The coach of Iran, who inherited group B of the 2022 World Cup which also includes the United States, assured that he wanted to "
think only of football
" despite the troubled political and historical context between the two countries.
"
I'm not interested in political issues in relation to the United States (...) There are subjects between the two countries but we only want to think about football
," Dragan Skocic told the agency. IRNA state, after Friday's draw.
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Since the Islamic revolution of 1979, marked in particular by the American hostage crisis, the two countries have been at loggerheads.
This is the second time that Iran and the United States have been in the same group at the World Cup finals.
In 1998, in France, Iran beat the Americans 2-1.
Relations have become strained again since the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and the return of its sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Also opposed to England and a European play-off (Wales, Scotland or Ukraine), the coach of Iran, 21st in the FIFA rankings, thinks his team capable of reaching the round of 16 in Qatar, for the first times in its history.
“
We will try to pass
”, book Skocic whose selection participates in its third World Cup in a row.
“
I've always said that we have a very good team and maybe we can qualify for the round of 16, which would be a first.
»
Iran, the best team in Asia in the FIFA rankings, has already participated in five World Cups.
“
England will be the most difficult team to play
,” added Skocic, 53, a former Las Palmas and Compostela player in Spain, while emphasizing that his team is good enough to be on par with the others
.
Many Iranian fans are expected in Qatar in November to support their selection:
“It will be like playing at home.
There will be as many fans as if we were playing at the Azadi Stadium." predicts Skocic.