Iran Not to Underestimate Syria: 2023 Asian Cup
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Alireza Jahanbakhsh believes a careful study of Syria’s earlier matches will help Iran when the two teams meet in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 Round of 16 at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium on Wednesday.
Iran was at its best in the group stage, achieving a perfect record of three wins while Syria earned a historic first ever spot in the knockout stage as one of the top four third-placed teams.
Jahanbakhsh, however, is adamant that Iran will not underestimate Syria despite being ranked 70 places higher than their West Asian opponents,
“We are trying our best to fulfill our dreams in this tournament. Syria will be a very difficult opponent as it is a physically strong side and has conceded only one goal in the group stage (against Australia),” said the midfielder, who plies his trade for Dutch side Feyenoord.
“We are aware of how strong Syria are defensively, but we watched its games carefully and after studying it well, we are ready to face the team, both tactically and physically.”
“We demonstrated our strength and confidence in the group stage but the biggest difference now is that we cannot make a single mistake as even the smallest error can get you eliminated,” said the 30-year-old.
“We will have to show all of our strong qualities and follow the instructions of the coaching staff. In many of the earlier games in the competition, we have seen how one mistake can change the course of the game, which is something we will remember,” Jahanbakhsh concluded.
