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Qalenoei hails ‘disciplined defense’ after shootout win over Cape Verde
Chances were few and far between for the two sides, both of which will be present at next year’s World Cup finals in North America, as the game finished goalless in normal time, forcing a shootout decider.
While Omid Nourafkan, Ali Alipour, Mohammad Mohebbi, Saeid Ezzatollahi, and Mahdi Taremi all converted from the spot, Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand denied Laros Duarte’s effort to guide Team Melli to a 5-4 win.
“I’m glad we won a game of World Cup caliber, though the result is the last thing that matters in friendly matches,” Qalenoei said after the game.
“Friendlies are all about identifying your strengths and weaknesses. Our main objective in this match was to work on our defensive shape, and I think we managed to do that effectively. I think we delivered a decent performance, especially in the second half, against a team that had been unbeaten in nine games before today’s encounter,” added the Iranian.
“With a bit more luck, we could have won the game before it went to penalties. But for me, the real victory was the significant improvement in our defensive structure. Many critics are just waiting for us to drop a game so they can attack us, but our philosophy for these matches is clear: we aim to identify our weak spots in both defensive and offensive setups,” said Qalenoei, who still regretted the absence of several key players in the squad, namely Sardar Azmoun, Mahdi Qayedi, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, and Ali Qolizadeh, during this international break.
“The return of injured players surely makes a difference, as Majid Hosseini contributed to our disciplined defense today.”
When asked about the team’s quick transition from defense to attack, and whether this style is what to expect from his side at the World Cup, Qalenoei said: “Definitely. We started from the midfield and reduced the length of the pitch to under 30 meters for the team. One of our key objectives was to create chances through quick counter-attacks, which we did successfully on several occasions, though the most important thing was not conceding and denying the opponent opportunities.”
Iranian skipper Taremi, meanwhile, echoed manager’s assessment of the game, saying: “Our main priority was our defensive structure and maintaining the compact shape we needed throughout the game, and I believe we executed that quite well.”
“We also had a couple of chances on the counter-attack that we failed to convert, but overall, I think it was a good performance. Our gameplan wasn’t overly aggressive, but relative to what we had designed, the team delivered a suitable performance.”