On a more hopeful note: http://www.tehrantimes.com/news/424259/Team-Melli-can-stun-Morocco-Carlos-Queiroz Team Melli can stun Morocco: Carlos Queiroz
Set pieces are our bread and butter. I think you'll see us do better cohesively during the WC but a warning, our team is probably the most infuriating team to play against. We will make the game ugly and choppy. We are not Honduras aiming to injure players but we neuter the flow of the game.
That will probably be the line up IF Harit and El Kaabi perform. Honestly think those two players add that bit of quality on the ball and in finishing that will make a key difference for the World Cup. But thats just conjecture.
Amrabat as a back, el Kaabi strikers and Harit midfield. Probably also the squad against Iran if Dirar is still not fit enough.
I had understood absolutely the same. Perhaps everybody here, so your correction wasn't necessary. But thanks anyway for the confirmation I'm not the only one.
Our second best goal scorer, Mehdi Taremi, is apparently injured. There goes the Taremi-Azmoun-Jahanbakhsh forward line. Meanwhile, Azmoun and Taremi are on social media acting like a couple of teenage girls and picking a fight with a comedian who made fun of them. This type of nonsense was unheard of under CQ, which again shows that something is up with CQ and the way he’s been managing the team this year.
The ball possession against Slovakia and Estonia look so good that I'm wondering if these teams play seriously or not ? Cause seriously, we look like some Croatia or Portugal playing against them, Estonia did not create a single chance so far, playing home, and Slovakia created only two.
The opponent is weak but always a good sign when the lesser teams are easily dominated. That suggests consistency. If this were almost any other group I would say Morocco were very strong bets for an upset. But in this group they are just strong bets. Still... the only African team I think it's worth putting your money on. Maybe also Nigeria, because the odds there are very good.
I'll put it this way: If Morocco were a UEFA team they highly likely would have qualify for the World Cup.
2nd half was completly freestyle, Renard put all his strikers on the pitch and En Nesriy ended up playing left back even. Was a quite poor second half in terms of ball possession and control, Estonia created chances and scored. El Kaabi played a great game and showed he deserves to start above Boutaib.
Decent game. Not all smooth sailing and Estonia were good for a goal or two. Their set pieces and long shots were doing some damage. The second half was... odd to say the least. Free for all... Did Renard just them tell to go out there and have fun?
Morocco dominated the first half and looked good against a side that played compact in the back and looked to counter. In the 2nd half, once Ziyech, El Ahmadi, Benatia et al, were taken out, Estonia began to look dangerous and the game took on a more even tempo. Overall, though, Morocco are clearly a good side and I agree they could qualify from UEFA as well. Indeed, I rate them not just the best CAF team but arguably one of the top 15 sides in Russia. That said, at its best, Iran would be able to do damage to Morocco, who looked suspect on the right side of their defense, with Estonia creating most of its chances attacking from its left side. I don't know if that was because Dirar is absent or for other reasons, but I haven't been as impressed by Morocco's defense as their stats in qualifying would suggest. They can let in goals and even Benatia (who wasn't playing the 2nd half when Estonia created most of its chances) has shown someone what suspect when pressed.
I don't understand what Renard did. He used all his strikers upfront, El Kaabi on left and En Nesryi on the right wing, while none of these players have ever played there. For sure Bouhaddouz does not deserve to be in the 23, he proved it again. He is slow and invisible. Would have been much better to give those 45 minutes to Carcela or Fajr.
a I wouldn't worry too much. I have seen Taremi ask to be subbed out of many matches recently, probably because he has a latent injury he doesn't want to aggravate and wants to make sure he doesn't miss the World Cup. Otherwise, I have seen him score for Al Gharafah and then, without any contact, drop to the floor and ask to be subbed out. He also asked to be subbed out in the Algeria game in the first half not long after he scored against them. Against Lithuania, I suspect he asked to be subbed out in minute 20 for similar reasons. He reportedly missed practice for back spasm but will join practice tomorrow. However, if Iran does in fact lose out Taremi, it would be a huge blow. I rate Taremi Iran's most influential player right now, although that honor used to go to S. Jalal Hosseini before he was cut by Queiroz so what do I know! But for what it is worth: if there is one player that can truly spark fire at the World Cup, besides Jahanbakhsh, it is Taremi. Azmoun is 3rd in my list as someone who can finish nicely but, unlike Taremi, Azmoun can't affect the tempo of a match nearly as much. Indeed, Taremi is exactly the kind of player that Iran needs to trouble Morocco's defense so I certainly hope he will be fine.
i was able to watch only the last 30 minutes and I'm not that worried about our defense situation (was a bit bad in second half today ) when benatia and hakimi not there . im hoping dirar will be recover soon, so it will be like that : hakimi,benatia,saiss,dirar
I think he did okay but nothing spectacular. He had one moment when he dribbled into the box and had a shot hit the post.