Daei doubt for crucial Japan clash

Asiancup2004- With three players suspended the last thing Iran coach Branko Ivankovic needed ahead of Wednesday’s final Group D match with Japan was an injury worry to the team’s influential skipper Ali Daei, but that emerged as another potential headache for the Croat as international football’s all-time top scorer sat out Sunday’s training.

“I slightly twisted my ankle against Thailand and probably aggravated it in the game against Oman,” said Daei, who was noticeably out-of-sorts in Saturday’s controversial 2-2 draw with the Asian Cup debutants.

"The team doctors will be working on it over the next few days so I hope to be ready for the game against Japan.”

The three-time champions can ill-afford to lose of player of Daei’s experience for the match against the current Asian Cup holders, particularly as they are almost certain to be without Italy-based centre back Rahman Rezaei and right sided Olympic team defender Ali Badavi, who received a two-match ban for coming to blows during the Oman game, and injury-time hero Mohammad Nosrati, suspended for four games for stamping on Oman’s two-goal striker Imad Ali in the same match.

“It will make things more difficult against Japan but we know this Iran squad has good players who will be able to come into these positions,” said Daei.

The talismanic target man, who is five away from becoming the first player to hit a century of international goals, continued by expressing his anger that the Iranians seem to be being portrayed as the villains of the tempestuous clash with Oman.

“Everything that has been written about this match is always about what Iran has done. Why, for example, is there nothing about the linesman who failed to flag for Oman’s opening goal which was clearly offside?”

There were also voices of dissent from the Iranian camp about what they perceived to be the young Omani side’s somewhat cynical efforts to run down the clock, with even head coach Ivankovic pointing this out at the post match press conference.