AFC - Ali Daei has declared he has no intention of standing down from his post at the helm of the Iran national team despite his side’s 2-1 loss at home against Saudi Arabia in World Cup qualifying on Saturday evening.

Iran conceded two goals in the final 11 minutes of a thrilling encounter at the Azadi Stadium, with the result causing pandemonium among the capacity crowd, who called for Daei’s head after seeing his team squander a one-goal lead.

But despite the loss the former Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin striker praised his team and stressed he would not be abandoning his position.

“I’m happy with the players’ performance and I’m not going to resign,” said Daei. “I believe the players played very well and I am proud of them now.

“We conceded those two goals because of our mistakes and I can understand how difficult it is for everybody, but what we have to do is try harder and claim as many points as we can in the forthcoming games.”

Masoud Shojaei gave the hosts the lead in the 57th minute with a fine strike from the edge of the penalty area, only for Naif Hazizi and Osama Al Harbi to score for the Saudis, who now climb above Iran into third place in the Group B standings.

With only three games remaining for both teams, the tension is increasing as the two nations trail group leaders DPR Korea and second-placed Korea Republic, who have played a game less than everyone else in the group.

The win was the first in a competitive game for new Saudi coach Jose Peseiro, who took over from Nasser Al Johar following the team’s loss to DPR Korea in Pyongyang in February.

And the Portguese coach was delighted with the response of his new team.

“That was a tough match,” he said. “Iran are a great team but we managed to win in a very special way.

“We didn’t start well and Iran dominated the game in the first quarter but gradually we got better and found a way to win.

“Both Iran and Saudi still have a chance to qualify so we need to concentrate on the games coming up.”

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