Iran Not An Easy Opponent in World Cup: Jahanbakhsh
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran national football team captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh says that Team Melli will not be an easy team in the 2022 World Cup.
Iran is drawn in Group B along with England, the US, and Wales.
“It's a very, very tough group. With England, it's one of the best generations the country has ever had - they can field three very strong sides at the same time. The likes of Harry Kane have so much quality. I love watching the other players in my position too like Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho,” Jahanbakhsh said in an interview with the Daily Star.
He is no stranger to carrying the high hopes of a nation which has never made it into the knockout stages of the tournament, having captained Iran in 2018’s nail-biting 1-0 defeat to Spain as a 25-year-old. And despite having worn the armband throughout Iran's World Cup qualification run, the midfielder still has to pinch himself whenever he leads out his teammates.
“It's just unbelievable. It's something that I dreamed of as a kid. Whenever I have the chance to wear the captain's armband I do it with all my heart because I know how much football means to people. We know how passionate people are back home. And if you're the one who is leading a team representing 85 million people into games, it's just a very proud feeling,” he added.
Croatian head coach Dragan Skocic guided Team Melli to an almost flawless qualification to Qatar, but a shock 2-1 friendly defeat to Algeria in June and a lackluster training camp in the searing heat of Doha led to reports of a split dressing room.
Skocic's future is now up in the air as the Iranian Football Federation reportedly scramble for a replacement with just one training camp remaining before the World Cup finals. But Jahanbakhsh's focus remains on the pitch as he insists the players are eager to prove themselves once again.
“We showed in the last two World Cups we are not the easy opponent”, Jahanbakhsh explained. “We saw the reaction - everyone was talking about Iran as a national team. That's because we worked hard and we put that responsibility on our shoulders, it was unbelievable.
“We didn't make it to the next round but the way people reacted... we are going to do our best to make our nation proud. That's all we can do, make the best out of it and work hard because it's a very difficult group,” he concluded.
