Doha, Qatar: Iran will be appearing in the AFC Asian Cup semi-finals for the second tournament in a row after Saturday’s sensational 2-1 victory over Japan.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh tells the-AFC.com how defeat at the same stage in 2019 will motivate his team against Qatar.
When Alireza Jahanbakhsh’s injury time penalty flew past the outstretched arms of Zion Suzuki, the emotion erupted around the Education City Stadium as Iran, for the first time in their history, defeated Japan at the AFC Asian Cup.
The 2-1 victory over the four-time champions was celebrated by Iranians far and wide, the triumph over a nation that had ended their hopes in the United Arab Emirates five years earlier moving Team Melli a step closer to their own long-awaited success.
Iran last won the AFC Asian Cup in 1976, the third of three consecutive titles for a nation that once dominated the continental scene, and who are now eyeing a tournament victory that would end almost half a century of frustration.
But first, the Amir Ghalenoi-coached outfit must overcome their nation’s long-standing struggles at the business end of the competition and overturn an unwanted record of underachievement.
“As a country, football is always alive in Iran,” Jahanbakhsh tells the-AFC.com the day after his nerveless spot-kick completed Iran’s come-from-behind win over the Samurai Blue.
“It’s the first sport in the country, there’s always expectations. There’s always pressure. That’s always been there, for different generations all the way through to us.
“But thankfully I think the generation we have right now is a mix of great players individually and great players with good experience as well, and this mix of these two helps us to combine to have a good performance.
“From the experience we have from 2019 in the UAE we know you’re not there until you’re there. We know how important this game is in the semis. This generation have big dreams. We want to show that we’re the best generation in Iranian football. This is the time.”
For all their historic success, however, Iran are no strangers to AFC Asian Cup heartache. The country has appeared in the semi-finals in 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2004 and 2019. All have ended in defeat.
The most recent saw Japan capitalise on a late capitulation to hand Carlos Queiroz’s team a 3-0 loss, and with seven of the Iranian team from that game in Al Ain – including Jahanbakhsh – starting on Saturday, the exorcising of that painful defeat was cathartic.
That all means Wednesday’s last four meeting with Qatar will take on even greater significance for a group of players looking to establish themselves among the pantheon of Iranian icons.
“In the World Cup it’s always been the expectation that we make it through from the group stage, but at the Asian Cup it’s always been different,” says Jahanbakhsh. “The Iranian fans look forward to us to winning prizes with the national team.
“We know how big the pressure is, we know how big the expectation is, but at the same time we are cool in the head, big in the heart and when it comes to our pride, we’re always there and we fight for our country and our people.
“We showed against Japan that we did that very well. We played with our hearts and we’ll make sure we do that in the next games to finish the tournament in the best way possible.”
Despite the confidence boost the win has given Jahanbakhsh and his teammates, the Feyenoord winger is under no illusions regarding the challenge that faces Ghalenoi’s team when they face a Qatar side led by the in-form Akram Afif playing in front of their own fans.
“Being part of the semi-finals is a big thing,” he says. “The run we’ve had over the last games has had some ups and downs. We started the tournament really well (with a 4-1 win over Palestine).
“Against Hong Kong wasn’t our best performance but against the UAE and Syria we became better, and our top performance was against Japan. That gives us extra confidence that we can do big things in this tournament and achieve our dreams.”
“Playing the semi-finals against Qatar, they’re a well-respected team, I always respect them as one of the good teams in Asia. They’ve been doing great over the last years and the development of the country and the football, it’s been great.
“It’s going to be a tough game but hopefully the great result against Japan will give us confidence for the next game.
“For us it’s very important because we experienced this moment playing in the semis in the last Asian Cup and we know how it felt when we had to leave the tournament and we lost to Japan in 2019.
“We don’t want that to happen again. We’re going to be well prepared. It’s going to be a tough game but we’ll be ready for this game.”
Jahanbakhsh’s own form has been impressive throughout the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023, the 30-year-old benefitting from a return to the Netherlands in 2021 to join Feyenoord after a spell with Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League that has reignited his career.
“Feyenoord was a game changer for me, especially last year,” he says. “We had a great year for myself, individually, and for the team as well.
“We won the league and we could have made it through to the Europa League and won that as well (Feyenoord were eliminated in the quarter-finals by AS Roma). I’m happy to have made that decision.”
“For the national team, to make it to the World Cup, to play so many good games for the national team, as a team and individually for myself, helps to give me an extra boost, extra confidence to be on top of my performances.
“I never regret my decisions. Whatever happens happens and I’m very happy with my decisions.”
