TEHRAN, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iran's coach Carlos Queiroz warned his players to be on their toes against Oman ahead of the last 16 tie at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
"The Oman team is a very good team. They have prepared well and have achieved fantastic results over the last year or so. They played 23, 24 matches and only lost two or three. They have a very good coach in Pim Verbeek and we must be careful against them," said Queiroz ahead of Sunday game.
Oman has qualified as one of the four best third-placed teams with a 3-1 win over Turkmenistan. The team suffered two losses against Japan 1-0 and Uzbekistan 2-1 respectively in the group stage.
"They have been very impressive but I am confident that if we play our game and the players express themselves, we will progress," the former Real Madrid coach added.
"There is no room for mistakes, regrets and apologies. It all comes down to 90 minutes and we must make sure we come out on top. I always tell my players to keep it simple. Control the ball, pass the ball, don't lose the ball and score. When we have the ball, we must always be positive and think of scoring," Queiroz said.
"We have our dreams, our aspirations and our targets. When we started, I said we had seven finals to play and Oman is the fourth one. I am confident my players will deliver what is expected of them," Queiroz concluded.
Iran will meet Oman at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the UAE, on Sunday evening in Round of 16 of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
