Iran will face Morocco at the 67,000-seater St. Petersburg Stadium in its first match at the World Cup on Friday.
“A great tournament is ahead of us. Even our experienced players are feeling the stress. But as the captain I think that we can enjoy football,” Shojaei said.
“I am very happy to be here. We are all waiting for the first match (against Morocco) to show what we are capable of," he added.
“We will do anything it takes to make Iranians proud of us,” Shojaei concluded.
Iran will also play 2010 World Cup champion Spain and Euro 2016 winner Portugal in Group B.