TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Omid Qarachomaqlou believes that improvements are needed for Iran to help the team advance to the AFC U-17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2025 quarter-finals.

The 17-year-old player emerged as the leading scorer for Iran with four goals against Hong Kong at the Qualifiers. His impactful play in the midfield and attack helped Iran to a runner-up finish behind North Korea.

However, Iran's hopes of lifting the title suffered a blow following a 3-2 defeat to Oman on Matchday Two.

If we fail to improve from match to match and take more responsibility, the only ones who can stop us from going all the way are ourselves, said Qarachomaqlou, whose side must defeat Tajikistan on Friday in order to stand a chance of advancing.

We have come close to winning this tournament in the past, and have a very good opportunity to lift the trophy this time around, the player of Aria Pars Tehran said. I, for one, am ready to step up and help my team achieve our goal.

Qarachomaqlou started playing when he was nine, encouraged by his familys love for the game. He has been in the national team for three years and participated in almost 20 tournaments.

Of all these, the one that readily comes to mind is the Qualifiers, particularly our games against Hong Kong, China and Jordan, because without those results we would not be here contesting Saudi Arabia 2025.

He has been serious about improving himself since his call-up to the national team.

I have been playing well so far, but have not had many opportunities to score, he said. But it does not matter because the team has been performing well.

My strength is scoring goals, and I want to use this ability to further contribute to my team, but first I need to take ownership of my position as a midfielder, Qarachomaqlou stated.