Biranvand's position in the 30th AFC Annual Awards; Competition with 2 Saudis

The goalkeeper of Iran's national football team, due to his brilliance in the 2026 World Cup, continues the competition for the title of the best player of the old continent with two Saudi candidates who shined well in their clubs.

Does the best goalkeeper become the best player?

According to Mehr reporter, the candidates for the Asian Football Player of the Year award have been released, so that Alireza Biranvand, the goalkeeper of the Iranian national team, is once again among the 3 final candidates for this award.

Biranvand, who was also among the candidates in 2022, this time has to compete with two famous Saudi rivals in order to attract the votes of users and experts with the right to vote. The national goalkeeper of Tractor Tabriz is in this group due to his brilliance in the 2026 World Cup, but Salem Al-Dasari, the player of Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia, and Firas Al-Briken, the player of Al-Ahli Saudi Arabia, were able to be in this group due to their brilliance in their clubs.

Al-Dossari previously won the title of the best male player in Asia in 2022 and 2025, and if he wins this year's competition, he will receive this honor for the third time; An event that can be a historical record in this award.

He played an important role in Al-Hilal's performance in the 2025-2026 season. This team finished the season of the Saudi league without defeat and also won the national cup of this country for the 10th time. Al-Hilal also reached the elimination stage of the Asian Elite League, but there was no news of its championship.

Also, Faras Al-Barikan, the striker of Al-Ahly, Saudi Arabia, has been among the final candidates for the best male player in Asia for the first time. His most important score is the winning goal in the final of the Asian Elite League in the 2025-2026 season, which led to Al-Ahly's championship and continued success of this team in the continental club competitions.

In addition to the club performance, Al-Barikan also played a role in the promotion of the Saudi national team to the 2026 World Cup and played in all three matches of this team in the group stage of the World Cup. This 26-year-old striker also had a remarkable performance in the Persian Gulf Arab Cup and won the title of Mr. Goal with three goals.

At the same time, Biranvand was able to play a prominent role in Asia due to his brilliance in the goal of the Iranian national team and also helping Tractor on the way to the elimination round of the 2025 Elite League, but it remains to be seen if he can receive the best player statue this time due to the importance of national games for AFC experts, or whether he will continue to be among the candidates.

According to the official announcement of AFC, the selection ceremony of the best Asian football will be held on November 19, 2026 (November 28) in Bangkok, Thailand. It is worth mentioning that this ceremony will be the 30th annual awards of the Asian Football Confederation.