Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tehran: Iran coach Ali Doustimehr is confident that the 2012 AFC U-16 Championship hosts will get better as the tournament goes on following their sluggish start in their 3-1 win over Laos on Saturday.
Iran went into the match as favourites but the two-time U16 champions made heavy weather of their Group A opener, with Laos taking a shock second minute lead through Anousay Noyvong before the hosts quickly gained the ascendancy with Amirmohammad Mazloum bagging a brace with goals either side of a Seyedmajid Hosseini effort after his initial spot-kick had been saved.
The early goal stunned the home crowd at the PAS Stadium but Doustimehr brushed off the early setback as part-and-parcel of the game.
"This is the excitement of football. We lost the early goal but we didn't lose our concentration," the Iran coach said at the post-match press conference.
"I said before that the game against Laos would be very tough as it is the first game and the first game of every tournament is always difficult.
"I must say sorry to all the supports and the media who came to the stadium because we didn't play at the level of champions.
"But hopefully we will get better game by game and I think that we have the potential to be champions of this tournament."
Laos gave a brave account of themselves despite being under the Iranian cosh for the majority of the match and despite citing a number of logistical setbacks that effected the build-up to their Group A opener Laos' North Korean coach Han Hyung-il was magnanimous in defeat.
"Our players' technique is not as good as the Iranians," he admitted.
"Nobody wants to lose and we will do our best in the remaining two matches."