Carlos Queiroz is relying on the heart and soul of his Iran players to drive them to Asian Cup glory after bemoaning the worst possible preparation for the continent’s best-ranked side.
The World Cup finalists, ranked 51st by FIFA, have been stuck for opponents and short of money to pay for training camps ahead of the tournament in Australia where they have been drawn in Group C alongside the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
Queiroz, who spent months wrangling over a contract extension after the World Cup group-stage exit in June, said expectations of a fourth Asian Cup title and first since 1976 had to be checked.
“We are number one in (Asia in) the FIFA rankings, but that is not realistic, not correct because the best countries are still Japan, (South) Korea and Australia and other countries,” he told Australia’s SBS The World Game ahead of their opener against Bahrain on Sunday.
“Iran, with our limitations, with the issues we faced in the preparations, camps cancelled, games no chance to travel or pay for camps.
“We come here with our soul, with our heart with our spirit, as we did before the World Cup and a belief and trust and confidence that the players put on me and I put on them.
“Together we have been working every day, using those problems and those issues as sources for our inspiration to make everybody more strong, more committed, with a strong belief that together, united, we can make things happen inside the pitch.”
Similar hardships before their fourth World Cup campaign hindered preparations but the tactically savvy Queiroz rung the best out of a limited squad who came within seconds of a credible 0-0 draw with eventual runners-up Argentina.
While fellow Asian Cup finalists China and Jordan have played six friendlies since October, Iran have managed just two, a 1-0 win over South Korea and Sunday’s 1-0 success against Iraq with a lineup featuring a number of fringe players.
“I cannot play this competition with 11 players, I need other players,” the former Real Madrid and Portugal boss added.
“They are talented players but they need experience because a competition like Asian Cup is all about quality and experience.”
