“We are thankful to have been able to reach the semi-finals,” said Hossein.

“There are now four very good teams left. Hopefully, we can have a good match tomorrow and get our ticket to the World Cup. Luckily for us, all our players will be available for the match.”

Iran have an admirer in Saudi Arabia head coach Guga Zloccowick, who is well aware of the tall order facing his team as they aim to continue breaking barriers after having reached the last four stage for the first time.

“We know Iran is one of the best teams in Asia. I saw them in the World Cup last year and there, they even had a big chance to be world champions,” said Zloccowick.

“It’s beautiful to see Iran play, their technique and tactics are incredible. Our players are not as experienced but we hope we can make some surprise. We know it’s very difficult but in football anything can happen.”

Iran have been in impressive form throughout the tournament, averaging more than four goals a game and stunningly defeated Bahrain 11-0 win in the quarter-finals.

Forward Mohammadali Mokhtari was among the scorers against Bahrain - his third of the tournament after having netted a brace against Indonesia in the group stage - and is counting on team spirit to drive Iran through.

“We had a good preparation for five months in Iran with so many training camps. We want to go into the final, we are here to be champions again by defending our title,” said Mokhtari.

“There’s belief in the team and hopefully our good team work will help push us there.”

The rise of Saudi Arabia at Thailand 2025 - having exited the competition at the group stage in 2023 - has been nothing short of remarkable and captain Rabyi Sufyani intends to keep the run going.

“We came here two years ago and lost early but now here we are in the semi-finals,” said Sufyani. “We want to be champions and go to the World Cup. This semi-final will be down to small details. Hopefully we can play well and move on.”

Venue: Jomtien Beach Arena (Pattaya)

Kick-off: Saturday, 18:30 (UTC+7)