Iran Press /Iran news: IR Iran head coach Carlos Queiroz has asked his players to concentrate on just the match in front of them as Team Melli prepare to take on four-time champions Japan in the semifinal of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 .
“It’s one more day, one more game. This Japanese team have great movement on the pitch and with their actions and decisions they are very accurate. They are very accurate with their passing, but we cannot lose our identity,” said Queiroz in the news conference on Sunday ahead of the game, Iran Press reported.
The National Iranian football team or as it is better known as the 'Team Melli' in Iran could successfully beat China 3-0 in the match was held at Abu Dhabi.
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Also, IR Iran forward Alireza Jahanbakhsh has said that the greatest strength of Team Melli is the togetherness among its team members as they prepare to face Japan in the semifinal of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 on Monday.
“It’s a great feeling for us. It’s a dream for us to make it as far as possible in the Asian Cup,” said the Brighton & Hove Albion attacker. “We know we have got a very good team and we’ve got the support of all the Iranian people back home and all Iranians around the world and that give us even more strength to have a good performance,” he was quoted as saying by the-AFC.com.
Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu has said that IR Iran’s class has been proven in the AFC Asian Cup 2019, but his players will do their best to get a win when the two teams meet in the semifinal on Monday.
The Samurai Blue are the most successful national team in the Asian Cup history winning the title on four occasions while Iran haven’t tasted success after their third title win back in 1976.
However, Team Melli are firm favourites to lift the trophy this time around solely based on the performances they have produced in the United Arab Emirates so far.
Iran have won the AFC Asian Cup three times so far in 1968, 1972 and 1976 but its triumph took place 43 years ago.
The 2019 AFC Asian Cup kicked off in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday evening January 5 and will wrap up on February 1, 2019. 201/101/213
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