IRN v YEM preview: Nikolic seeks last match lift

AFC - Iran's future in the AFC U-19 Championship has been decided and coach Nenad Nikolic admits his fate may also have been determined by the first round exit in Saudi Arabia.

Narrow losses to the hosts and Japan mean Iran's final Group A encounter with Yemen is a dead rubber, with both sides' participation in the continental showpiece set to end after the match at Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium in Khobar.

Despite the premature elimination, Nikolic insists he will return to Tehran with his head held high, even though he may not remain as coach with his contract set to expire at the end of the year.

“My team made mistakes but I'm not ashamed of my team and I'm not ashamed to go back to Tehran,” said the Croatian.

“I take full responsibility for this team. If the Iran federation want to find another coach, this is normal in football.”

Iran conceded four minutes from time in the 2-1 loss to the hosts, while two goals in the first seven minutes set Japan on course for a 4-2 victory as the under 19s were unable to emulate the younger generation which won the AFC U-16 Championship in Tashkent last month.

“We played well but mistakes are normal in football,” added Nikolic.

Nikolic admits he may have to make changes to his deflated side but he remains determined to defeat Yemen.

“We must play as normal,” he continued. “Maybe I will have to change five, six players to refresh the team because everyone is down.

“It's better to finish with three points than none.”

Despite concerns over his position, Nikolic is looking to the future for his team with the next Olympics the main target.

“This competition is finished,” he stressed.

“We must look to build a team for London 2012. I'm satisfied with 75% of the players but we must work very hard.”

Coach Abdullah Fodel is adamant his Yemen side can overcome Iran despite conceding nine goals in their opening two matches.

Making their first appearance at the AFC U-19 Championship, Yemen succumbed to a 5-0 loss to Japan and a 4-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia to exit the tournament but Fodel is confident of an improved display in their third fixture.

“Yemen football has come a long way with participating in this tournament,” he said.

“My team is progressing game to game and I see us doing very well against Iran.

“We will try our best to play a good game against Iran to leave the cup with a good impression of the Yemeni team.”