TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Head coach Vahid Shamsaei said the good relationship within the Iran squad makes them a very hard team to defeat in the AFC Futsal Asian Cup Kuwait 2022.
- Sports news -
The defending champion completed its Group C campaign with a 9-0 win over Lebanon on Sunday, advancing to a quarter-final match against Vietnam with a 100-percent record.
The 12-time champion used fresh legs against Lebanon and Shamsaei claimed that it was their plan all along to rotate the players.
"Rotating the players was our strategy, along with using different tactics," said Iranian futsal legend Shamsaei. "We needed our players to be fit and ready for the quarterfinals. I'm happy with the result. With these 10 new recruits, we need time to adapt.
"I have a special bond with the players and it's not just all futsal and being the head coach. I'm their friend. So that is why you saw them acknowledging me after the first goal."
Iran scored all nine goals without using the power play option and Shamsaei believes that from the way they have been performing, the move is not a necessity.
"We have two situations on when to use the power play. The first is to have ball possession. Secondly, in the event that we fall behind in the game, we will try to take a risk and use the power play to score goals. So far, we have not trailed in a match and I hope we don't have to use it in this competition."
