Alkmaar – With one game remaining in the 2015-16 Eredivisie, AZ Alkmaar are preparing for their final match on the road against FC Utrecht that will take place on 8 May.
AZ Alkmaar currently occupy the fourth position in the Eredivisie table and are looking to hold onto the final automatic qualifying spot to next year’s Europa League.
At today’s training session, Dutch correspondent Arian Mir caught up with Iranian winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh of AZ Alkmaar and asked him about Iran’s chances in the upcoming final round of qualification for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
“We can win our group and we are confident of good results,” said Jahanbakhsh.
Team Melli has been grouped with South Korea, Uzbekistan, Qatar, China, and Syria in the final round of World Cup Qualification. The top two teams in the group will qualify automatically to Russia.
Jahanbakhsh pointed out that Iran gained successful results against South Korea, Uzbekistan, and Qatar in the final round of qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The Iranian winger did not debut for Team Melli until after the 2014 qualification campaign concluded but he appeared in all three matches for Iran in the 2014 World Cup and gained valuable international experience.
South Korea, Uzbekistan, and Qatar will be itching for revenge against the giants of Asia but Head Coach Carlos Queiroz has done an excellent job of introducing a new crop of young players into Team Melli.
This time Iran will surely be just as or more dangerous than the previous squad that qualified to Brazil. Young star players such as Sardar Azmoun, Saeid Ezatolahi, and Alireza Jahanbakhsh will definitely create problems for their opponents in qualifying.
In his first season as a member of AZ Alkmaar, Jahanbakhsh has scored three goals in twenty-two league appearances.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh has made a name for himself at AZ Alkmaar this season but he is also looking forward to making a name for himself in the upcoming 2018 World Cup Qualifiers. Jahanbakhsh will get his chance when Iran take on Qatar in Tehran on 1 September 2016.