Iran in World Cup Group B Could be Tougher than Others, Iranian Football Expert Says
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By Martin Graham | 9th Apr 2022
Iran, England, USA and Wales/Scotland/Ukraine make up the 2022 FIFA World Cup Group B, and an Iranian expert has claimed that this may be the most interesting group.
Dubbed the most politically charged group of the World Cup, it will see four nations with negative political history face off against each other in matches which are sure to see fans react in several ways.
As the World Cup draws near, predictions about how each group will end have also started rolling in. However, a member of the Asian Football Confederation from Iran has warned that Iran should not be counted out of the group.
“You go into a World Cup, there are no easy matches, and any team can beat any other team,” said the Iranian member of the AFC’s Technical Study Group (TSG).
“Yes, it could be worse, but there is no easy draw in a tournament like the World cup. All the teams that qualified for the 2022 World Cup have tried successfully and are competently among the 32 teams.
“It’s clear that they are ready to do their best in such a prestigious event. So, there is no easy opponents. However, some teams have a great history in the football world, such as Brazil, France, Spain, and England, whose names are big for every rivals.
“But in this edition of the World Cup, almost all groups are distributed equally in terms of the power of the teams ”
Iran have never got past the group stages and will be hoping to do so for the first time in Qatar. The expert noted that Iran’s group, bar England, are all on the same leve which could provide entertaining matches for fans.
“Technically, when we look, we see that England are at their peak,” he said. “On the other hand, the U.S. also have good players.
“The third opponents are not clear yet, but apart from that obvious point, England, who are the best in the group, the other teams are also strong, and no one are weaker than Iran national team,” he added.
“It [Iran’s qualification from group B] depends on the thinking of the national team’s head coach, Dragan Skocic.
“First of all, we have to see if Skocic will stay – or will be kept – in the team or not. Then we should define our strategy for the World Cup. We have to think about not conceding against our opponents, then try to score and get points in each match.
“England are our first rivals, and we have to think about a dream start in the tournament to continue in the best way possible.”
Martin Graham is an MFF sports writer
