We Should Be Calm and Patient: Amir Ghalenoei
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran national football team head coach Amir Ghalenoei says they should be patient, calm and think about their Round of 16 opponent only.
Team Melli sealed a third win in a row, beating the United Arab Emirates 2-1 at Education City Stadium on Tuesday to top the group. Goals from Mehdi Taremi either side of the break put Iran in the driving seat, while an injury time strike from Yahya Al Ghassani halved the deficit and saw the UAE accompany their opponents into the knockout stage.
“I would like to thank all the fans who were at the stadium. We were unfortunate that we missed many chances and had three goals that were ruled out by VAR,” said Ghalenoei.
“We should be patient, calm and think about our Round of 16 opponents only. One of our biggest problems is ourselves; we are a very good team tactically and technically and if we can have a very good game every time, then we can go far."
“I remember a conference in 2007 in Helsinki, where a speaker said you have to consider two factors in assessing your team’s structure.
"How many chances you created and how many chances your opponents created, and by these two measures we have done a good job in the group stage, and I think if our players can show their real quality in the knockout stage, we can be very dangerous,” Ghalenoei concluded.
Iran is scheduled to meet Syria in the knockout stage on January 31.
