Iran U-23 Completely Focused on Turkmenistan: Mahdavikia
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran U-23 football team head coach Mehdi Mahdavikia says that they must stay completely focused on the next match against Turkmenistan.
Iran earned a late 1-1 draw against Qatar in the opening match of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup on Wednesday.
The Persians are scheduled to play Turkmenistan in Group A on Saturday.
“My players had a lot of opportunities in our opening game against Qatar but we couldn’t convert our chances and this is a problem,” said Mahdavikia.
“We lost two points even though we were the better team in terms of possession. After conceding late in the second half, we managed to salvage a point and we must do better against Turkmenistan.”
The former Iran International stressed his team must remain focused on Turkmenistan as the three points are crucial.
“The game against Qatar is finished now and we must stay completely focused on the next match. We started our recovery and we are looking forward to getting the three points against Turkmenistan. We respect all teams, but we need to get the three points against them.”
