Asian Cup: Carlos Queiroz praises India
Tasnim – ABU DHABI, Iran national football team coach Carlos Queiroz lavished huge praise on the Blue Tigers after their emphatic 4-1 victory over Thailand in their 2019 AFC Asian Cup opener.
A brace by Sunil Chhetri and one each apiece by Anirudh Thapa and substitute Jeje Lalpekhlua saw the Indian team surges to the top of Group A.
The Portuguese coach, who has been the longest-serving coach for the Iranian national team, felt India has improved tremendously over the last couple of years.
“It is a completely different team since we played them. I saw you guys playing recently. The Indian team has made great progress,” he said.
Queiroz was referring to the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 qualifiers when Team Melli registered two comfortable victories (3-0 in Bengaluru and 4-0 in Tehran) over the Blue Tigers to cement its berth in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, as well as progress to the next round of FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
“It is a brilliant win and a very good performance. I would like to congratulate not only coach Constantine but the entire team and the supporters. It has been a fantastic result for the team,” he added.
“When you perform like this in the first game of the Asian Cup, it only shows that you are going in the right direction,” Queiroz said.