Hector Cooper, the Argentine head coach of Uzbekistan said that tomorrow’s game against Iran is a serious test for the new Uzbek team in preparation for the AFC Asian Cup.
Cooper “Queiroz has given this team stability. “
Uzbekistan and Iran will meet tomorrow night (Tuesday) in an international friendly match in Bunyodkor Stadium , Tashkent. “Tomorrow we will have a serious match against Iran,” Hector Cooper said at the pre-match press conference. “This is a test for us. We are going to send new players on to the field. Iran is a very good and powerful team, and Carlos Queiroz has given this team stability. Tomorrow I want my players to play football and I have told them that they have to follow orders from the coaching staff on the pitch.”
He went on to say: “We want to fix the mistakes we have seen in the practice sessions. I know that the team faces a lot of problems and we have to be able to make the most of the match against Iran. Uzbekistan is ranked 95th in FIFA and Iran ranked 35th. I kindly ask you to please consider this fact. Our legionnaire players have been added to the squad recently and we hope we can use them in the game tomorrow.”
Shojaei: We do not let anyone go to another team!
Team Melli’s captain predicted that his national team’s match against Uzbekistan will be quite attractive and exciting.
In the pre-match News Conference , Massoud Shojaei, told the media , “I thank the Uzbekistan Football Federation for making this friendly match possible. We are glad that we are here and tomorrow (Tuesday) will surely be a beautiful day for the fans as we aim to put on a good show for the audiences and the fans to enjoy“
The captain of Team Melli added: Iran has been the best Asian team in recent years. We must always try to show that this is not by mere luck. In every match, such as this friendly match against Uzbekistan, we must try to get a result “
Shojaei continued to talk about the presence of Carlos Queiroz in the national team, adding: “Since Queiroz arrived, the national team has made significant progress and achieved a good place in the world. That’s why has been working in Iran for 7 years. We appreciate the work he has done for our soccer, and we will not let him go to another team.(laughter)”
Head2Head
| H / A / N | Matches | W | D | L | Goals | + / – |
| H | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 – 1 | +2 |
| A | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 – 0 | +3 |
| N | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 – 1 | +5 |
| Total | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 12 – 2 | +10 |
| Date | Comp. | H / A / N | Final score | Stadium | Attendance |
| 19.05.2018 | Friendly | H | 1 – 0 | Azadi Stadium, Tehran | 25000 |
| 12.06.2017 | World Cup Qualifier | H | 2 – 0 | Azadi Stadium , Tehran | 59730 |
| 06.10.2016 | World Cup Qualifier | A | 1 – 0 | Stadion Bunyodkor (Tashkent) | 34000 |
| 11.06.2015 | Friendly | A | 1 – 0 | Metropolitan Stadium, Tashkent | |
| 14.11.2012 | World Cup Qualifier | H | 0 – 1 | Azadi Stadium , Tehran | 40000 |
| 03.06.2012 | World Cup Qualifier | A | 1 – 0 | JAR Stadium -Tashkent | 9000 |
| 05.09.2009 | Friendly | A | 0 – 0 | Tashkent / Pakhtakor | 9500 |
| 11.07.2007 | Asian Cup | N | 2 – 1 | National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur | 3000 |
| 14.12.1998 | Asian Games | N | 4 – 0 | Suphachalasai, Bangkok | 0 |