Iran See Vietnam Match ‘Important’ in AFC Asian Cup

Date: 11 January 2019 - 21:03

News ID: ۶۱۸۶۸

TEHRAN (Dispatches) - Ahead of their second Asian Cup 2019 Group D match against Vietnam, Iran coach Carlos Queiroz has stated that the meeting with the Golden Dragons will not be an easy one for the West Asian representatives.
Iran produced a perfect start to their continental campaign by thrashing debutants Yemen 5-0 in the opening match on January 7.
Queiroz’s troops are considered the odds-on favorites for this year’s championship title. So, it is not surprising that they are much higher rated than the Vietnamese side heading into their important encounter tomorrow.
However, addressing a pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon, the Portuguese coach expressed his caution while talking about their Vietnamese opponents. "Playing against such a brilliant opponent as Vietnam, I know it will be a tough game. All the players need to stay ready to fight and play a really good match for the team”.
The 65-year-old coach admitted that he had carefully reviewed the friendly match between the Vietnamese team and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea at My Dinh Stadium, which ended up in a 1-1 draw, and their Group opener against Iraq, in which Vietnam suffered a 2-3 defeat. "Vietnam deployed an extremely positive playing style with a high level of discipline and concentration. A draw against Iraq would have been a fairer result”.
Iran last won the Cup in 1976 and they are looking forward to end their 43-year trophy drought in the UAE.
The 2019 AFC Asian Cup is being held in the UAE from Jan. 5 to Feb. 1.

***************Iran coach Carlos Queiroz has warned his players of the danger of Park Hang-seo's Vietnamese side.