Iran’s Alireza Jahanbakhsh Fit for Iraq Match
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Iran star Alireza Jahanbakhsh has declared himself fit and ready to play in his side's group-deciding AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 tie against Iraq at Al Maktoum Stadium on Wednesday.
He is yet to feature in the UAE 2019, and hasn't appeared for club side Brighton and Hove Albion since the first week of November, but the star told the-AFC.com he is physically ready to join his Team Melli teammates for the important clash.
“Thankfully, my condition is great, and I’ve trained with the team in the past couple of days," said the 25-year-old.
"I have no problem to play this game, and I am ready. It’s up to the staff to decide whether they want to use me or not."
A draw is all that's required to achieve that objective for Jahanbakhsh's side, but he insists they will be chasing another win.
"This is one of the most significant games for us," he declared.
"Certainly, when we started the tournament, we wanted to progress one game at a time and, thankfully, the first two games against Yemen and Vietnam were great. This game is significant because we want to stay top of our group, and because in our path we need the confidence that a good result would provide us."
"We’re faced against Iraq, this adds to the importance and attractiveness of the game. Both teams have six points, but to be honest, it makes no difference to us," he went on to say.
The last meeting between the two sides in this competition was their classic 3-3 draw in 2015 quarter-finals in Canberra, with Iraq prevailing on penalties after a chaotic period of extra-time.
