TEHRAN Mehr News) — Iran U23 football team suffered two losses against Uzbekistan in friendly matches.

The Iranian team, who are headed by Farhad Majidi, lost to Uzbekistan 1-0 on Friday and were pummelled by the Asian rivals 4-1 once again on Monday. Iran assistant coach Omid Namazi said:

We made many mistakes in the match against Uzbekistan and gave them many possession. We could equalize the match in the second half when putting them under pressure but conceded two more goals on counter attack.

Iran prepare for the 2020 AFC U23 Championship in Thailand. The competition will be held Jan. 8 to 26. The top three teams qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in July, although should Japan emerge as one of them, the fourth-placed side will advance.

Iran, still a powerhouse of the Asian football, have not been in the Olympics since the 1976 games in Munich.