Mohammed Salam Enad #10 Iraq captain playing style reminds me of Michael Ballack and Bashar Rasan #8 of Di Maria
1-3 for Sweden The Results doesn't reflect what is really going on. Iraq is dominating the match but Sweden is so lucky.
Iran meanwhile outplaying South American champions Argentina... but still 1:1 EDIT: Sweden being ruthless!
what a shitty goalkeeper we have. 4th for Sweden. Sweden were more realistic than Iraq. they got few chances and made it right.
Only thing I can say after watching Argentina play... This looks to be a straight contest between Nigeria and Brasil. Unless teams like Cote d'Ivoire, Italy or Sweden have enough to contain the attack of the two juggernauts.
Iran v. Argentina 1:1 (1:1) A boring second half, with both teams mostly lobbing the ball. Iran was clearly content with a draw, which is why despite the fact that it showed in the first half capable of beating this Argentine team, we played cautiously in the 2nd half even after Argentina were reduced to 10 men in the last ten minutes of the match. Anyway, overall, a draw was a fair result, even if in the first half, Iran played well and should have been ahead at halftime.
Disappointing 2nd half by Iran, where Argentina was the better team. Some of the players too eager to score from 30-40 yards and being selfish. Need to work on that passing and team work. But 1-1 against Argentina is still a great result.
I agree 1:1 is a great result. I was worried we might get thrashed. However, while Argentina did hit the cross bar on a corner kick and had a couple moments in the 2nd half, I don't think they were really "better" even in the 2nd half. In fact, neither side played all that well in the 2nd half. Argentina seemed to have learned to respect Iran and played directly, and Iran was obviously anxious not to lose after such a good first half and reciprocated in kind. Even so, we still probably had more possession than Argentina, out shot Argentina, and had three times the number of corner kicks they had.
Iraq played well, but a lot of amateur mistakes. That killed us. I can't see us getting out of the group stages unfortunately Let's hope for a positive result against Mexico
Yes we still can. We weren't bad. Sweden were more realistic when getting the chances they had. Iraq 19 Shoots (was 13 shoots when Sweden only had 3) Sweden 14 Shoots Corners Iraq 8 Sweden 4 Possession Iraq 56% Sweden 44% we were the dominant team but we couldn't score and Sweden defended well. They scored and we couldn't. Next match against Mexico and this match is a must win.
Your game against Sweden, which I didn't see, sounds like one of these matches were the result doesn't exactly tell the story. But the good news is that I don't think results are really all that significant in youth tournaments anyway. What matters more is if you can develop some good prospects for the future from this crop? Anyway, at this level, anything is quite possible. While Mexico seem to be a tough side, I wouldn't be surprised if Iraq got a result against them. Good luck in your next match.
First of all congrats with your tie against Argentina and thank you for your nice comment! The result didn't reflect the game, exactly. We were playing good but couldn't finish our chances. The problem is I don't know if we can finish as best third. Mexico will be tough, let alone Nigeria. I really hope we can make it at least to the QF's. We really have a talented team..
Thanks. To be honest, it seems unlikely that you will be able to make it out of the group stage with your result against Sweden. However, people won't remember who made the quarterfinals in the U17 World Cup and it really doesn't matter much anyway. If you have a talented team, you will probably have some talented players to bank on for the future. And that is what ultimately matters: whether you can build a good senior national team?
Why can't we develop and transfer the raw talent at the youth teams into the senior team? Our youth teams always outperform the senior national team and regularly beat the world's best. It's only a few year difference between youth and senior team so I don't understand why the talent doesn't carry over as much as it should. Hopefully the scouts are watching and some players get picked up for Europe.
Actually, while Iran has occasional success at the youth level (e.g., the last U17 World Cup, where we reached the quarterfinals), we typically rank much better at the senior level than the youth level. In any case, I would not focus so much on a how a youth "team" does relative to other teams, but the talents that can be discovered from the ranks of the youth team. The latter is more transferable and relevant than any supposed tactical or other lessons from the performance of youth teams. Thus, for instance, Hossein Kaabi had just finished playing for Iran's U17 team at the U17 World Cup in Trinidad & Tobago in 2001 (with an Iranian team that went out with 3 losses), when (as our best player in that squad) he was capped for Iran's senior national team. Thereafter, he eventually became a fixed player for our national team. Today, we have several very promising players from our 2009 U17 World Cup team that played in Nigeria, including Payam Sadeghian and Alishah (both of whom are doing very well for Perspolis), but who unfortunately aren't being called up by Queiroz. Even if they aren't yet ready to be fixed players for the senior national team, I think its important that these kind of players get the required boost in confidence by being occasionally called up to play for the senior national team in less important matches. Anyway, while too early, I think there are several players on this team that may end up proving useful additions to our senior team in a few years. But there is no guarantee, as there are also many examples of seemingly bright youth players who end up being busts.
http://www.sport360.com/fifa-u17-world-cup/uae-u17-world-cup-inspired-iran-held-argentina UAE U17 World Cup: Inspired Iran held by Argentina Rightly billed as one of the pre-tournament favourites, Argentina were the ones made to look like underdogs after they escaped their opening Group E match against Iran with a 1-1 draw in Al Ain. MATCH SUMMARY Hard to believe though it may sound, Iran can count themselves short-changed after drawing 1-1 with the mighty Argentina. Inventive, assertive and fearless, Iran were the better side from start to finish, and were only held back by an inability to take one of the many half-chances that dropped their way. ...
They were better 2nd half, but not by much. We could barely put two passes together and just sent long balls when coming under pressure by the more assertive (in 2nd half) Argentinians. But Iran cetainly was the better team in first half. Overall it was an even game, and 1-1 result reflect the match picture. However I share your opinion that it seemed like Iran held back after the half time break and didnt want to take initiative.
Was never a fan of youth tournaments. But after watching the Mexico/Nigeria game, I became a believer. Wow!!! What a game. Mexico has nothing to be ashamed of. They are still a very solid team and will go far in the tournament. They just need to be more tactical and not play to the strength of the opposition. Nigeria is a dangerous team and will remain dangerous for a long time! What an awesome display of attacking ruthlessness!! Haven't seen Brazil or Uruguay, but I will be curious to either play Mexico or Nigeria.
Brasil and Nigeria will likely win their groups. That means the earliest they play each other is the final. If Uruguay win their group they'll be en route for a semi-final with Nigeria, if they come second they will meet Brasil in the 1/4 final. If they come in third (still very likely given they have Cote d'Ivoire and Italy to play) they may end up in either bracket (a 1/4 final with Nigeria or a 1/2 final with Brasil). If Mexico and Uruguay come in second in their group they'll meet each other in the 1/8 final. Could become a very tough bracket: winner of Mexico (or Italy or Cote d'Ivoire) vs Uruguay would face Brasil in the 1/4 final.
Confed performances so far: 1. CAF 3 wins, 1 loss (11:4 +7 GD) 2. CONMEBOL 2 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss (15:4 +11 GD) 3. AFC 2 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses (6:7 -1 GD) 4. UEFA 2 wins, 1 draw, 3 losses (9:13 -4 GD) 5. CONCACAF 1 win, 1 draw, 2 losses (5:11 -6 GD) 6. OFC 1 loss (0:7 -7 GD) UEFA once again making a strong case that they have too many teams at the competition and they should hand over their extra slots to CAF and CONMEBOL. There is absolutely no justification to UEFA having 2 more slots than other confeds - their achievements are very poor compared to CAF and CONMEBOL, while they have a similar amount of national sides as AFC and CAF.