TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Julen Lopetegui kicked off his tenure as Qatars head coach with victory, as the Spaniard described the 1-0 win against Iran as a morale booster for the back-to-back AFC Asian Cup champion.
- Sports news -Pedro Correias first half strike secured victory against Iran, who was reduced to 10 men following Milad Mohammadis 35th minute red card, in its AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road to 26 Group A tie as Qatar secured a place in the playoffs, where an additional two tickets are available to next years global showpiece.
We played against the best team in the group, one that had already qualified for the World Cup, said Lopetegui. We wanted to win to qualify for the playoffs and that's what we did.
"We had every incentive to win, and we worked hard to put in a good performance. We won and were able to finish the match in our favor. This was my first match with the Qatari national team and winning is of course an important incentive for everyone," he added.
The players adhered to the instructions completely, and the victory is a motivation for what's coming. We have another match ahead of us, and we must also focus because it will be an important building block for what's to come, the Spanish coach concluded.
