Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei has praised the quality of the Super Eagles after his side’s 2-1 defeat in Friday’s encounter at the Antalya Stadium in Turkey.
The match was in fulfillment of the ongoing mini four-nation tournament, as the Asian side were defeated by the Super Eagles in their opening encounter.
Iran were among the first nations to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, but suffered a defeat that would send them back to the drawing board with just a few months until the tournament begins.
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Nigeria’s quality was more evident in the clash, as they dominated majority of the encounter on their way to a hard-fought win.
Moses Simon opened scoring inside the first six minutes of the clash and the Super Eagles were unlucky to add more goals in a very dominant first half performance.
However, they doubled their lead few minutes after the restart as Akor Adams scored after a layoff from Ademola Lookman.
Mehdi Taremi scored a consolation for Iran, but the African giants held on to secure the victory.
Jordan and Costa Rica played out a 2-2 draw in the second match of the tournament, which concludes next Tuesday with the final round of matches.
Ghalenoei lauds Nigeria’s quality after Iran defeat
Amir Ghalenoei, who took charge of Iran in 2023 and is set to lead them into the upcoming World Cup, expressed satisfaction at facing a high-quality side like Nigeria, noting that the match will be valuable for his team’s preparation for the tournament.
“I think this was a very useful preparation game, especially since we were able to implement Plan B in defense against a strong and physical team like Nigeria. Nigeria was a very good team, and all eleven players on this team play in major European leagues such as Spain, Italy, England, France, Greece and Turkey,” Ghalenoei said.
“The national team needs such games. We also tried to use more players. Fortunately, with the new rules and the possibility of making eight substitutions, we had a good opportunity to evaluate different players”, he concluded.
Iran will end their campaign against Costa Rica on Tuesday, while Nigeria face another Asian opponent in Jordan on the same day.
