Amir Ghalenoyi: about fatigue, CAFA plan and the need for big opponents

As part of the "CAFA Nations Cup-2025," which began on September 29, the Iranian national team played against Afghanistan in Group B and secured a convincing victory with a score of 3:1. After the match, Amir Galenoyi shared his thoughts on the meeting and the overall preparation process.

The Iranian head coach first applauded the opponent: he noted that the Afghanistan national team deserves congratulations, that Asian football is developing consistently, and that it once again confirms the opinion that "there is no weak team left." According to him, "in general, world football is moving forward, so no opponent is easy."

G'alenoyi also touched upon the difficulties encountered during the game. At the same time, it was noted that some of the team members arrived at the training camp tired, and this time they had to play almost without training. In a short time, a tight calendar - "four matches in 10 days," including league matches - "five matches" - requires a rational distribution of strength between each match. For this reason, it was acknowledged that a number of opportunities failed to turn into goals due to signs of fatigue observed in the players.

The head coach emphasized the need to play regularly with high-level opponents to increase the level of competition: "To raise the level of our football players, we need to play against high-level teams." He also recalled Afghanistan's previous match against Syria: "They shouldn't have lost that game," he said, expressing respect for the opponent's potential.

A clear opinion was also expressed on the work planned before the CAFA competition. Ghalenoyi emphasized that he expected big games with "Mr. Harati" because he supports the approach that "we won't grow if we don't play with bigger teams." According to him, in the plan submitted to the federation about eight months ago, the option of not participating in CAFA competitions was mentioned, but "in any case, the situation must be taken into account" - that is, the decision was made based on the interests of the team and the current situation.

Summary: Iran started CAFA positively with a 3-1 victory over Afghanistan, but the headquarters faces tasks such as a tight schedule, proper resource allocation, and competing with more top-level opponents. Amir Galenoi's mission that "managing fatigue is the key to maintaining results, big opponents are the key to growth" remains the main guideline before the next rounds of the competition.