Match Day 12 (match #35) - Iran v. Portugal - Saransk

Why would they, it shows their bias, concentrate on your enemies faults in order to hide your own.

 

I think the referee awarded the penalty to Iran because in part he awarded one penalty to Portugal earlier in the game and so he decided to be more lenient towards an Iranian penalty claim for the sake of a balance approached. I'm not 100% sure if it was a penalty or not. It's a debatable call, but I'm inclined to think it wasn't a penalty because the handball looked accidental, not deliberate.

As for the Ronaldo yellow, again there's reason for debate. I think it would have been a harsh red, but I can understand why many think it should have been a red: he deliberately elbowed the opposing player. It's a deliberate swing and simply that's a red. It was malicious and possibly dangerous, but it was not too malicious nor too dangerous and I think that's mainly why he got lucky with the yellow. And in further defense of Ronaldo, the opponent was looking to sort of offset Ronaldo's movement, getting under Ronaldo's skin, and the moment the opponent had an excuse to go down and milk the referee, he did.

I also think the referee was less willing to send off a player of Ronaldo's stature. If Ronaldo missed his team's knock-out fixture, the referee would have been blamed for calling a harsh red against Ronaldo and potentially costing Portugal the tournament if they had lost the fixture. I also think the referee might believe that sending off Ronaldo would hurt his career as a ref, thus preventing him from refereeing bigger matches. Personally, I think anyway you cut it, the referee was reluctant to send off Ronaldo on what I consider to have been a potentially harsh red. This was a very difficult decision for the referee to make because of its political consequences.

 

Good analysis, but for me it was a yellow (Max) and Will always be a yellow (Max). Sure players have got red for less but what sort of criteria is that? Just because there were worse calls in the past does not make this one correct.

 

Some of it comes down to FIFA guidelines. The penalty for example may not be so much an issue of whether it was deliberate or not, but rather whether the position of his hand was too high and too outstretched, i.e., by simply keeping his arm out like that he invited the handball even if accidentally. So that's where some of the confusion over how to interpret these moments come into play.

There's a lot of room for interpretation. Not everyone will agree because there's a basis for competing arguments to be made.

 

Watch these two analysis by football experts.

 

Those both have been posted about 20 times on the Group B threads. Definitely biased towards Portugal. Same guys that were biased about them winning the Euro! Listen to the podcast I posted from 2 NON BIASED people with much better breakdowns of the match.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jun/26/var-world-cup-2018-verdict-so-far-sachin-nakrani

Paragraph from link above. >

"Iran’s manager, who temporarily stormed down the tunnel, was no doubt happier with Cáceres’s decision to award his team a penalty in the closing stages after a supposed handball by Cédric Soares was also reviewed. Again the referee consulted his screen and again he changed his mind; this time he was most definitely wrong. Karim Ansarifard converted the spot kick and it meant Portugal finished second and face a daunting last-16 tie against Uruguay"

 

If Portugal had not been favored by several other close calls all going their way in the many other incidents in the match that could have been penalties and red cards against Portugal, and if Portugal had not been awarded that 'soft penalty' that fortunately was saved by Beiranvand, I guess I would better understand the perspective of the Portuguese fans here. But I don't get it! Clearly, Portugal was lucky Ronaldo is going to play for them in the next round. Clearly, if VAR was used to give Portugal a soft penalty, the contact by Cavalho to bring down Azmoun in the box was as much a penalty.

Let me put it this way: I would have much preferred that Iran wasn't given the penalty on that handball (it was a questionable call) but was instead given an earlier penalty when Cavalho brought down Azmoun. I don't think there would have been much controversy if a penalty would have been called on that play even though it would have been a soft penalty like the one given to Portugal. It was a clear penalty because the contact was undeniable and Azmoun was pushed to the floor, even if he didn't resist taking the fall.

Anyway, here is another clip with Gary Lineker and company talking about the Iran-Portugal game both at halftime and after the match. I post it because this nonsense about Portugal being dominant and in control of the match based on these meaningless stats is spin. And the Portuguese fans who post it know it too. I have a hard time believing any of them felt that way watching the game.

http://s.tamasha.com/statics/videos_file/489541_0_normalized_640x360.mp4

 

Until Ronaldo missed the penalty I felt like Portugal had it in complete control. Then the VAR happened with that BS hand ball call.

The Azmoun play was a dive. They review all plays like that from VAR inside the box. That is why Ronaldo's was called.

 

You had a peculiar view. Before Portugal scored, everyone was expecting a scoreless half. Other than a miscommunication between our goalie and d-mid that led them to fight one another, which gifted Portugal a chance which was shot into the sky, Portugal wasn't doing anything that was threatening us. On the other end, we were sloppy with the 1-2 moments we had in front of your goal but those moments already showed your defense could be exposed.

I posted the link I posted because it contained the halftime comments too. To be sure, right before the end of the half, Portugal scored a nice goal and after that goal, and until Ronaldo failed to convert the penalty early in the 2nd half, I too became worried the game was lost for Iran. But that was around 10 minutes from 90 minutes when things looked different.

 

Sure Iran had a few moments before the PK for the "hand ball" but I really wasn't that worried. I just felt like Portugal was going to score with all that possession and corners they were getting. Then RQ scored and they still held possession while Iran started to look tired. Obviously once they called the PK and that close shot at the end was the only time I was really nervous about the game. Portugal dominated everything but the score board. Though props to Iran for hanging in there.

 

At the moment, with the copyright laws not letting extended highlights being posted on youtube, it is difficult for me to find the clips of the incidents and chances from the game. But eventually we will have extended highlights and people who missed it can watch the match and the other incidents at issue for themselves. In this regard, the contact by Cavalho on Azmoun was undeniable, pushing Azmoun in the direction of the floor, regardless of whether Azmoun took the floor to help attract attention to get the call he didn't get.

While our left flank defensively was a bit exposed because Queiroz has not been using our regular left fullback (who is excellent and came in as a 2nd half sub against Portugal and Spain) in this tournament, overall Portugal was toothless and harmless for most of that game. You had a couple of moments besides the nice goal and penalty, but they were gifts which you gave back with poor shots which ended up no where.

As an aside, I personally give our players full marks for their effort and determination. I give Queiroz very high marks for preparing them to give their all. I give him excellent marks for implementing his tactics very well -- as well as those tactics can accomplish. But unlike most Iranian fans, I don't think we got the very best from our team as I think Iran would have been capable to do slightly better. We needed to start with M. Mohammadi on the left flank (instead of Hajsafi) and press Portugal more vigorously (but at midfield stripe not higher) and more often, using our subs earlier to make sure everyone had enough fuel in the tank.

 

cool story..

 

Actually, just checked youtube again and unlike last night, found there are now highlights being posted.

 

We can go back and forth on this but I can also say Portugal still did not play their best game by far. They played better but Portugal can certainly play much better than they did against Iran. Portugal's tactics in this game was far from polished but you can see the individual skill was so much better than Iran's. Iran pretty much played as well as they could with the talent they have. Why else would they bunker so much of the game when they needed a win? If they attacked more it most likely would have opened up the flood gates for Portugal to score.

 

Reminds me of a question asked Ronaldo during Wc2010 where he quipped: ask Queiroz!

To be fair, we will never know because we didn't really try what I wanted us to do until later in the 2nd half against Portugal and Spain. But during the period when we did, I didn't see our defense any more exposed. Also, to be clear, I am not saying Iran should have played a very open game and press high. That wouldn't work and Iran would eventually get punished by it. But we could have done what I have suggested (start M. Mohammadi as left FB instead of Hajsafi and pressed more in midfield stripe) and my sense is that it would have worked even better.

Anyway, regardless of what I say, this was a great tournament for Iran. No one in Iran or anywhere else can deny that. Not as great as accomplishing the dream of advancing (which we would have accomplished if Taremi had finished that good chance at the last second even though I don't blame him for not finishing it). But great nonetheless. Iran is one of the few defensive sides in football that is frankly a joy to watch. I am glad that is not just something Iranian fans feel as I have heard and read neutrals say it too.

 

It was a great tournament for Iran. I can see why some Iranians love CQ as the manager and want him to be there for a long time but he is way TOO defensive which did not work with Portugal well. I would still like to see your thoughts on him as you promised your take on him after the tournament. Unless you already posted it? I know you are one of the few on here that didn't really care for him as the Iranian manager.

 

My thoughts on Queiroz now that the tournament is over. I post them in bullet point format but at some point, I will summarize them more coherently.

1- Queiroz is highly knowledgeable and experienced coach, with the exact blend of personality, tactics, and acumen, to bring the best out of Iran playing his preferred tactical script. No one else in this world could turn Iran into the team we have become. That means and includes the good and the bad.

2- Queiroz is an extremely vindictive, egotistical, and petty person and these qualities (which help make him be very competitive in one sense) also hurt our football in many ways that go beyond the short term gains and losses that he brings to us as a coach on the field and in terms of our results and performances. If Queiroz is given any more power and influence, our football program, our clubs, and anyone else who is succeeding in Iran at any level, will be ruined and wrecked because he is very jealous and extremely thin skinned. Yet, the long term strength of our football comes from our clubs and not just the person who is leading our national team.

3- On the tactical level, even though Queiroz has made me appreciate defensive football more than I did previously, I still think Iran will grow more if we find a coach who takes more risks than Queiroz is willing. In the short term, that might not produce as well but in the longer run, a good coach with a different coaching philosophy will better help our football grow more now that the defensive approach has been drilled into to us already. And that is true especially now that the discipline and hard work that Queiroz has instilled in our team, and its value, is clear for anyone else who follows him.

 

I hope that isn't a professional editing company that did up those highlights, they were terrible. If anything they showed Iran were probably lucky to finish with 11 players ... hacked Ronaldo every chance they got (can't blame them, but did they just rotate which player hacked him each time so none got a second yellow??)

Saw the Azmoun penalty call on another highlights package (as the one you provided didn't really show it). The other package didn't really show a great angle but from the two angles they showed I would say no penalty (especially not a clear and obvious mistake that VAR is meant to rule upon ... so correct decision made IMO). Yes there is contact but not a foul ... otherwise you'd have to adopt netball rules if you called all contact like that in a game of football.

I am not a fan of Ronaldo or soft pens, but it was he was clearly fouled in the box for the penalty (you can't run across the line of an attacker without making a play for the ball).

 

Congrats Portugal for making to the next round. Personally I think there are only two things that we can regret. First we did not start our game with Spain the way we played after conceding the goal. Second the goal scoring opportunity Taremi missed in Portugal game.

Although our goal was making to the next round but the coaching staff and players did their best. So we cannot really complain. We thank them all for their hard effort.

 

I totally agree with this.

 

Lol

 

Queiroz is a very conservative defensive coach. You need a manager with more offensive tactics to show up in bigger stage. He relies on passive football tactics and physical play. You need a creative midfield and more passing accuracy.

 

Of course they were expecting a scoreless half before quaresma scored. It was 0 0 in the 43rd minute.

And most of the game was us passing the ball around looking for opening to move into. Iran did a great job closing those gaps but it never managed to gather possession and mount dangerous counters til the very end of the game when u were gifted a goal.

By the way if you only watch the last 10 min of the spain portugal game it looks like we were much better and they were just holding on. But games are 90 mins long

 

No u don't. Defense wins the day. It doesn't matter if u can only score one goal a game as long as ur opponent scores zero.