TEHRANTIMES - Iran coach Carlos Queiroz believes that the friendly game against Japan is a very good test for the Iranian young players.

“It’s an honor for me to coach Iran against Japan, one of the best Asian team. I have worked in Nagoya, so I know a lot about them and that’s why I say this is a very good test for the young Iranian footballers,” Queiroz said.

“They have a lot of great players like Kagawa and Honda but I believe their best player is their ‘Team Spirit’. I would like to ask both Iranian and Japanese media to invite at least 50,000 fans to the stadium,” he added.

The Portuguese coach also dismissed critics about the Team Melli’s poor performance against Oman in the World Cup qualifying round.

“I don’t care what the critics say because I know exactly what the main reason behind these critics is. There have been games which we had very good performances but we couldn’t get the result and then these people tried to damage us,” Queiroz added.

Iran will take on Japan in a friendly match on Tuesday at the Tehran’s Azadi stadium. The national football teams of Iran and Japan are two of the most successful football nations in Asia.

They have played against each other fifteen times which resulted in six wins for Iran and five wins for Japan while four matches ended up in a draw.

The last time two teams faced each other was on the 17th August 2005 in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers at Yokohama International Stadium in which Japan beat Iran 2-1.