Iran have their task cut out when they take on defending champions DPR Korea in the semi-finals of the AFC U-16 Championship here tomorrow.
The Iranians, who topped the Group A, made it to the semi-finals in style after beating Vietnam 5-0 in the quarter-finals and now waits for the challenge of defending champions DPR Korea tomorrow.
The four semifinalists in the AFC U-16 Championship have qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup to be held in India next year.
Iran coach Abbas Chamanian said his team was improving each match and looking to win the title which they last won in 2008.
"Our task is not finished because we have not reached our final goal; the results so far were just steps towards that," said Chamanian, who will be unable to call on suspended midfielder Vahid Namdari.
"My players all want to get to the final and I expect them to play without pressure and stress and to be better than they were against Vietnam.
"But we are only thinking of getting to the final and our players will have to play well to do that. All of Iran expects us to be there so we have no other choice except to win," stated Chamanian
Defending champions DPR Korea had the better of Oman via 4-2 penalty shootout win after both the teams were locked 1-1 in the regulation time.
DPR Korea coach Kim Pom-hyok played a captain's role by equalising with six minutes remaining before netting the decisive penalty as the East Asians continued their quest to win the title for the third time.
"The four teams who qualified for the semi-finals are the strongest sides in the tournament," said coach Yun Jong-su.
"We have to prepare even better as I think Iran have been one of the best teams. We have played four tough matches and physically we're tired so we must try and fully recover. We have to assess our quarter-final performance and again look to improve for the next match," stated Jong-su.
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