Mohammadi: we’ve learned from Korea clash

AFC – TASHKENT, Iran coach Akbar Mohammadi believes his side’s defeat to DPR Korea provided a necessary lesson for his players as the defending champions look to reach the quarter-finals of the AFC U-16 Championship with victory over Syria in their final Group B game.

The Iranians made the ideal start to the tournament with a 5-1 defeat of Oman on Sunday but failed to build on that result as they lost 2-0 to 10-man DPR Korea on Tuesday.

Both those games were at JAR Stadium but they will grace the pitch at Pakhtakor Stadium for the first time on Thursday looking to collect the three points they need to cement their passage to the last eight.

And the Iran coach believes the loss to DPR Korea will serve them well in their quest for a second successive title.

“We can take a lot of lessons from this match (against DPR Korea),” said Mohammadi (pictured).

“We must think about the next match and fight our best to go to the next round.”

Iran were predominantly out fought in midfield with DPR Korea players time and again winning battles in the middle of the park.

“We have some good players in midfield but some of them are injured and we were unable to register them for this tournament,” added Mohammadi.

“We must solve this problem in midfield but I am 100% sure we can qualify to the next round.”

For Syria just a single point will be enough to see them progress at the expense of Iran.

A last-minute goal against Oman gave the West Asians a 1-0 victory that moved them up to second in the group.

It means they head into their final group game on four points and coach Mohammad Al Jomaa has every intention of picking up another victory to give his side the chance to finish top of the standings.

“I think our team is getting better and better with each game,” he said.

“We know the Iran team very well because we have played against them before.

“I believe we will play better in the next match because we want a good score to go to the second round.”