Yemen Game Most Difficult One, Says Queiroz

Queiroz will lead tournament favorite Iran into the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 having instructed his players to focus on winning one game at a time as the nation aims to end a 43-year drought at the continental championship.

Iran will face Yemen on January 7 in Abu Dhabi, the UAE.

“It’s the first game and there are no small teams in the first game,” Queiroz told the-AFC.com. “Everyone’s hopes are open and the challenge is in front of everybody in the first game.

“The first game is always the most difficult game in these kind of competitions because it’s everything for the winner and almost nothing for the loser in a short competition of three games. It is a game we need to win, like always. It’s a crucial game.”

Iran goes into the clash as Asia’s No. 1 ranked side while Yemen is 26th in Asia and 135th in the world, but Queiroz is wary of the threat posed by Jan Kocian’s team and knows his players must be fully focused on the task at hand.

“I was checking the results of the Iran national team in different competitions, at under 17s, under 20s, and never has Iran beaten Yemen in any official competition,” he said. “There’s a reason for that: Yemen might draw or lose, but Yemen is a tough team to beat.

“When the game starts against Yemen, we need to get rid of the frustrations we have around the team and focus on ourselves. It’s about the 11 boys on the pitch that start the game against the Yemen team. It’s about the coaching staff, it’s about ourselves and we need to go for it.

“We cannot start a game like this in the Asian Cup and think about anything else. It’s 90 minutes to play for the people, 90 minutes to play for the joy and happiness and pride of Iran.”

“And when we finish the game against Yemen, then it’s time to think about Vietnam and after that Iraq. For the moment I want to develop this kind of instinct in my team, to keep all of our energy so that it explodes in the 90 minutes against Yemen. All the rest doesn’t count for us.”