Iraq U-14 team prepares for hard semi-final against host Iran

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraq coach Saad Hashim is looking for solace to the ongoing crisis in Iraq by winning the AFC U-14 Championship title for his country as they prepare for their semi-final showdown against hosts Iran.

Hashim believes that the football-mad country will have something to cheer about if Iraq outwit archrivals Iran at the Hajibababei Stadium of Hamedan on Monday.

“We are so close with Iran and we have so many similarities. We are both the foe and friends of Iran when it comes to football,” Hashim said.

“For me, Monday’s match is a final. Both sides want to win the match and I am sure both sides are ready to offer entertaining football.

“The current situation back home put us (officials) in an uncomfortable situation as we are handling these young kids away from home, but Hamedan is like a home for us, and a win on Monday would put our woes behind us and we could continue to concentrate on football,” he added.

As hosts, Iran are under pressure to produce a positive result and march into the final, but coach Heidar Sharifi is on no mood to put any sort of pressure on his young players.

“We let them play and enjoy the match instead of putting the pressure of winning on them,” said Sharifi.

“Obviously our aim is to win this tournament, but we should not forget the purpose of these age-group competitions.

“Iraq are strong opponents and we must respect them on the pitch, but it does not mean that we will only pay attention to thedefensive aspects of our game. We will try to play our normal game and overpower Iraq,” he added.

Iraq, unbeaten in the tournament, topped Group B with seven points from three matches while Iran suffered a 1-0 reverse against Group A leaders DPR Korea en route to finishing second. /End/