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Iran’s Zobahan gained a 1-0 victory against Al Kuwait SC at the second preliminary round of AFC Champions League 2019 on Tuesday.

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In the previous edition, 10-man Iran were forced to say goodbye to the tournament after losing to Iraq in penalty shootout in quarterfinals.

Australian referee Ben Williams came under fire for his decision to hand a second yellow card to Iran defender Mehrdad Pooladi in the first half, Iraq winning the penalty shootout 7-6 after scores were locked at 3-3 at the end of extra-time.

Now, the Portuguese coach has learned the lesson from the past and is too cautious about his players’ treatments in the field.

Queiroz punished Majid Hosseini after his nasty tackle on Yemen player on Monday. He rested the defender in the second half as well as Vietnam match held on Saturday at Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The ex-Real Madrid coach is going to qualify for Round of 16 as the winners and Team Melli will win the group with even a draw but it will not satisfy the Coach. He wants to beat Iraq, without a shadow of a doubt.

“From now on, we are concentrating on Iraq match. As I’ve already said, every match is like a final for us in the tournament. Iraq are a strong team and they are one of the favorites to win the title,” Queiroz said in the news conference.

The 2007 AFC Asian Cup champions could make life difficult for Iran but Team Melli take advantage of their ‘golden generation’ in this tournament as the Persians want to bring an end to their 43-year title drought.

Iran, the Asian best-ranked football team, narrowly missed the chance to reach the 2018 World Cup knockout phase.

Queiroz has not forgotten about their heartbreak against Iraq in the previous edition and it’s the best time for him to take revenge against them in the match scheduled for Wednesday in Group D.

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The 2019 Asian Cup got under way at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi, the UAE.

Among those in attendance were FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid, Crown Prince of Dubai.

There were also plenty of UAE and Bahrain fans at Zayed Sports City for the Group A match between two teams.

The Emirates are hosting the continental showpiece for a second time, look to improve on their third-place finish in Australia four years ago.

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The Middle Eastern side, the lowest-ranked team in the competition at 135th in the world, begin their Group D campaign next Monday against Iran, the continent’s top team at 29th, at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

“The target now is not easy,” Kocian said. “We are debutants in Asian Cup and want to do our best. Normally, you want to win a game, but we can dream as a small country.”

“Yemen can dream of big victories against Iran and Iraq. It’s normal. It may not be real, but we will try. The target is we want to win,” he stated.

The vastly experienced Slovak, who took charge of Yemen in October, is not able to reside in Yemen given the political situation there. However, he has worked with his team at training camps in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, did see positives in the recent friendly defeats – both narrow – to Saudi and the UAE, thenational.ae reported.

“I’m very happy to see people from Yemen in the UAE and Saudi,” Kocian said. “For people in Yemen the situation is very bad, for those who stay there the life is very hard. But maybe with victory we can give a good representation of them in the Asian Cup.”

“We have Iran, Iraq, Vietnam: all the teams are very strong. But we are good defensively and have good team spirit. I won’t tell you we will win, but we want to,” the Slovak concluded.

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Iran national football team last lifted Asian football’s most coveted trophy on home soil in 1976, when they completed the third leg of three consecutive championship wins that mark the country out as one of continent’s most successful ever.

Iran head to the United Arab Emirates as one of favorites, where they will meet Yemen, Vietnam and Iraq in Group D.

Albion’s record signing Jahanbakhsh sustained hamstring damage in the 3-1 defeat at Everton at the start of last month. He has not featured since and is now with Iran for the Asian Cup in Doha’s training camp.

“My recovery process goes well and I think I will be fit for the Asian Cup,” Jahanbakhsh told reporters.

“We are desperate to win the title after 43 years. We feel obliged to make our people happy and we also know that the fans’ expectations are very high after the 2018 World Cup. They are right to have a dream and we will do our best to make their dreams come true,” Jahanbakhsh said.

“Iran played very well against three powerhouse teams in the 2018 World Cup and our people celebrated in the streets despite we missed out on advancing from the group stage. It shows they are behind us and pushing us,” he added.

“Iran can make history in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup because we take advantage of one of the best generations we have ever had. Four years ago, we were knocked out of the Asian Cup in penalty shootout against Iraq but this time we are determined to win the title,” Jahanbakhsh stated.

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The 22-year-old player suffered an injury on international duty in October.

Ezatolahi expressed his disappointment at missing the competition.

“I feel really bad because of missing the AFC Asian Cup but I have to trust in God. It can be helpful in this difficult situation. Also, I am very sad since I cannot be at Team Melli’s service as a soldier. In the 2018 World Cup, I did my best to make the Iranian people happy but I’ve ruled out the Asian Cup and I cannot be a part of Team Melli,” said Ezatolahi in a post on social media.

Ezatolahi, who currently plays in English championship side Reading, was a member of Iran national football team in the 2018 World Cup against Spain and Portugal.

Iran have been drawn in Group D of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup alongside Vietnam, Iraq and Yemen.

Team Melli will start their journey with a match against Yemen on January 7 before facing Vietnam on January 12 and Iraq on January 16.

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The last of Iran’s three triumphs in the AFC Asian Cup was in 1976, meaning that it will be 43 years since the Persians last won the title by the time the action in the UAE 2019 kicks off next January.

Team Melli have been drawn along with Iraq, Vietnam and Yemen in the tournament’s Group D.

Beiranvand was a standout in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The goalkeeper starred as Team Melli came close to getting out of a difficult group containing Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

He put himself on the global stage in Russia after saving Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty.

Beiranvand also was a key player in Iran’s Persepolis reaching the final of the Champions League for the first time since the tournament started in 2003.

“We will participate in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup to win the title. It’s time to win the trophy after 43 years. The players are highly motivated as they know they can win and there is no way but to claim the title,” Beiranvand said.

“We performed very well in the 2018 World Cup and all the experts and football fans expect we also play well in the UAE. Of course, Team Melli will have a difficult task ahead since the competition will bring Asian powerful teams together. Japan, Australia, South Korea and Saudi Arabia are favorites to win the cup as well as the UAE and Qatar,” the Persepolis goalie stated.

“In the previous edition in Australia, we lost to Iraq in penalty shootout but we’ve learned from our mistakes and will do our best to meet high expectations,” Beiranvand concluded.

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Queiroz will announce his main team on Dec. 26.

Iran national football team will travel to Doha on Monday to hold a training camp in the Persian Gulf country until Dec. 24.

Team Melli will also play a friendly match with Qatar as part of preparation for the Asian Cup.

Iran national football team have been drawn along with Iraq, Yemen and Vietnam in Group D.

The 2019 AFC Asian Cup will be held in the United Arab Emirates from January 5 to February 1.

Squad:

Goalkeepers:
Alireza Beiranvand (Persepolis), Hossein Hosseini (Esteghlal), Payam Niazmand (Sepahan)

Defenders:
Ramin Rezaeian (Al-Shahania SC), Mohammadreza Khanzadeh (Qatar’s Al Ahli), Rouzbeh Cheshmi (Esteghlal), Milad Mohammadi (Akhmat Grozny), Vouria Ghafouri (Esteghlal), Mohammadhossein Kananizadegan (Machine Sazi), Ehsan Haji Safi (Tractor Sazi), Pejman Montazeri (Esteghlal)

Midfielders:
Omid Ebrahimi (Qatar’s Al Ahli), Ashkan Dejagah (Tractor Sazi), Masoud Shojaei (Tractor Sazi), Ahmad Nourollahi (Persepolis), Ali Karimi (Esteghlal)

Strikers:
Ali Gholizadeh (Charleroi), Mehdi Taremi (Al Gharafa), Sardar Azmoun (Rubin Kazan), Mehdi Torabi (Persepolis), Ali Alipour (Persepolis)

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