Ashgabat: Amir Ghalenoei is demanding more potency from his Islamic Republic of Iran team despite having secured a spot at the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™ and reaching Round 3 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers following a 1-0 win over Turkmenistan on Tuesday.
Uzbekistan made sure of their spot with a 3-0 win over Hong Kong, China whose head coach Jorn Andersen put the defeat down to the difference in individual quality though the Norwegian still found some silver linings from the performance of his players.
"We did very well in the first 15 minutes but then Uzbekistan increased the pressure and created many chances, proving that they are at a high level,” said Andersen. “Although we lost 3-0, I wouldn't call it a bad result. The level of several strong players in the ranks of our opponent was the reason for the outcome of the match. .....
EAST ASIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION
NEWS / RELEASE
Language is changed ENGLISH
10MA TOPICS! [HONG KONG, CHINA FA][AFC ASIAN QUALIFIERS] Andersen sees positives in Hong Kong, China
+
10passion
![10MA TOPICS! [HONG KONG, CHINA FA][AFC ASIAN QUALIFIERS] Group E: Uzbekistan 3-0 Hong Kong, China](https://image.eaff.com/index/7519.jpg)
![10MA TOPICS! [CHINESE TAIPEI FA][AFC ASIAN QUALIFIERS] Group D: Kyrgyz Republic 5-1 Chinese Taipei](https://image.eaff.com/index/7518.jpg)
![10MA TOPICS! [CHINA FA][AFC ASIAN QUALIFIERS] Group C: China PR 4-1 Singapore](https://image.eaff.com/index/7517.jpg)
![10MA TOPICS! [KOREA FA] Hwang: Future bright for Korea Republic](https://image.eaff.com/index/7516.jpg)
![10MA TOPICS! [KOREA FA] Korea Republic breeze past Thailand on the road](https://image.eaff.com/index/7515.jpg)
![10MA TOPICS! [GUAM FA] Visiting Tokyo FA U16 Girls Team win friendly tournament in Guam](https://image.eaff.com/index/7513.jpg)
![10MA TOPICS! [JAPAN FA][AFC ASIAN QUALIFIERS] Japan’s Moriyasu pleased with “difficult”](https://image.eaff.com/index/7512.jpg)
![10MA TOPICS! [JAPAN FA]【Match Report】Tanaka’s goal helps SAMURAI BLUE to third straight win in the FIFA World Cup 26™ / AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™ Preliminary Joint Qualification](https://image.eaff.com/index/7511.jpg)
![10MA TOPICS! [KOREA FA][AFC ASIAN QUALIFIERS] Ishii credits Thailand’s confidence; Korea Republic’s Son happy despite draw](https://image.eaff.com/index/7510.jpg)