Preview – Group C: Tajikistan v Iraq

چاپ خبر

Despite dominating most of the match, the 2013 champions were bested 2-0 by Thailand in their opener but Shenaishil remains confident of their chances as he believes in the mental strength and unity of his squad.

“We will try our best to raise the morale of the players, correct the mistakes, and choose the best formation and system,” said Shenaishil. “We know about all the players, they’ve been with us for some time, but their readiness levels are different.

“Some players couldn’t join us early and some of the players don’t have experience at such tournaments, but we will be ready for the following match.”

Shenaishil further emphasised on the importance of collective effort if they are to emulate their historic 2013 title win.

“This team has been preparing for 18 months, we’ve played good matches as a group. I believe if they are ready mentally and play together, we stand a good chance (of qualifying).

“We still have two matches. We have chosen the hard way by losing the first match. And picking them up is my responsibility and we will try our best.”

Iraq, however, will face an equally optimistic Tajikistan side, who despite suffering a 4-2 defeat to Saudi Arabia, showcased tremendous improvement from their first appearance two years ago.

Finding themselves at the bottom of the table, head coach Mubin Ergashev promised a driven and focused Tajikistan, with the Central Asian side chasing their first ever points.

“We will be ready for the game against Iraq,” said Ergashev. “We will analyse Iraq’s match (against Thailand) to have a clear picture.

“We also want to identify our faults and correct them, while also looking to see where we can utilise our strengths.”