Doustimehr downbeat despite win

Iran coach Ali Doustimehr was left deflated despite seeing his side finish their AFC U-19 Championships campaign with a 2-0 win over Yemen.

With both sides having lost to Korea Republic and Australia, it meant there was only pride left to play for in the Group D encounter at Linzi Stadium.

Substitute Kaveh Rezaei proved the difference, breaking the deadlock in the 56th minute when he slotted home Iran’s first goal of the tournament at the back post.

The striker then converted a re-taken penalty four minutes from time after Yemen skipper Mohammed Boqshan collected a second booking for fouling Rezaei in the box.

Despite the victory, Doustimehr was still downbeat over Iran’s early exit following 2-0 and 3-0 losses to Korea and Australia respectively.

“Today’s win cannot make up for the losses against Australia and South Korea, it cannot cover our disappointment about those two games,” he said.

“You know, 11 players play football, not just one or two but if we had Rezaei and (Omid) Alishah properly prepared against Korea and Australia, I don’t think we would’ve lost.

“I didn’t want to play Kaveh Rezaei but I wanted to prove that when he can play healthy, he can influence the other players and the game.

“If we had got a good draw, we could’ve qualified from our group. I think everybody knows that Iran were in a hard group and I’m 100% sure that South Korea and Australia will reach the semi-finals.

“Yemen were a good team, they played their way and they did well against Australia and Korea Republic.”

Yemen coach Sami Al Nash saw his side put together two gritty displays following the opening 4-1 defeat by Australia and was full of praise for the way his young charges never gave up in the face of more illustrious opposition.

“It was a strong display from each team. We played in a strong group and we struggle to play in a balanced way although we came here with a young team,” he said.

“We were in a strong group and made many mistake in the two matches against Australia and today against Iran. Our preparation was not long enough but I thank my players for battling hard and we will be stronger in the future.

“Iran have been a strong team in Asia for a long time. They don’t have a lot of pace like Korea but they have good technique and tactics when they play.”