TEHRAN - Goalkeeper Mehdi Mirjalili discusses his goalscoring ability, while Movahed Mohammadpour insists Iran’s only target is to win this FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

Leandro Casapieri walked on to the stage at the Museum of the Future in Dubai, a proud smile emblazoned across his face, and collected the Best Men’s Goalkeeper award in 2024. Bobo, Pedro or Eliott Mounoud will succeed him at the Teatro Pedro Munoz Seca in Cadiz on 22 May.

Movahed Mohammadpour has been left exasperated and awestruck by all four. He regards them all as “amazing”. Just not amazing enough to outrank his team-mate as the best on the planet in the position.

Mehdi Mirjalili was one of the stars of the last FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup™, and he’s already sizzling in the Seychelles. After helping IR Iran edge Mauritania in their curtain-raiser, he was magnificent in a 5-1 reverse of Paraguay. His performance inside The Paradise Arena included two stunning saves and a trademark wonder goal.

“He’s the best goalkeeper in the world,” Mohammadpour told FIFA. “He’s outstanding. We also have a very strong defense, we don’t allow opponents many chances, but when he does he always comes up with big saves.

“Then he’s the best with his feet. He’s really good at setting up plays and scoring goals. We have power plays when he’s on the pitch. He has a great understanding with the rest of the players. We link up really well. He’s a huge asset for IR Iran.”

“I thank Movahed for saying that,” said Mirjalili. “It’s not for me to say if I’m the best. I train really hard. I do three sessions per day. I’m always trying to improve.

“I have to thank my team-mates for being able to score goals. They have confidence in me, and that enables me to try things, to attempt passes, to go for goal. Their movement is good, they get in good positions for me, free up space for me.”

Iran will undertake their biggest test of Seychelles 2025 on Monday when they play Portugal. The two-time champions scored 19 goals in their opening two wins, but that doesn’t faze Mohammadpour.

“We don’t care who is standing in front of us: we will go toe to toe with anyone,” said the 30-year-old who finished as the top assister at the last global finals. “We will go all out to beat Portugal and finish top of the group. I think we will beat Portugal.

“We have one target at this tournament: to become champions. Nothing else. That’s our only target.”

Mirjalili added: “The Iranian people have their fingers crossed for us. We will fight for our country, for our flag, for our people.”