Iran just lost to Ecuador, 0-1. Next up: China (who lost to Oman, 1-3) We undoubtedly outplayed the Ecuadorians, but we couldn't capitalize on our many chances (we have only ourselves to blame for that). On the bright side, the result of this game is hardly important, and we played quite well throughout the game (with exception to our finishing, which was very weak). Our defense was confident and composed (except for the blatant hole which allowed Ecuador to score), our midfield passed well, and our forwards were very active. Our purpose in this tournament is to test new players and new combos of players, which we did today. Don't let the result get you down. Some positives: 1. After this game, everyone is naturally going to talk about Ashjari, who was quite good at LB. I had never seen the kid play, and he is easily better than Alenemeh and Shiri. I would also rate him higher than Zare, because his crosses are far superior and his speed is rather good. The only issue I have with him is that he's very weak and on a couple of occasions he was easily pushed over by the stronger Ecuadorians. He proved to be a worthy defender, but he clearly relies on his speed and quick feet, which isn't always enough to stop quality attackers on the wing. In any case, Ashjari definitely deserves another start, and if his strong play carries over to the next match, he deserves to start for the main team. 2. Jamshidian was also a new face (RM), and he was one of the best players in the 1st-half. His passing and vision are pretty strong, and I'd like to see more of him. 3. M.Zare played his best game for Team Melli, as far as I'm concerned. Good balance of attack and defense. Some negatives : 1. Rezaei, as usual, ran his butt off and gave us a lot of opportunities, but unfortunately he repeatedly displayed poor judgment with his shots and passing. 2. Borhani's game was similar to Rezaei's. He hustled and had good chances, but wasted them. If he plays more often with Rezaei, though, I'm quite sure they can rack countless goals as a duo. 3. Rafkhaei is terrible. I don't care if he scored a beautiful goal in the WAFF tournament. He is a crap player with a crap attitude, and his selfish-ways are detrimental to our team.
FYI: Ecuador fielded a C-team. Their top players are still in Europe while numerous players from their local league are currently in Japan preparing to play in the WCC final vs. Man U. with Liga de Quito.
Iran's lack of ability to finish their chances will come back to haunt them. There seems to be a missing link between the MF and the forwards...
Iran beat China 2-0 (Salehi (PK), P.Nouri). Can someone who actually watched the whole match give a brief analysis of our players' performances? Who played well? Who played poorly?
