LONDON: Yemen coach Jan Kocian has told his players to forget about their 5-0 mauling at the hands of Iran and focus on doing their best to ensure progression to the knockout stages.
Yemen were making their Asian Cup debut on Monday, but any hopes they had of making a fairy tale start int eh continental competition were dealt a hammer blow in the first 45 minutes as Iran stormed into a 3-0 lead.
But having seen Carlos Queiroz’s side add another two after the break Kocian admitted Iran were a class apart and any expectation that Yemen could take on the heavyweights was misplaced.
“We have to live with this result but we have two more games to play and we can play better,” said the Slovakian, striking a defiant tone despite their Group D mugging.
“Iran were physically superior to us — they are a team that plays at the World Cup. We have no such experience.”
Given the parlous state of football in Yemen, where players have been kidnapped by extremists or gone off to fight in the civil war, just qualifying for the Asian Cup was an astonishing achievement for Yemen.
“We hardly have the chance to train together and we didn’t have enough time to prepare for the Asian Cup,” Kocian said.
“Iran’s players play in the best leagues in the world,” he shrugged. “We came here with two months of preparation — we just have to leave this game behind and move on.”
Yemen coach tells players to move on from Iran mauling
Yemen coach tells players to move on from Iran mauling
- Jan Kocian admitted his team were not in the same class as Iran.
- Slovakian wants his side to lift their game for remaining Group D matches.
