Coach Ghalenoei takes responsibility for Iran’s exit

Doha, Qatar - Amir Ghalenoei apologised for Iran’s 3-2 defeat to Qatar in their Asian Cup semifinal on Wednesday, with the head coach saying he was to blame.

Despite Sardar Azmoun giving them a fourth-minute lead, Iran were overrun by Qatar, with strikes from Jassem Gaber and Akram Afif putting the defending champions ahead. Alireza Jahanbakhsh restored parity from the penalty spot but Almoez Ali snatched victory for the hosts with his 82nd-minute goal.

“I want to apologise to the Iranian people. We should have advanced into the final but we could not do it. I want to thank the players, they put everything they had into this match,” said Ghalenoei, with the defeat meaning Iran’s wait for a fourth continental continues.

“We lost plenty of opportunities but our performance in the second half was one of our best. We had eight corners in the second half. But this is football. When you don’t get anything from your chances, you are going to be punished and this happened to us today.”

“From a technical standpoint, we had a very competitive match. However, this tournament has witnessed several teams experiencing unexpected exits, including Saudi Arabia, Korea Republic and Japan. I take full responsibility for this defeat. Today marks one of the toughest days I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

Iran’s inability to convert their chances left Ghalenoei frustrated, with Jahanbakhsh hitting the post in the final minute of added time.

“Four days ago everyone was happy when we defeated Japan, now after this defeat against Qatar, everyone is against us. We maintained the same formation as the one we used against

I want to apologise to the Iranian people. We should have advanced into the final but we could not do it. AMIR GHALENOEI

Japan, with just two changes.

“In the first half, we identified opportunities to capitalise on, and after scoring the first goal, we had numerous chances to seal the game. However, that didn’t happen for us.

“Even though our players are based abroad, they all dedicated themselves to training and representing their country and people. However, in football, not everything is within our control.”