Iran coach Carlos Queiroz heaped praise on England and claimed that Gareth Southgate’s squad is the best one to come out of the nation since the famous 1966 team which won the World Cup. Queiroz also admitted that the match against England will be a tough one for his team.
New Delhi,UPDATED: Nov 21, 2022 11:01 IST
Queiroz admitted that the clash against England will be a tough one (Courtesy: Reuters)
By India Today Web Desk: Iran manager Carlos Quieroz heaped praise on Gareth Southgate’s England and said that the national team is the most talented one since the English team that won the 1966 World Cup.
England and Iran will lock horns on Monday in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in a Group B encounter, which will also be the first meeting between the two sides.
Southgate’s team is considered to be favourites for the tournament, but they come into the World Cup on a six-game winless run. The pressure is mounting on the England manager as he his job could be on the line during the competition in Qatar.
However, Queiroz praised their opponents on Monday and made a bold claim ahead of the clash. The Iran manager said, as quoted by Reuters, that the current squad is the most talented one to come out of the nation since their 1966 World Cup triumph.
“The new generation that Gareth Southgate is bringing for the national team, in my opinion, is probably the most talented, most competitive English national team since 1966,” he told a news conference on Sunday.
“This team, it is very, very functional, very practical, very realistic.”
Iran will have their work cut out on Monday when they face England and Queiroz admitted that the match will be a very difficult one. However, he said that the important goal for the team would be to play the game with a unique fighting spirit and go in with a winning mentality.
“We know that tomorrow it is a very difficult one,” he said.
“So the important goal for us it is to be there, play the game, every single stage of the game, every single minute of the game, with a fantastic unique fighting spirit and with the winning mentality.”
Group B also includes Wales and USA, who will be facing each other in the third match of the day.