Football
ESPN staff 10y

Iran boss Queiroz happy with point

Carlos Queiroz was happy to see his Iran side collect a point from their World Cup opener, following a goalless draw against Nigeria.

The game didn't live up to previous games in the tournament, which have seen an average of three goals a game scored, but with games against Argentina and Bosnia and Herzegovina still to come, former Real Madrid boss Queiroz remains confident in his side's chances of progress.

He told the BBC: "I am very happy but it was very difficult. We played against a great team and it was necessary to play a realistic game but I think we did well. We fought for every ball and every space.

"It was a game that I need to praise my players they deserve big congratulations.

"It keeps the team in the championship. The most important thing is that everything is still open for us.

Iran now face Argentina in Belo Horizonte on June 21 before closing their Group F campaign against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Salvador on June 25.

In a postmatch news conference later Queiroz defended his team against accusations from Nigeria that they played for a point and were happy to frustrate.

The Iran boss insisted his side's limitations made it necessary for him to be pragmatic with his tactical selection.

"It was a very, very difficult game for us as I expected," he said. "We played with a strong team spirit and a lot of concentration. After we frustrated the movements of the stars of Nigeria, we found the solution of the game. Step by step, the most important thing was for Iran to defend and play with tactical discipline.

"I want to praise my players, because they suffered, but played with one thing on their minds: Score, score. Nobody deserved to win the game, though, to say the truth. It was a fair result.

"When you play with soul, emotion and tension, it can also be an attractive game. This is exactly what happened. For the fans, you prefer to see four or five goals. But for us, we prefer to go home with one point. "We come from one environment. We don't have the same facilities. We don't have players from Liverpool, Chelsea and Lazio.

"My players celebrated their hard work over the course of 90 minutes. We cannot play friendly games under the economical restrictions imposed on Iran. Our players deserve the sympathy and respect for the performance they put in today.

"We're not celebrating a great football game; we are just celebrating our work -- what our players were able to perform on the pitch for 90 minutes.

"We always want more and to win the games. We want to play better football, but you must judge our performance based on players that play in amateur leagues. When you watch these players, some of them don't have professional salaries like others in this tournament."

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