Qalenoei takes dig at players after successive friendly setbacks
Iran head coach Amir Qalenoei said “some of the players” would never get an international call-up again after his team fell to a 2-0 defeat against Russia in a friendly game in Kazan on Tuesday.
Monaco winger Aleksandr Golovin put the hosts in front with a composed finish from inside the box midway through the first half and then doubled the advantage 15 minutes later when his well-taken free-kick from 30 yards out found the top corner.
The scoreline would have been more overwhelming for Iran, which started the game with a three-man backline – as it did against Belgium and Egypt at the World Cup – had it not been for Persepolis goalkeeper Payam Niazmand, who was introduced at halftime and pulled off a couple of fine saves to deny Golovin and substitute Lechii Sadulaev.
This was a second defeat in five days for Iran following a 3-1 loss to Uzbekistan in Fergana on Thursday – a wake-up call for Qalenoei and his players ahead of January’s AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.
“We aim to identify the team’s weaknesses through friendlies and work on addressing them ahead of our upcoming games,” Qalenoei said after the game.
“That is what friendly matches are for. With the game level and both teams pursuing their tactical objectives, we conceded two goals because of two mistakes. Thank God we are making these mistakes in a friendly match,” added the Iranian coach, whose team will look to end a 50-year title drought at the Asian Cup.
“This match reminded us of the World Cup, as its level was on par with that competition. It was a very useful outing for us. Although I am disappointed with the result, we lost despite conceding few chances, as the two teams had an equal expected-goals figure.
“Our game plan was working relatively well, and [Mahdi] Taremi and Sardar Azmoun also had two very good chances. However, because they were not in ideal physical condition, they were unable to take advantage of those opportunities. The score was goalless at the time,” added the Iranian.
Despite back-to-back defeats, Qalenoei remained confident of his team delivering at the Asian Cup.
“Although we lost our last two matches against Uzbekistan and Russia and conceded a lot of goals, these games will help us in the future to identify our weaknesses.”
Referring to the use of a number of players in the two friendlies, Qalenoei said: “Some of the players were given a fair share of game time through both games, but they did not make the most of the opportunity. They will certainly not feature in future camps.”
Qalenoei also blamed “schoolboy mistakes” made by some of his senior players, namely veteran fullback Ehsan Hajsafi and goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, when Team Melli was beaten by its Central Asian foe last week.