Iran becomes 1st Asian side to pick up 3 points at FIFA U17 World Cup 2017

Iran became the first Asian team to open their account with 3 points in this year’s edition of the U-17 World Cup. The Iranians soldiered on and fought back in the second half to win the game 3-1.

"The opponents we had in front of us were important. It was also important that we did not take them for granted as they are a very good team," said Guinea head coach Souleymane Camara who admitted that they weren’t prepared enough mentally and physically to win all three points on the night.

The Guinea team had a great first half with two excellent chances. A quick counter-attack in the 16th minute resulted in a thunderous header hitting the post from Guinea’s Fandje Toure who was visibly Guinea’s best player up front. 15 minutes later, Toure had another shot on goal that was saved by Iran’s Goalkeeper.

When asked if those chances in the first half were a case of not being clinical or just plain bad luck Coach Camara said: ‘’In the first half we controlled the ball and passed well but in the second half if we got tired and Iran caught us off guard on the counter attacks''. He also added: "We could discuss some crucial decisions as well but the game is over and the result is done," in reference to the red card his defender Cherif Camara received for a high challenge on Iran’s Mohammed Ghaderi which also resulted in a penalty and left the Guineans with 10 men.

Meanwhile, an ecstatic Abbas Chamanian (Iran’s Head Coach) once again reminded everyone how said the first match of any tournament is always the most important. He also highlighted how Guinea are a very physical team and remarked: "The most important thing that we saw today was that the players were able to change the game in the second half and produce a result. It was a team effort and whatever plan and tactics we had in store for today worked out well." Goals from Sayyad, Karimi and a penalty from Sharifi along with excellent displays from players like Hosseinzadeh and Ghaderi put the game to bed.

Both managers also spoke a bit on their upcoming opponents with Guinea coach Camara saying: "Costa Rica play a similar style to what we do but that game will all depend on the mental and physical strategies that both teams play out," while his Iranian counterpart Chamanian said: "Our strategy is step by step, match by match. This was one challenge and Germany will be another challenge, it will be a very interesting game, no doubt."