ALLAN D’CRUZ
FATORDA: Iran continued their sublime form in the FIFA U-17 World Cup as they beat Costa Rica 3-0 in the last Group C encounter to register their third straight win in the competition.
Mohammed Ghobeishavi (25th minute), Taha Shariati (29th) and Mohammad Sardari 89th) scored for the Asian powerhouse.
Little did anyone expected about the results as Coach Abbas Chamanian colts not only surprised everyone with their ongoing form, but also made a clear statement —that they are serious contenders —after topping the Group which featured Germany and Guinea too.
They first beat Guinea and went on the stun Germany in the second match before making the light work of Costa Rica. But the Asian coach was happy to collect the points rather than looking at the opponents they beat.
“It’s important that our players collected nine points,” Coach Abbas said during the post match conference at Fatorda.
Leading the group means, Iran further extend their stay in Goa to play the round of 16 clash with the third best teams from either Group A, B or F on October 17.
The Asian side scored 10 goals and conceded just one in their pursuit of qualifying to the knock out phase showcasing their defence, which is equally good as compared to their attack. Ali Satavi, Admad Jalali, Taha Shariati have been brilliant for Iran in defence, who have supported the custodian Ali Zadeh in the goal that not only earned them recognition but also earned a fan base in Goa.
“Our defence has been well organised. We didn’t give any opportunity to the opponents. This point helped us a lot,” said Abbas.
Iran will definitely miss the services of Mohammad Ghobeishavi for their round of 16 clash as he received the second yellow card in the last three games, that hands him a one-match suspension.
“We will miss him (Mohammad). But the referee made a bad decision,” complained Abbas, recollecting the moment wherein Mohammed handled the ball on the touch line.
While Amir Esmaeil Zadeh was subbed at halftime after the the defender seemed to have injured his hand. Coach Abbas said, “We will rest him for the next match as we will get to know about the injury only after the test.”
Meanwhile the defeat left Costa Rica rooted in the group. The coach Breansse Camacho showed regrets of losing against Germany in their opening group fixture.
Camacho praised Iran for their attacking football and said, “They played counter attacking football and a very beautiful game. We were nervous in the first half and in that bargain we conceded two penalties, which costs us the match.”
