After waylaying Germany in Goa, Iran aims to do the improbable again against European champions Spain as the two sides meet in the quarterfinals of the Under-17 World Cup at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Sunday.

Iran, which has qualified for the quarterfinals for the first time, will be playing an opponent which has steadily improved as the tournament progressed.

Spain’s languid attacking style will challenge Iran’s resilience. The team allowed rivals to dominate possession, but backed its defensive strategy and won all its four matches.

But, Iran’s lightning switch from defence to offence has also caught its rivals napping.

“We have reached this stage by playing hard. Spain is a tough opponent but they will also be under pressure. Our objective is to keep a clean slate and then score. Once we score we try our best to defend it,” said coach Abbas Chamanian.

The coach also downplayed the absence of Delfi through suspension, saying his team was loaded with enough talent.

Captain Allahyar Sayyed, who has struck thrice in the tournament, was also confident his team had the ability to come up trumps.

Spain has won three matches on the bounce after its opening defeat to Brazil. Abel Ruiz’s last-minute penalty gave it a narrow win over France in the pre-quarterfinals, a morale booster for Santiago Deni’s side.

“We are aware of Iran’s strength. Iran is a dangerous side on counterattacks and they defend pretty well. We are pretty flexible with our gameplan. Our aim is to win and enter the semifinals,” Deni said.

It has been raining pretty hard in Kochi for the last two days and the humidity, which has been a deterrent for Spain, will no longer be a factor if it rains on match day.