who gets to host everything and will look to avoid too much travelling since they are set to play matches in the UEFA zone qualifiers.
India camp expected from March 1 either in Dubai or Bhubaneswar, depending on what the AFC decides about the centralised venue next week. Bangladesh yet to agree on a centralised venue.
If it's a centralised venue, India will play Afghanistan on March 27, Bangladesh on March 30 and Qatar on April 6.
If the camp is in Dubai, there will be an international friendly. Not sure what happens if the camp is held in Bhubaneswar.
Comments
According to the announcement, Team Melli will host Hong Kong on March 25 at Azadi Stadium of Tehran before playing with Cambodia five days later at Phnom Penh National Olympic Stadium.
The letter comes as earlier reports claimed that the AFC has decided to hold all the matches of this stage in Qatar given the country’s successful hosting of the 2020 AFC Champions League.
In the letter to the Iranian Federation, the AFC has called on teams to send their correspondence about the needed arrangements. It also notes that if conditions for hosting the mentioned matches are not prepared due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the body will decide to hold the matches in a centralized manner or not.
https://en.mehrnews.com/news/168176/Iran-to-host-qualifier-matches-despite-earlier-reports
At the moment, fans are just happy that our domestic season kickstarted last December and is proceeding smoothly. FAM have reportedly arranged two friendlies against UAE; one in the Emirates and the other in Maldives. There's a curiosity to see how the team performs under the management of the Dutch duo Martin Koopman and Rene Hiddink, whom were appointed in January 2020 but we haven't yet played a match under their stewardship.
No talks about neutral venues yet. I really hope we get to invite Syria for the first time ever. We ran them really close in the away match and it will be interesting to see how they fare in the confines of Male'.
I'm not sure if similar discussions are taking place within India's group. You guys have Qatar, who gets to host everything and will look to avoid too much travelling since they are set to play matches in the UEFA zone qualifiers.
If it's a centralised venue, India will play Afghanistan on March 27, Bangladesh on March 30 and Qatar on April 6.
If the camp is in Dubai, there will be an international friendly. Not sure what happens if the camp is held in Bhubaneswar.
- Marcus Mergulhao