Carlos Queiroz, the Iran manager said that the current England team is the best since 1966 when England won the FIFA World Cup.
Iran manager getting his team ready to play England at the Khalifa International Stadium on Monday. This will be Iran’s first game at the World Cup.
In his press conference, the former manager of Real Madrid was quick to lower expectations for the game by saying that his team would be facing an all-time great Three Lions team:
“It’s the most important game of our lives because it’s the next one, and the next game is always the most important one for coaches and players. But it is also a one-of-a-kind chance, even for me, who has played 200 or so international games.
“But I’ve never had the chance to play against the England national team before. And for most of our players, playing against England is like magic, a once-in-a-lifetime chance, a gift, because the international schedule makes it almost impossible to play either England or Germany.
“This new group of players that Gareth Southgate is putting together for the national team is probably the most talented and competitive since 1966,” I said.
Queiroz added: “This group is very functional, very useful, and very real. I work with guys from the same generation as Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, and David Beckham. But this national team is very, very different. They are very, very dangerous because they take every game seriously.”
In Group B of this winter’s tournament in Qatar, Iran will also play the USMNT and Wales.