TEHRAN – Iran football team Dragan Skocic says that many underestimated him during the past two years but he proved himself with hard work.

Under guidance of the Croatian coach, Iran became the first Asian team to book their place in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Iran defeated Iraq 1-0 on Thursday in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium in Group A.

Iran will participate in the prestigious event for the sixth time.

“First, I would like to congratulate my players since they showed an excellent performance against Iraq. I am very happy since I could make the Iranian people happy. It’s our pleasure,” Skocic said after the match.

“It took 15 minutes to find our tempo and then we were the dominant team and created so many chances. We could have scored more than one goal,” he added.

“We had some difficulties prior to the match since we missed some players after they got infected with COVID-19 and also our European-based players joined us late.

Skocic replaced Mark Wilmots in February 2020 but was under heavy pressure from the critics. He registered an excellent record of 13 wins out of 14 matches.

“I believed in my work from first but many underestimated me and didn’t respect me but I’m very happy because I’ve proved myself,” Skocic added.

“I am under contract with Iran football federation until 2023 and my plan is to lead Iran football team in the 2022 FIFA World Cup,” he concluded.