Iran Not Taking Things Easy against UAE: Ghalenoei
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei acknowledged some problems faced in their game against Hong Kong, insisting his side will not take things easy against the UAE.
Team Melli is scheduled to meet the UAE on Tuesday at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan.
“We are happy we were able to qualify to the next round. Based on our analysis and statistics, we had more than 70% possession and completed more than 200 passes against Hong Kong. In this tournament, in only two matches one of the teams was unable to complete 100 passes, one was India vs Uzbekistan and the other one was Hong Kong against us,” said Ghalenoei.
“We did have some problems, our passing accuracy was not great, we gave an opportunity to the opponents and their chances came from mistakes of our players, but I want to say thanks to all my players for the effort they put in against Hong Kong,” he added.
“Tomorrow’s game will not be easy because we want to win and qualify for the second round as leader. The UAE is in a good condition under Paulo Bento, and it will not be an easy match. Also, Palestine still has a chance to qualify and because of the spirit of fair play, we want to play at our best too.
“Every player in the team knows they should have their best individual performance in order for us to be successful,” Ghalenoei added.
