Originally posted by taremiscores
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As for Queiroz not reaching the knockout stage, do you really blame him? He only had two months with the team and then was completely blindsided and overwhelmed by sudden political upheaval in the country, an event that had paralyzed the team and weakened morale amongst the players and coaching staff. No coach would have been able to do better under those circumstances, even though he managed to eke out a win against Wales, a team with emotional stability and far superior financial resources and overall preparation. And despite the team's dire situation, Iran under Queiroz even came close to drawing with the U.S., arguably one of the best teams in the tournament. I strongly believe that, had the players been in a better mental and emotional state, the ultimate goal of reaching the second round would have been achieved this time.
Let's face the facts: At this stage, the federation is broke, and no Iranian coach is ready to take the helm, to accept relentless layers of criticism following a potentially difficult journey. As for foreign coaches, the real good ones are hard to get, and even if they finally commit to a sojourn in Iran, they'll have a rough time acclimating to the current society and learning about the football culture, the domestic league and current national team players. Queiroz is already past that stage. He also has the respect of the players and possesses the know-how to lead Iran to the next World Cup. He's, for now, the best candidate.
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