Iranian Women Focusing on China Match: Coach
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The coach of Iran’s women’s futsal team, Forouzan Soleimani, said her players’ main focus is to defeat China and secure a third place at the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup 2025.
Iran, known as the only team to have won the competition in the past, entered the 2025 edition in China with hopes of retaining the title.
However, the two-time champion needs to recover quickly from the disappointment of a 3-2 semi-final loss to Japan.
“I respect our opponents and would like to thank them for their excellent hosting,” Iran’s coach Soleimani stated.
“I believe their goal before the tournament was to finish in the top three and qualify for the World Cup. As two-time champions, we faced a more challenging situation,” she added.
She pointed to the recent match, saying, “Last night was our worst night ever. We understand that we’ve lost the championship, but now we need to motivate the players, including psychologically, for the upcoming match.”
Soleimani, who was also in charge when Iran’s team won the inaugural edition in 2015, added that they will not underestimate China, as the team has “developed and improved a lot” since their last encounter at a friendly tournament in July 2024.
“They are strong fighters and fast runners,” she said. “We will give our best --as we have done so far-- and we must focus on winning against China.”
