Despite efforts by the Iranian Football Federation to organize the match, the scheduled friendly game between Iran and Guinea-Bissau has been cancelled.
As a result, the Iranian national team will conclude its current schedule with two matches against Uzbekistan and Russia.
Friendly match between Iran and Guinea-Bissau cancelled
In recent days, there were significant speculations regarding Iran's third opponent, among the leading candidates for which was Guinea-Bissau. The Iranian Football Federation was working on organizing the game either in Turkey or Qatar, and as part of these efforts, proposed to the Turkish Football Federation to hold the match in Istanbul.
However, the Turkish Football Federation rejected this proposal, citing a busy schedule and existing event calendar. Turkey's decision was just one of several obstacles that ultimately prevented the match from taking place, as additional complications arose during the organization process.
One of the main issues concerned the organization of the Guinea-Bissau team's travel. Flight restrictions and financial difficulties caused by sanctions imposed on Iran complicated the Iranian federation's ability to purchase air tickets for the Guinea-Bissau team members.
International financial transfers are also a complex and lengthy process under the current restrictions. Consequently, the Iranian Football Federation could not purchase the necessary tickets for the Guinea-Bissau delegation through foreign companies.
As a result, even after attempts to move the proposed match to Turkey, the travel and logistical problems faced by the visiting team remained unresolved. Since the administrative and logistical preparations could not be finalized, the friendly match was ultimately cancelled.
Thus, Iran will conclude this preparation phase with matches against Uzbekistan and Russia, without adding a third match to its schedule.
