In his pre-match press conference, the newly appointed head coach of Team Melli said: “The two friendly games are good opportunities for me to asses my players.”

Marc Wilmots, said on Wednesday prior to the game against Syria “I wish to start by mentioning two things. First, I always had a lot of respect for national customs and respect for senior players. I like to convey my condolences to one of the valued former Team Melli players, Naeem Saadavi, who lost his wife. There are things in life that are more important than football. Like family especially in Iranian society. I also congratulate you all on the end of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.”

“We have two friendly games in which I can test my players,” he said. “As for players’ fitness, I have to say some of the players have not played competitively since the end of the Persian Gulf League. Games against Syria and South Korea are great opportunities. Although our players are not in their ideal forms, I and the players like to play with full potential.”

Wilmots pointed out: “I am the coach who loves to have the possession of the ball, but at the same time I have always had a regular organized type of play where having the possession of the ball is to create scoring opportunities and mostly have that possession in the in the opponent’s area. I applied that style both in Belgium and Ivory Coast.”

He also explained about the mechanism of selecting players in his first Team Melli squad : “When you are new in the job and do not know a country, it’s best to refer to recent back records. So, that is how I did it until I familiarize myself and know the style of each squad member, and then I choose from them as deemed necessary. After these two games, I try to look for new players and invite potential talents to the squad. Youth should be added to Team Melli.”

Asked about the game plan and his style, Wilmots responded “It depends on the type of players we have. We do not have Saman Ghoddos and Sardar Azmoun in the team. I have to create a balanced style between defensive and offensive game plan. I do not have anything to do with what have been implemented before me and shall follow my own style. If in the last 8 years the team has concentrated on defensive style, he may want to continue to play that way, but I’m the coach who would like to play an offensive game and push the opponent’s team to the limit. We have 3 years to the next World Cup.”

Wilmots also said about the future plan for Iranian football during his tenure “It’s not important to for me to seek FIFA Ranking (…) but it’s important to qualify to the World Cup for the third consecutive time. We try to provide a balanced game style. Of course, that depends on the opponent as well. If you play against Brazil, you will not be able to have the possession of the ball as much. We will try to use Team Melli players in their same post that they play in their clubs. We cannot change players in three training sessions. I did this in the Belgian national team and it was successful. We will closely view and monitor Iran games.”

Team Melli will play its first game under Wilmots on Thursday 6th June In Azadi Stadium.