Concentration the key says Argi

AFC – RAS AL KHAIMAH, Iran coach Akbar Argi praised for his players for their high level of concentration as the Iranians kicked-off their AFC U-19 Championship 2012 Group A campaign with a 2-0 victory over Japan on Saturday.

Iran took the lead just two minutes into a highly-charged encounter at the Emirates Club Stadium through Behnam Barzay’s header before substitute midfielder Hossein Fazeli scored with his only his second touch in the 56th minute to settle the contest between the two Group A favourites.

The win took Iran to the top of the Group A table with three points while UAE and Kuwait, who played 1-1 draw earlier, are in second and third place leaving the Japanese reeling at the bottom of the standings without a point.

“I must praise my players for high level of concentration. Maybe the score suggests it was an easy affair but it was not. The Japanese were very strong and both the sides were struggling to find the space,” Argi (pictured) told reporters after the match.

“But in that tussle we found more spaces and created more chances and scored two goals so everything went right today.

“I know this team can perform better than this. You will see a much-improved Iran side in the upcoming matches but we must remain on our feet as Kuwait and the UAE are also very good teams and anything can happen in football,” he said.

Argi’s counterpart Yasushi Yosihda lamented his side bad day at the office but with two matches remaining he remained confident Japan could turn things around.

“This is very sad defeat for the whole of Japanese football but we are still there. We have two matches to play and six points should be enough for us to progress,” he said.

Yosihda, who was without Japan’s second highest scorer in the qualifiers Minami Shuto through an ankle injury, also revealed that he tried to change the tactics in the second half but his strategy didn’t plan out as hoped.

“I tried my best. I replaced a striker for a midfielder but the main cause of our defeat started at the beginning when we conceded so early before the players were settled into the match.

“Once we were a goal down, the players came under pressure and we never recovered,” he said.