Tasnim - Iran national football team coach Carlos Queiroz says that it is important for them to face opponents with the same style, mentality and culture of the Moroccan national team.
The Iranian side lost 1-0 to Tunisia in Rades on Friday and beat Algeria 2-1 in Graz in pre-World Cup preparation on Tuesday.
“First of all, it’s a challenge for us to compete with three big teams, three great football nations, with great players. We have to do our homework and enjoy being at the World Cup, that’s what we worked for and sacrificed so much. Now it’s time to have fun, to compete and to continue to dream – and our dream is to be prepared to move on to the second phase of the World Cup,” Carlos Queiroz said in an interview with Record.
Queiroz explained why he chose those two teams to prepare for Iran’s participation.
“It is crucial for our players to face opponents with the same style, mentality and culture of the Moroccan national team. It was not possible to get a better opponent than this one from this point of view. Facing Tunisia and Algeria is an opportunity to find the best solutions to improve our team and prepare it to face Morocco during the competition,” the Portuguese added.
The Moroccan team beat Serbia 2-1 in Turin on Friday, but Carlos Queiroz refused to comment on the Moroccan performance.
“My concern at the moment is to focus on working with my players and the team, but our ‘scouts’ have been working on reviewing our opponents. We have seen all the matches of Morocco since the draw for the World Cup, qualification for the African Cup of Nations, and observed the performance of the Moroccan players and the work they do in their respective clubs, that is, we have enough information to prepare the game against Morocco in the World Cup,” Queiroz said.
In the World Championship, which will take place between June 14 and July 15 in Russia, Iran is part of Group B along with Portugal, Spain and Morocco.