After three and a half years away, and following days of constant speculation, Carlos Queiroz’s return as Iran coach was confirmed on Wednesday.
The Portuguese — who remains Team Melli’s longest-serving tactician from his previous spell from 2011-19 — is back after stints with Colombia and Egypt, and arrives with just three months to prepare for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Under Queiroz, Iran memorably gave an excellent account of themselves at the last World Cup, where they beat Morocco, drew with Portugal and lost narrowly to Spain to miss out on the Round of 16 by just a point despite the odds firmly stacked against them.
– The one deficiency Asia’s World Cup hopefuls must address
– Japan ace Doan still has plenty he wants to achieve in his career
– The Asian stars to watch out for in the 2022-23 European season
It will not be easy again at Qatar 2022 with the Iranians to face England, United States and Wales, so what can we expect from Iran with Queiroz at the helm?
We look ahead to his second coming by answering these five questions.
What did he achieve with Iran previously?
The fact that no other coach has had a longer stint in charge of Team Melli — seven years and nine months — illustrates how satisfied the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran, who are no strangers to abrupt dismissals, were with his first tenure.
He secured consecutive World Cup qualifications in 2014 and 2018, which is the usual expectation given the Iranians are one of Asia’s traditional powerhouses — although they did miss out the year before Queiroz took charge.
In particular, Iran’s displays under Queiroz at Russia 2018 stand out as they collected four points to finish third in Group B but just a solitary point behind top two Spain and Portugal.
