The first half of Tuesday night's match had 'boring' written all over it as neither side created any opportunities to score.
Iran's Karim Ansarifard netted the only goal of the game in a
counterattack in the 54th minute on midfielder Mehrzad Madanchi's
perfectly timed cross from the left.
The Iranian players then dominated the game, but lost several chances to score more goals.
“It was very important for Iran to defeat Iceland before facing Jordan,” Iran's manager Afshin Qotbi told reporters.
The Iranian outfit is preparing itself for the Asian Cup qualifiers and will host Jordan on November 14 at Azadi Stadium.
“We must overcome our defensive weak points in order to beat the Jordanian side in Tehran,” Qotbi added.
Iceland's boss Olafur Johannesson was disappointed with the result,
saying that his men had several opportunities to force a draw against
Iran.
“Iceland players could have left Azadi Stadium with a draw, but they lost great opportunities to score,” Johannesson said.
“We knew that the Iranian team had the advantage over our side in terms of technical aspects,” he added.
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