ENUGU, Nigeria: Iran U-17 coach Ali Doosti believes the Asian champions’ last pool match against the Netherlands Saturday (today) would be the litmus test for his boys.
In an exclusive interview with the-afc.com, Doosti said the Netherlands was the hub of teen football in the world and the encounter would ‘weigh’ Iran’s ‘real strength’.
Both sides know a win will guarantee a berth in the knockout stages, raising the stakes for the encounter. The Dutch lost their opener but got their campaign back on track with a win over Gambia. The Iranians are yet to lose and have four points from a win and a draw.
“Holland will show the real gravity of Iran,” said Doosti. “You can go back and look at my interviews before coming to Nigeria. I did promise to take my team to the Round of 16 and we do it with the help of God”.
But the coach said he could not predict how far the Asian champions could go in the tournament before watching how they fared against Holland.
“I can not predict anything before watching my team against Holland,” said Doosti. “They can weigh our real strength and show our gravity in this tournament.”
“To me Holland is center of underage football in the world. I really respect their ability. You just have to look at the names that they have delivered to the world of football.”
Iran last played in this competition in 2001 in Trinidad and Tobago but lost all their three matches.
This time round a handful of talents have placed Iran on the cusp of the Round of 16.
But Doosti preferred to commend the team spirit instead of singling out stalwarts like AFC U-16 Championship top goalscorer Kaveh Rezaei and versatile captain Payam Sadeghian for praise.
“We are a good team. My players are young and we need to teach them that you can succeed only if you maintain your unity. I am not used to singling out any name in my teams, especially at such a crucial time in the middle of the FIFA U-17 World Cup.”
Doosti emphasised that his players were mature enough and were already behaving with a level of responsibility usually seen in adults.
“What happened in the match against Colombia was unbelievable. I have never seen so much rain in my life. I have never seen a match stopped for one hour too.
"But after all, my sons performed brilliantly. They came back to the pitch and fought much better than before. This reflected real maturity.”
“What I can say now is we will go forward step by step. If you like to know what my next promise is, we should wait for the match against Holland”.
“I have been waiting for this game for a long time.”