Pathum Thani: Their morale might have been dampened after a draw in their previous match against Qatar, but Iran U17 responded with a stellar showing in their final AFC U17 Asian Cup™ Thailand 2023 Group B clash against Korea Republic.
Two quick-fire goals in the first half saw them win 2-0 at the Pathum Thani Stadium on Thursday and qualify as group winners for the knockout stage – their eighth time in 12 appearances and first since 2016, where they went on to finish as runners-up.
Iran will meet Yemen in the quarter-finals on Sunday 25th June while Korea Republic will face Thailand
The pride on Hossein Abdi’s face was clear as he addressed the media after the match and praised the way his charges shut out opponents who had scored a tournament-high 10 goals.
“Korea are a very good team and we saw that when we analyzed them before the match,” he said. “We had a gameplan to stop them from attacking quickly and after that, we got the first goal and then got another one.”
“We closed down every aspect of their (attacking) game… I am proud of all the things they did tonight.
“It was a very nice game with both teams playing tactically to attack and stop each other… I think it was one of the best matches of the tournament (so far).”
Byun Sung-hwan, whose team had already qualified for the quarter-finals after winning their first two matches, admitted that the seven changes he made to the starting line-up affected the team’s chemistry and usual style of play.
The 43-year-old congratulated the Iranians on the result and preferred not to dwell on the loss, believing that it is more useful and imperative to learn from the experience.
“The result was bad but I think we gained a lot of things (perspectives),” he said. “We changed players as the (more) important point was the quarter-finals; we were able to preserve the condition of the (first-team) players and were able to try many different options.
“Our original plan was to dominate the match but it was not that smooth-going. In the first half, Iran played simply, as expected, but our defense reacted quite slow… so we have to prepare to face that kind of playing style in the future.
“Through this experience, I hope it will be helpful for our team for the rest of the tournament.”
The victory was Iran’s second in as many meetings – they beat the East Asians in the 2008 final for their only title to date – and while it was one to savour, Abdi stressed that it was more important that his charges are able to enjoy playing, regardless of any result.
He had initiated more social activities after the stalemate with Qatar, where a dominant display did not reap any goals, such as putting on funny movies, to ensure they could recover mentally and maintain a positive mindset.
It appeared to work, as the Central Asians ran their socks off and chased every loose ball, and in a moment of spontaneity, did a few push-ups in unison after the final whistle to celebrate.
“Players at this age need to develop and they should also enjoy the matches,” Abdi explained. “I am their coach not only for today and yesterday, but also for the long term.
“I have to know how to improve them physically and mentally…With young players, we cannot be forcing them to be like machines, we have to give them some good experiences, because they are players for the future.”
“When you win against a good team, everyone is happy and they wanted to show that (with the push-ups), and I don’t blame them for keeping themselves motivated.
“We are not here just for competition, but also to share our feelings, joy, and excitement with each other.”
