MARGAO
From the moment Iran set foot on the park late evening to stepping off it; it was all Iran from the frontline to their back-wall. Germany did not have much of a clue what hit them upfront while their sporadic raids were negated by a water-tight Iranian defence.
The statistics lay the stark facts. Compared to 12 of 25 shots on goal by the Asian side, the European powerhouse cut a sorry sight in front of the box with only four of 19 shots on target. The woe was part of the larger story told therein for the crowd favourite German side torn into smithereens.
In the post-match press conference, German gaffer, Christian Wück was at a loss of words at the scoreline.
"It is hard to find words. None of the players realised the level they could play. Iran, on their part, played a good, strong fast game which my players had no answer too," Wück admitted. Given that they have faced a heavy defeat and have Guinea up next, who have shown great improvement in their last game to hold Costa Rica at 2-2, how would he look at the encounter on Friday was a question put forth by ‘The Goan'. To which, the Bundesliga veteran simply answered that it would be difficult to recover after the match.
Abbas Chamanian, the Iranian coach said it was a collective performance that gave his side a favourable result.
"It was a united effort. Our team defended well, while our attacks were excellent. They (players) played for each other in their passes and taking their opportunities to score. We shall savour this win, only once our World Cup ends," the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship runner-up team coach stated.
Iran take on Costa Rica on Friday at the same venue, while Germany head to Kochi to play Guinea in the last Group C encounter on the same day.
