Tasnim - Amirhossein Peyrovani paid tribute to the influence of senior national team coach Carlos Queiroz as Iran qualified for the finals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea Republic 2017 on Monday.

The Iranian team booked a place at the World Cup for the first time in 16 years with a 2-0 victory over Uzbekistan in the quarter-final of the AFC U-19 Championship Bahrain 2016.

And head coach thanked the former Real Madrid and Portugal head coach for the impact he has had on football in Iran since taking over as national team coach five years ago.

“It’s been a long time since the Iranian U-19 team could go to the World Cup, we’ve had good players but we haven’t had the chance to go,” said Peyrovani. “I wanted to change my players’ mentality so we could succeed."

“This success isn’t just for me, this success is for the coaches who are working with all of the teams in Iran, the U-16s, the U-19s and U-23s at all of the clubs and all over Iran. This success I dedicate to my colleagues who have helped me in this job."

“It’s especially for the instructors who have taught me and I would like to give special thanks to Carlos Queiroz, the head coach of the national team. So many times in our meetings he was with me and he helped me to change the programme and to bring success,” he added.