"Dissecting" Vietnam's biggest rival in Group D of the 2019 Asian Cup

Despite being ranked highest in Asia on the FIFA rankings, the Iranian team has not been able to win the Asian Cup in the past four decades.

It can be said that Iran is one of the most successful football teams in Asia with 3 consecutive Asian Cup championships from 1968 to 1976. The team at that time owned legends such as Nasser Hejazi or Ali Parvin, who reached the quarter-finals of the 1976 Olympics in Canada.

Not a bad achievement at the 2018 World Cup

When it comes to the biggest football playground on the planet, the FIFA World Cup, the team nicknamed "Team Melli" has also reached the finals 5 times, the most recent of which was 2018.

In Russia, Iran not only had their second win in World Cup history, but also demonstrated the will and courage of the West Asian warriors under head coach Carlos Queiroz.

Iran were in Group B, a late goal helped them beat Morocco in their opening game, before having to make the Spanish giants work hard to secure a 1-0 win. Iran also managed a resilient draw against reigning European champions Portugal, but that wasn't enough for Team Melli to progress to the knockout stages.

With such a promising performance at the World Cup, it is only natural that the Iranian people will wait for their national team to be crowned champions of the continental arena after 43 years of title drought. However, the path that Queiroz and his students are taking to conquer Asia is not smooth.

The team is not invested in development.

One of the reasons for the disappointment of Iranian football in recent years has been the lack of funding for the national team. This is mainly due to the various sanctions imposed on the country since the late 1970s. The lack of funds has directly affected the Iranian team as they prepare for the continental cup race in early 2019.

Last November, players and coaching staff of the Iranian national team even protested by disabling their social media accounts to express their dissatisfaction with the lack of infrastructure and support from the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) and the government as they prepared for the Asian Cup.

A source also said that many players and coach Queiroz himself have not been paid for the 2018 World Cup campaign, leading to them collectively disabling their social media accounts. Iran also failed to arrange friendly matches with many strong teams to serve the purpose of preparing for the tournament.

In November, the Iranian team has two matches against Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela. On December 25, Iran was held to a 1-1 draw by Palestine. They have a friendly match with close ally Qatar at the end of December, before officially entering the campaign for the Asian Cup with Iraq, Vietnam and Yemen in Group D.

Trouble among leaders

Even coach Queiroz himself has problems because he does not have a good relationship with important figures in Iranian football. The former Real Madrid captain has criticized the national championship and Iranian clubs, and he has not spared two big teams, Persepolis FC and Esteghlal FC.

Coach Queiroz seems to have a "grudge" against Coach Branko Ivankovic of Persepolis, the runner-up team in the AFC Champions League. The Iranian captain even asked FFIRI Secretary General Mohammad Saket to issue a document asking Ivankovic not to "create conflicts and discord" within the Iranian team.

The tension between the two coaches has created unnecessary friction within the Iranian national team for many months. Many fans have also criticized the officials of the country's football federation for doing nothing to reconcile the conflict between the two coaches.

But Ivankovic is also a very important figure. The Croatian strategist led Iran to the 2006 World Cup and was considered one of the candidates to replace Queiroz as Iran's head coach, leaving FFIRI in a situation where it is impossible to please both sides.

Not to mention that coach Queiroz's assistant Oceano da Cruz once attacked an Iranian journalist after a friendly match with Trinidad & Tobago, causing many local newspapers to decide to boycott Queiroz since then.

Injuries plague the team

One of Queiroz's biggest headaches at the moment is that many players are injured.

Specifically, Saeid Ezzatollahi is the first star to be eliminated from the tournament because he was diagnosed with a thigh injury that will take another 3 weeks to recover from.

Previously, Ezzatollahi belonged to the Russian club Rostov, currently playing for Reading FC in the English first division. Ezzatollahi suffered an injury in a match for the national team last October.

Ezzatollahi's absence deprives Queiroz of his first choice defensive midfielder in Iran's squad. Another star player who is also injured is midfielder Ali Karimi, who also said goodbye to the tournament just a day after receiving news of Ezzatollahi's injury.

Coach Queiroz was Sir Alex Ferguson's right-hand man at Manchester United. He is expected to bring the breath and fighting spirit of the "Red Devils" to the Iranian team in the 2019 Asian Cup campaign.

If he can bring home the Asian silver cup with his team after 43 years of waiting, coach Queiroz will create a new look for the Iranian team after the series of difficulties they are facing.