AFC Asian Cup: Iran forward Ghoddos aiming to shed country’s ‘bad guy’ tag, eyeing greatest achievement of life in Qatar
- Saman Ghoddos says tournament is an opportunity to change the way country is seen in some parts of the world
- Forward taking Hong Kong meeting ‘very seriously’, insists tournament success would be ‘biggest thing I have done’
Saman Ghoddos said the Iranian national team wanted to rid the country of its “bad guy” image and “achieve great things” at the forthcoming AFC Asian Cup finals, which get under way in Qatar this weekend.
Iran are in Group C along with Hong Kong, who Ghoddos admitted “were much stronger than I expected” when the teams clashed in a World Cup qualifier two months ago.
Head coach Amir Ghalenoei, appointed after the 2022 World Cup, has won 11 and drawn two of 13 matches in charge, and an attacking approach that stood in stark contrast to that of predecessor Carlos Queiroz, has seen his side average three goals a game.
That has raised expectations at home that this is the group of players capable of ending a 47-year wait to add to the country’s three Asian titles.
And Ghoddos said Ghalenoei, a former national team midfielder, had “changed the way we look at football”.
“Iran is a football-crazy country and the fans expect a lot from us, so there is pressure to win the tournament,” Ghoddos told the Post. “But we want to achieve great things, the pressure we put on ourselves is the only pressure that matters.”