The quarterfinals of the AFC U-20 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2023 will be held at JAR Stadium in Tashkent on Saturday.
“The sensitivity of this match is very high for us and for Iraq, because it’s a knockout match,” said Marfavi.
“We managed to qualify as top of the most difficult group of the tournament, but now there is a match that’s very tough for us and for Iraq. We will try to concentrate on winning the game," he added.
“Mohammed (Iraq coach) was a professional player in Iranian football, and we respect him a lot. I have known Iraqi football since the days of the late striker Ahmed Radhi and Adnan Dirjal. We had many face-to-face matches with Iraq, so we know them very well and they know us too. I hope the best team wins," the Iranian coach stated.
“Iraq deserves to be here in the quarterfinals. The team is very good technically and tactically, also physically. We have a plan for this match based on our analysis of the team and of course they would have done the same," Marfavi concluded.