Speaking at a post-match interview at the Azadi Stadium, Daei said, “Iran had a pretty good performance against China and deservedly won the match. However we could have beat the Chinese team with more goals if our players had scored in the chances they had.”
“We held just two training sessions ahead of the match. We are concentrating on the match against the South Koreans and making efforts to reinforce ourselves for the vital game,” he stated.
Daei criticized the media for unfair behavior, saying, “We are used to down playing the victories of the national team and exaggerating the team’s defeats. I know that the Chinese team played with us lacking their six key players but I have to tell you we didn’t have some of our best players as well in the match. Also, we had one of the best performances of the national team in recent years against Galicia but the TV commentators and the dailies unfairly questioned us.”
Iran beat China 3-1 on Friday in a friendly prior to the Singapore match on January 14 in the 2011 Asian Cup qualifiers at the Azadi Stadium.