The Iranian football coaching legend and former coach of Team Melli said that the Football Federation has delivered the best decision by keeping Dragan Skocic in his post. “The federation’s decision to keep Skocic was logical and rational”

Heshmat Mohajerani, who is the first coach ever to succeed in qualifying Iran to the World Cup back in 1978 commented on the draw for the third round by saying “If the Asian Confederation had given us the power to draw lots, we could not have done a better job in our own favor.”

He jokingly added, “All we could have done was to say, if you like, take Korea Rep out of the group and replace it with India or Pakistan.”

He continued: “There will be not much to discuss regarding our group rivals because except for Korea, all our opponents are in West Asia and these teams have played with us many times in the last few years and have lost to us mentally before the game. Our football history has shown that we are superior to these teams. In the other group, only Saudi Arabia and Oman are from West Asia, and that group is much more difficult than this Iran group.”

Mohajerani, the head coach of Team Melli when Iran lifted the Asian Cup for the third time in 1976 was asked about the FFIRI decision on continuing with the current coach Skocic: “The federation’s decision to keep Skocic was logical and rational because we could not make a change in such a short time. In the previous games of the national team, we saw that the coaches noticed Iran’s weakness in the defensive line. All we need is calm, and we have to play one or two preparation matches with a strong team and an average team, and examine our strengths and weaknesses.”

He added: “We touched on our problems in the Manama Games and we know the situation of the national team. To solve those problems, we have to hold preparatory games and short-term camps. The third qualifying round of the World Cup is easier than the second round, and God willing, we can qualify for the World Cup.