AFC U17 Asian Cup:
Coach Chamanian wants more from Iran after North Korea draw
Iran head coach Abbas Chamanian was satisfied with his team’s 1-1 stalemate against North Korea in their opening game at the AFC U17 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia but expects his players to improve for their remaining Group D fixtures.
Mahdi Sahneh found the net for Iran midway through the first half to cancel out Choe Chung-hyok’s eighth-minute opener.
North Korea, which beat Iran 4-1 in the qualifiers, was unlucky not to restore the lead before the break after Iranian goalkeeper and defenders put their bodies on the line to produce heroic blocks in a frenetic scramble at the end of the first half.
Iran came close to a second goal on the hour mark when Ri Kang-song’s header back to his keeper was intercepted by Ehsan Kheradpisheh but Jong Hyon-ju pulled off a great save to deny the striker.
Another quick counter in the 77th minute saw Mohammadreza Yousefi send a superb curled pass beyond the North Korean backline but Kheradpisheh could not get a touch as the teams shared the spoils in Jeddah.
With Tajikistan leading the group table thanks to a 2-1 victory over Oman earlier in the day, Iran and North Korea will be desperate to walk away with maximum points in their second outing on Tuesday to remain on course for a last-eight spot and qualification for November’s U-17 World Cup in Qatar.
“North Korea is a very strong team and it was a difficult match, but our players performed well considering this was our opening game,” said Chamanian.
The vastly experienced tactician said his players would still have to put in more effort to further improve, especially in the final third, if they want to overcome two-time champion Oman next.
“Our defense is solid but we need to sharpen our attacks. We have intelligent players who can help us get good results and win our next two matches if we work on this component.”
Iran will take on 2018 runner-up Tajikistan on Friday.
The top two of the group will progress to the quarterfinals.