Iran counting on Goa to power FIFA World Cup U-17 challenge

AFC – KUALA LUMPUR, Iran are hoping their familiarity with Goa will give them additional power in the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 which kicks off on Friday.

Goa was the scene of their run to the AFC U-16 Championship final last year, which Iran lost on penalties to Iraq.

The loss in the final aside, Iran have fond memories of Goa and are hopeful that this can help them sustain a strong challenge against the world’s best U-17 teams.

Drawn in Group C, Iran have Guinea, Germany and Costa Rica for company but head coach Abbas Chamanian believes in his team’s chances.

“It’s awesome to return to the same city where we spent 22 days. We played six difficult and memorable matches at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Fatorda) but now the situation at the World Cup will be different.

“We are trying to make the players realise that we will face stronger teams and the conditions will be different too. We feel that returning to Goa is a good omen for us,” the Iran head coach said in recent interviews.

While Chamanian is quietly confident Iran can impress, his immediate target is for the team to emulate the 2009 squad who made the quarter-finals.

“The group looks tough as there isn’t much that separates teams in age group tournaments but having seen videos of recent matches involving Germany and Guinea, I feel that all the teams are equally strong.

“However, we have a common goal and are working as a team to reach that target,” said Chamanian.

And with Goa filled with happy memories, Iran may well go one better than they did in the AFC U-16 Championship when the curtains come down on the FIFA U-17 World Cup India on October 28.

Iran’s Group C Fixtures
October 7: vs Guinea
October 10: vs Germany
October 13: vs Costa Rica

Photos: AFC