TEHRAN, May 5 (Xinhua) -- The head coach of Iran's U23 soccer team, Zlatko Kranjcar, has been fired after one year in charge, Tehran Times daily reported on Sunday.

The 62-year-old Croatian, who has also coached Croatia and Montenegro teams, had replaced the Iranian Amirhossein Peyrovani in April last year.

Iran have not been in the Olympics since the 1976 Games in Munich.

Although Iran earned a spot for the 2020 AFC U23 Championship in late March, the officials here were not satisfied with the team's performance.

Iranian coach Yahya Golmohammadi is a candidate to lead the team.

The AFC U23 Championship, to be held in Thailand on January 8-26, will feature a total of 16 teams, with the top three qualifying for the men's soccer tournament in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Japan as AFC representatives.