TEHRAN – Head coach of Iran national football team Carlos Queiroz says they are ready to stun Morocco in the 2018 World Cup.

Iran, making their fifth appearance in the World Cup finals, kick off their campaign against the Atlas Lions in St Petersburg on June 15.

Carlos Queiroz’s side, meanwhile, face Spain in Kazan on 20 June before meeting Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in Saransk five days later.

“We have the potential to stun Morocco in our first match because we know the team very well but they know nothing about us, then we can stun them,” Queiroz told reporters on Saturday in Moscow.

Queiroz, however, criticized his team’s preparation for the World Cup, saying the prestigious event has not been the first priority for the Iranian fans, media and officials.

“We participate in the 2018 World Cup while we could not carry out our program. We had to choose World Cup or AFC Champions League and I think the Iranians chose the second one. I respect other people’s opinions but I don’t agree with them,” ex-Real Madrid coach added.

“Iran have been drawn in the hardest group in the 2018 FIFA World Cup and we needed more preparation but the officials didn’t really take the competition into consideration,” Queiroz stated.

“We will make our best efforts in Russia but to get the best results you should have an adequate preparation. Anyway, with only six days remaining to our first game, we want to concentrate just on Morocco match,” the Portuguese said.

Reporting by Masoud Hossein