Portuguese Carlos Queiroz will return to Iran to lead the Persian team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, official Iranian media reported on Wednesday.
The state news agency IRNA closed the return of the 68-year-old coach to the so-called ‘Team Melli’, which he already directed between 2011 and 2019.
“With only 75 days left until the start of the World Cup, Carlos Queiroz returns to coach Iran for the second time, which spells the end of Dragan Skocic (current Iranian coach),” IRNA reported.
Croatian Skocic qualified Iran for the World Cup and has won 15 of the 18 matches played since he took charge of the Iranian team in 2020.
But the return to the presidency of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran of Mahdi Taj, who already held the position between 2016 and 2019, marks the return of Queiroz.
The Portuguese led the Iranians for eight years, in which he managed to qualify for “Team Melli” for the World Cups in Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018, in which he fell in the group stage.
Queiroz made the Iranian team the best Asian, according to the FIFA ranking, although he did not manage to win the Asian Cup.
The Portuguese would return to Tehran after the termination in April of his contract with the Egyptian Football Federation, only eight months after taking charge of the “fararons” and after failing in the attempt to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.
Queiroz left Egypt with a record of ten wins (two of them on penalties), one draw and three losses (one of them on penalties).
The Portuguese coach has also been the coach of countries such as Colombia, Iran and Portugal, in addition to coaching Real Madrid.