3/25/2008
the-afc.com

KUWAIT CITY – Ali Daei will look to draw upon his vast playing experience as he seeks a Group Five victory against Kuwait on Wednesday in his first competitive match as Iran coach.

The 39-year-old, who scored 109 goals in 149 international appearances for Iran, was appointed coach of the national team earlier this month, but his reign began disappointingly with a 1-0 loss in last Saturday's friendly with Bahrain in Manama.

Iran are badly in need of a result in Kuwait after opening their bid to qualify for a fourth FIFA World Cup with a goalless draw with Syria in Tehran prior to Daei's appointment, with the legendary striker-turned-coach assigned with the task of resurrecting the campaign.

Daei played against Kuwait on numerous occasions, including in the final round of qualifiers for the 1998 World Cup, and hopes some of his experience can rub off on his players.

"I know Kuwait very well and our team is ready for the match," said Daei.

"Our last match against Bahrain prepared us very well for our match against Kuwait mainly because Bahrain football is similar to Kuwait.

"We missed an easy win against Syria and that's why the match on Wednesday is very decisive for us."

Kuwait are bottom of the table after losing 2-0 to United Arab Emirates in their first match and Daei is aware they will be desperate to bounce back.

"The game will be very hard as Kuwait are coming back from a 2-0 defeat at the hands of UAE," he added.

"Hopefully we can put the right plan to get a win. However, we should not underestimate the capabilities of Kuwait players because they have good skills and we must be careful but we came here to claim the three points."

Captain Mehdi Mahdavikia is absent with a back injury and Javad Nekounam is also out with a knee problem, while Javad Kazemian, Vahid Taleblou and Mohamad Nosrati were not selected by Daei.

Kuwait have injury concerns of their own, with defender Mesaed Nada struggling with a thigh problem while midfielder Adel Hamoud has torn a muscle in his right leg.

Defender Khaled Al Shammari and midfielder Mohammed Jarragh are also injury doubts for Kuwait coach Rodion Gacanin, but the hosts remain confident after a goalless draw with Asian Cup holders Iraq last Saturday.

Kuwait assistant coach Jamal Yaqoub said: "Our team is ready mentally and physically for the match.
"The players are determined to get a positive result and win the match and this was clear in the recent training sessions.

"The team will give a different performance from the one that we had in our first match against UAE.

"We had good preparations with a game against Asian champions Iraq and hopefully we will have a good match on Wednesday."