Iran soccer team arrives in India for FIFA World Cup qualifier

PressTV – BENGALURU, Iranian men’s national soccer team has arrived in India for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against the Indian squad later this week.

The Iranian outfit, headed by 62-year-old Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz, landed at the Kempegowda International Airport in the southern Indian city of Bangalore on Sunday morning, and was cheered by thousands of Iranians as well as soccer enthusiasts upon arrival.

The Iranian soccer players will take on their Indian counterparts on Tuesday in a Group D match described by India’s chief coach Stephen Constantine as “difficult.”

“I hope we can give the fans something to cheer about. It will be very difficult match for us but that’s the time when you can discover on whom you can depend upon,” Constantine has said.

India’s 23-member team arrived in Bangalore on Friday for the September 8 showdown.

The Iranian national soccer team trounced Guam 6-0 in a 2018 World Cup qualifier at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium on September 3.

Ashkan Dejagah opened the scoring from the penalty spot just 10 minutes into the match. Mehdi Taremi made it 2-0 in the 31st minute, and Sardar Azmoun placed the ball inside the opposite side’s net twice in the 34th and 41st minutes.

In the 65th minute, Taremi made his second field goal of the day to make the score 5-0. A late goal by Iran’s Mehdi Torabi in the 89th minute took the score to 6-0.

On June 16, India conceded a 1-2 defeat to Guam in its 2018 soccer World Cup qualifying match in Tamuning.