Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei believes his side’s unbeaten start to the World Cup will be talked about for years to come given the disruption they have faced before and during the tournament.
The Iranians held 10-man Belgium to a goalless draw on Sunday after starting their Group G campaign with a draw against New Zealand.
Their participation at the World Cup was uncertain because of the war with tournament co-hosts USA, and their preparations were hampered by opposition teams cancelling friendlies.
“I want to go back six months,” he said. “We were in war conditions for six months; we didn’t have our league operating.
“Many teams cancelled the games they would play against us. We came to the World Cup in the worst conditions possible.”
Iran have continued to face disruption at the World Cup. They are based in Mexico and for their games in the USA they have to fly in a day before the game and leave on the same day as the match under the conditions of their visas.
Iran play Egypt in Seattle in their final group game on Friday and Ghalenoei has said he is hopeful of being able to travel to the city earlier, although the situation is currently under review.
A win for Iran would see them reach the knockouts, but Ghalenoei says his players have already achieved great things given the issues they have faced.
“The players who came to this World Cup in this condition need to be congratulated,” he added.
“We had the opportunity to win [against Belgium] but I think this is a great achievement.
“We have had two games at the World Cup with the conditions we had – we had less than 16 hours to do training before the game.
“This will be written in the history of our football and future generations will take about what we have achieved.”
