GOAL - The former Manchester United assistant coach believes Constantine's young team surprised his Iranian Lions, opines Cruyff's loss is huge to the footballing world.

It was, in the end, an affair Iran's national team coach Carlos Queiroz could look upon as a job well done by his team, who beat India by a 4-0 scoreline, in an important World Cup 2018 round two qualification group 'D' tie, at the Azadi stadium in Tehran, on Thursday 24th March.

The Indian team held resistance for the opening 33 minutes, but Haji Safi converted from the penalty spot to hand Iran an advantage heading into the interval. Thereafter the Sher-e-Iran, stepped up a few gears and had Azmoun score in the 61st minute from a corner, before Safi converted another penalty in the 66th minute, to triple their lead.

The Iranians put the final nail in the coffin for their visitors as Alireza scored in the 78th minute, to all but guarantee a top two finish for Asia's number one team from the group.

Speaking after the game, the former Manchester United assistant coach praised the Indian team for their application, whilst mourning the death of a football hero in Johan Cruyff.

"I have to appreciate the performance of India team. They had an obvious progress in comparison with first leg. They surprised us," revealed Queiroz, when quizzed about the Indian team's performance on the night.   

Asked to impress upon the media attendees the nature of his Iranian team's win, the 63 year-old Portuguese national commented, "I think we saw a beautiful match, especially under consideration that we used many young players in our starting line up. All of our players performed with motivation and commitment. They played with high pace."

"We are close to our target. my players showed a beautiful display and we could score more goals," he further added.

After a protracted battle with cancer, former Dutch hero and Barcelona icon Johan Cruyff became all but a memory as he passed away on the evening of 24th March, 2016.  

On the vacuum the 68 year-old's death brought to the football galaxy, Queiroz expressed, "it's a sad day for football. He was an experienced manager with very good knowledge about football. The world of football is disappointed for lose him. He was part of football history."