Tehran:
In the pre-match press conference , Iran coach Carlos Queiroz was cautious in his statements while being wary of facing a Qatar side recovering from a heavy home defeat in the Tuesday’s 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier at Azadi Stadium .
Queiroz is not underestimating Qatar team , which drew with Iran twice in the last round of the same competetions
“We have full respect for their technical staff and the players. We are professional enough not to underestimate any rivals and Qatar wouldn’t be an exception. I am convinced they have brought along all their weapons to Tehran and we’re also fully prepared to face them,” said the Portuguese coach.
“I am sure you will see a different face of Qatar when we take on them on Wednesday. They’re here to make amends for the home loss they suffered and we’re quite wary of that.”
Team Melli will be without Mojtaba Jabari due to injury after the Esteghlal midfielder was withdrawn with 15 minutes remaining against Uzbekistan.
“We are pretty confident ahead of the game against Qatar. There’s been some talk and comments on how many attacks we devised against Uzbekistan and how many scoring chances we created, but when you finally seal your place in Brazil 2014, nobody cares about how many chances you created or missed during qualification,” added Queiroz, who has guided Iran on an eight match unbeaten streak during the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
“They played against Korea Republic and we rested, but we don’t know which players they are going to field tomorrow afternoon. If they name the same team, then you can say their players might be fatigued due to tight schedule they have had.”
Qater coach Paulo Autuori, meanwhile, insists his side have put Friday’s heavy defeat behind them and are out to make amends at Azadi Stadium.
“I’m aware it’s going to be tough, a tough match. Additionally, I know that Iran and Korea Republic are the favourites in Group A to qualify for the World Cup, but we’re here to astonish everyone by winning a slot in Brazil 2014,” said the Brazilian coach.
“Tomorrow will be difficult for us to play Iran, but different from the match against Korea. Fortunately, we’ve recovered well from the 4-1 defeat and are in good spirits and good physical condition to confront Iran at the Azadi stadium.”
“It is easy to talk about reasons for a defeat,” added Autuori. “We already analysed that match and conveyed our message to players.
“Tomorrow is a different arena for us and we have completely prepared ourselves to face a big team like Iran.”