Ali Daei salutes Kuwait with disappointment

The Kuwaitis looked to be headed for their second straight loss in Group Three after falling behind to goals by Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht and Seyed Jalal Hosseini in the first four minutes of the match.

But Ahmed Ajab pulled one back before half-time and substitute Fahad Al Rashidi equalised with nine minutes remaining to salvage a point for the home team.

"I would like to congratulate the players for the fighting spirit that they showed throughout the game,” said the Croat.

“The players made a great comeback despite the two early goals that we conceded.

"Our team played well and forced our game against the Iranian players.

“We had a lot of chances to score but we couldn't convert them and we nearly got away with a victory at the end.”

Gacanin admitted though that his future with the national team remains unclear.

"We still have a chance to qualify from this group especially after the draw earlier today between Syria and United Arab Emirates.

“But I don't know about my future with the team as I haven’t receive anything yet whether I am to continue with the team or not."

Ali Daei was disappointed not to pick up three points from his first competitive match as Iran coach but he still offered up his praise for the performance of the Kuwaitis.

"This is the best ever performance that I have seen from Kuwait,” said the Iranian legend.

“I have to admit that I was surprised by their performance especially after coming from two goals down to get a point from the game.

"Our two early goals put us in a good position but our defensive mistakes saw us concede two goals although the assistant referee had a hand in their second goal as I thought we deserved a throw-in."