Alkass Digital
Head coach Amir Ghalenoei is expecting more of his Islamic Republic of Iran players when they take on Hong Kong, China in their second match of the AFC Asian Cup™ Qatar 2023 at Khalifa International Stadium on Friday.
Team Melli started their journey in style, putting four goals past Palestine from four different scorers as all of Karim Ansarifard, Shojae Khalilzadeh, Mehdi Ghayedi and Sardar Azmoun contributed to the 4-1 victory on Sunday, but Ghalenoei insists his team still has more.
“The last match was difficult; we had to fight a lot and, in the process, picked up two injuries,” said the Iran boss.
“We have some injured players, and we could make 3-4 changes. When I said I was not satisfied with our performance in the previous match, it was because I know what my players are capable of. We are ready for the match tactically and we know our players are technically sound and very creative.
“We should think every match is a final and go step by step, so right now we are only thinking of Hong Kong. I am sure it will be a difficult game. Playing every three days and with injuries, we need to be wary.”
Team Melli enjoyed nearly 62% of the possession during their first game of the tournament, but Ghalenoei is more focused on how the team utilises that possession.
“[Pep] Guardiola brought ‘Tiki-Taka’ but he himself is changing; number of passes is not so important, it matters how many players you put out of play by each pass, the possession and how well you complete it. That is the priority for me.
“Every player has a specific responsibility at his club, but at the national team, their responsibilities are different. Mehdi Taremi might not have scored, but we gave him special duties, and he is performing very well.”
Hong Kong started their campaign with a 3-1 defeat to the United Arab Emirates but did enjoy a moment of happiness when Philip Chan scored their first AFC Asian Cup goal since 1968, also marking the 1,000th goal in the history of the competition.
The East Asian side have welcomed the return of veteran centre-back Helio from injury, providing a boost for head coach Jorn Andersen before the team’s clash against IR Iran on Friday.
“I am very happy after our training yesterday as after a long time we had all 26 players available,” said Andersen.
“Helio is back after a while, and I am glad to have a full-strength squad. We all know that we are against a tough opponent tomorrow. We played against IR Iran only a couple of months ago and we know how tough they can be, but this is a new match, and we will do our best.”
“Every match starts at 0-0 and our duty is to keep up our fighting spirit and come back with a point. We are the lowest ranked team in a competition featuring some of the best teams in the world. But we knew that when we qualified and are mentally prepared. IR Iran have many quality players who perform at the highest level in European competitions but that will not temper our fighting spirit.
“It’s not the easiest to sustain 90 minutes of high-pressing football against a team like Iran but our condition is much better now than it was when we started playing. We played three good teams before coming here and we have studied the UAE match carefully. I think you should expect a very different Hong Kong squad tomorrow.”
Hong Kong, China v IR Iran
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium (Al Rayyan)
Kick-off: 20:30 (UTC+3)