PBP Thread: Match #20, Iran vs Spain, 20 June 2018 [R]

To be fair in first match (Portugal v. Morocco) ball hit Pepe's hand inside Portugal's box and was a penalty call. Referee didn't see that, Moroccan coach told the referee to check VAR which showed on slow motion. The hand ball was clear but referee refused to even check with video check assistant. That was a big error which cost Morocco to be eliminated.

 

Worthless... are a joke. No need to insult guys. Just cheer your team. The rest of the countries are smaller in CONCACAF. With smaller economies their goals aren’t to win the World Cup. Where you think all the money and resources came/ started from to fuel current European teams? That’s right the Americas. Europe got rich off the Americas and accounts for your current economic superiority. No need to brag.

 

Ok. Not worthless. Poor teams.

 

Ansarifard has not been a national team performer in his natural position as a center forward and yet he is played out of position for two games in a row. To make matters worse he takes all the corner kicks when set pieces are the only time he can use his 6'5" height in his natural position to do some damage.

 

He didn't mean to offend you. We are not here for historical lessons. It is better to stick to football. Every one can understand small economies mean poor teams.

 

Oh so it's political this euro hate, I had a feeling this bias whining was'nt only football related. Well, good to know i guess.

 

There’s no hate. It’s just a reasonable reaction to your bragging / put downs. You’re creating the hate without even knowing it. Look at your posts. People are just standing up for themselves. Word choice and semantics are real. I’ll do the same hehe

 

The Azadi Stadium in Tehran today and the Kazan Stadium

 

This gave me a chuckle. Well done, sir. Well done.

 

Unfortunately another match I only caught in glimpses.

From the little I saw Iran impressed me. They worked really hard and wanted something from this game. They played with a lot of heart. They still stand a chance, but they're backs are against the wall and odds are, in my view, too well stacked against them in their final encounter with Portugal.

Spain seemed a little lucky today. Clearly they have been working on set-pieces and they seem to have an ace up their sleeves in that regards, but that appears to be the extent of their creativity. Maybe their saving some of their finer rehearsed plays for later in the tournament and they don't want to show too much of their ideas so early.

 

So far in general VAR has worked so well at this tournament.

 

Plenty for the Iranian fans to be proud of. They gave a terrific effort vs Spain.

 

More Red and Yellow cards on this thread than in the tournament.

Who do these mods think they are, Heber Lopes?

 

I think they should be pissed. Spain was simply not able to defend the cross. They should have stopped playing like Portugal and started playing like Iran.

Wait, is that how Iran always plays? They were bloody unstoppable in the air, they just needed one clean go at it.

 

Yes, they have a tall team and most of the players are good in the air. It's a shame they didn't exploit that advantage more, as you said.

 

Fans in Kazan having fun before and after the game. Lots of singing and dancing from minute 1:06 forward...

 

Yeah Iran fans really love their football. Met plenty in France 1998.Super nice people.

 

It's so cute when a CANADIAN national team fan comes here to make fun of IRAN.I am sure Canada would kick ass in this group.

 

You should call B/R Football complaint department. I don't work for them.

 

Yes,..It means they are due for a goal!

 

They showed in the last 30 minutes that they can pose scoring threats, it seems like they just prefer to sit back and win it by a lucky goal or deflection. Iran should have played more positively in the first half, the Spain defense has shown cracks in both their matches.

 

I would have preferred Iran play like it did after it fell behind earlier, after the first 20 minutes into the match. The first 20 minutes, however, I was okay with Iran bunkering as we needed to frustrate Spain and make sure we don't let in an early goal.

That said, there is no script that insures that Iran would have done better than it actually did against Spain. While we certainly have the quality to play a lot more offensively and be more entertaining in that sense, the chances that a side like Spain can exploit the opening and beat us more easily once we do that increase.

Iran's last match against Portugal will require Iran to win. While, theoretically, Iran can even advance even with a draw if Spain lose by +2 goals against Morocco, that isn't something I would place my bet on. The key question for Iran is how to approach the Portugal match? While Portugal would prefer to beat Iran than to get a draw, I think at the end of the day, they are more interested in making sure they advance (especially since its tough to say which R16 opponent is preferable for them, Russia or Uruguay?). As such, while Portugal will look to score, they are unlikely to be leaving much space behind their defense and will probably try to control the game with slow and patient build ups. If Iran shows a similar patience, the game can become very boring and almost aimless. If Iran rushes things, Portugal can have chances to score on us and make our task that much more difficult. I am glad I don't have to choose the tactical script for that match, but if there is anyone who should be able to do come up with the right script, it is Carlos Queiroz. Hope he comes with the script that sees Iran advance, regardless of how we do it. Against Portugal, all I care is Iran getting to the next round.

 

I could not come here right after the game because of my work schedule. I thought we started the game very bad. Our starting lineup was an offensive one but we started the game defensively. If we wanted to start the game defensively why not 2 wingers instead of 2 forwards out of 3 forwards CQ put in the starting lineup? After we conceded the goal, we played in a way that I wanted. I wished we could get a better result but this game is over. Now my focus is shifted to our third game.

 

A former student of mine, An Iranian living in Copenhagen, tells me there are no rules against women to watch sports in Iran. I also spotted some Iranian women amongst the spectators in last nights match against Spain.

 

I dig your essays, mr. Words however, may not be enough to overcome the European Champions. Could you do the job? Yes, sure - Iran is a very solid team. Should it happen, it would be the first time for an Asian side to beat the European Champions in a WC. Has not happened from 1930 and going.

I am inclined to think that the Iranian squad in just some days will return to Teheran. For the friendly people of Iran, I hope my prediction is wrong.