Let me share some interesting stories I've seen watching Iran, not trying to make a point or anything just sharing what I know. My dad is from Iran so they've always been my #2 team (btw England is my #3 plus I like Scotland - haha fascinating group!) They massively improved under Carlos Quiros who was the coach from like 2012-2019 and he was very popular with the Iranian people. but (i don't know this for sure but I have heard as a theory) maybe the Iranian government didn't want him to get too popular so they applied some pressure on him and after 2019 he left. or maybe they just didn't pay him enough? IDK but it seemed like he was really happy coaching Iran in those years Winning away to South Korea in 2013 to qualify for the world cup was a landmark game for them. They had first beat Korea in Tehran and the Koreans made excuses to the media that they didn't receive good treatment as guests or something. Now Iranians pride themselves on their hospitality. There's even a cultural phenomenon called Taroof where you are supposed to excessively and repeatedly offer things like paying the bill, offering food, etc. So this whole thing did not sit well with Iranians. They were really charged to go to South Korea and beat them, iirc Iran bunkered and got one counter and won. At the final whistle Queiroz and the whole bench ran over to the Koreans like "you see! we showed you!" (somehow South Korea and Iran have been drawn together in qualifying for the last 4 or 5 cycles - This year South Korea was strong and got 4 points off of Iran but the Koreans lost to lesser teams and finished below Iran) I remember a very entertaining game against Iraq in the 2015 Asian Cup with Iran down a man, lots of goals back and forth, last second equalizers. I highly recommend checking out the highlights of the game, really fascinating and entertaining match. You obviously all know that they did well in the last world cup. luck was on their side in a game with Morocco that could have gone either way, an unlucky goal against Spain to lose 1-0, tied portugal but might have beat them with a last-second chance hitting the side netting. They also had held Argentina scoreless for 90 mins in '14 until Messy scored. When they're organized they can be hard to break down. Then in the 2019 Asian Cup they were really hot and heavily favored to win the cup. After steamrolling all the competition they reached the semifinal against Japan. Japan was very humble and said they didn't expect to beat Iran. There's one moment in the match I never forget. The Iranians made a tackle and thought the Referee was going to whistle them for a foul (he was not) they all ran up to the ref to argue. meanwhile a Japanese player hustled his ass off to save the ball from passing the bi-line and japan scored. The moment was a serious demonstration of the differences between those 2 cultures. Iran sucked the rest of the game. didn't create a single chance and lost 3-0. Iran can be really strong but when they lose confidence they collapse, they've been this way for a long time. I've only seen a handful of times when they turned a game around I think they had Marc Wilmots as their coach after Queiroz and they lost qualifiers to Bahrain and Iraq. at one point it looked like they wouldn't reach the last round of qualifying but they changed the coach and turned it around. Since then they've won most of their qualifiers except against South Korea. They always seem to schedule garbage friendlies. they never play anybody big. Sardar Azmoun is their Messi/Pulisic type who is relied on a lot in the attack, when he's playing well Iran can punch above their weight. though as I mentioned above in that Japan game he didn't have an impact. Mehdi Taremi is good too. sorry for the book, I just started writing and couldn't stop haha. hope you found it an interesting read!
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing! I know very little about this current Iranian side, but I think one of the best aspects of the World Cup is that it makes you form interest in a side you might otherwise not know much about, including their culture. As for their matches against South Korea, I always find myself backing Iran in those games. The South Korean national team has always been a truly unlikeable lot, and I was hoping we would get them in our group.
Iran's best and most influential player is Mehdi Taremi. I hope he will be fit, in form, and healthy. Unlike Azmoun (who is usually a better finisher). Taremi is a more complete player who helps Iran all over the pitch. I will introduce you more to Iran's players later.
This is a slightly edited and slightly condensed version of what I wrote elsewhere: IRAN NT Porto's Mehdi Taremi (CF, LWF), Bayer Leverkusen's new signing from Zenit, Sardar Azmoun (CF), and Feyernord's Alireza Jahanbakhsh (RWA,R-AM) are Iran's best known players. When available, all 3 typically start for Iran, with Azmoun upfront either alongside Taremi, with Jahanbakhsh in midfield when Iran uses a 4-4-2 formation, or with Taremi and Jahanbakhsh on the left and right side of Azmoun when Iran uses a 4-3-3 formation. Among the 3, Azmoun is Iran's best finisher and MVP on the transfer-market, Taremi is Iran's best player overall who can basically do everything very well. Jahanbakhsh has a good shot, great talent springing excellent through balls, and a very good eye for the net. He is at his best as a wide forward upfront; as a midfielder, despite good skills, he turns over the ball more than one would like. In midfield, Iran's most important players are Vahid Amiri (L-MF), who plays for Persepolis in Iran, and Saeed Ezatollahi (D-Mid) who recently joined a Qatari club after several years playing in different smaller leagues in Europe, last of them a Danish club. Ezatollahi's strength is his long ball distribution, his height and physique, and his shots which are good. Ezatollahi's work-rate and fitness (despite a relatively young age) however is merely average. Amiri, otoh, is all-around good player who helps the team through his tireless running and pressing, while occasionally showing his technical abilities. Amiri rarely scores but otherwise he is, besides Taremi, probably Iran's most influential player on the pitch. The other midfielder who gets the most minutes for Iran is Ahmad Nourollahi (D-mid/CM), who transferred from Persepolis to a club in the UAE last year. He is decent player and, at the Asian level, can be quite influential as well. He also has a good work rate and helps the defense, while the player some Iranian fans like to see start in his place, Brentord's Saman Ghodoos, does neither. Ghodoos, however, has a good shot and decent skills offensively. The problem Ghodoos faces is that offensively, Charleroi's (Belgium) attacking midfielder, Ali Gholizadeh, is overall better than Ghodoos while Iran's top 3 players (Taremi, Azmoun, Jahanbakhsh) crowd space for him upfront as well. When one or more of those players are injured or unavailable, Ghodoos does occasionally get the chance to start for Iran. Iran's best central defender is Hossein Kanani (Kanani-zadegan), Persepolis defender who transferred to a Qatari club last year. Playing next to him in central defense, is his former Persepolis teammate Shoja Khalilzadeh who plays in Qatar right now. Backing them up is Majid Hosseini, Iran's young WC-18 central defender who playsin Turkey (Kayserispor). Iran's other WC-18 central defender, a 29-year old veteran player, Morteza Pouraliganji is expected to be able to play in a couple months after missing the last year due to injury and could add further depth in this position. Iran's starting left fullback is Sepahan (Iran) player Omid Noorafkan. He is above average and Iran has plenty of players to back him up in this position, including the 2 AEK Athen's(Greece) left fullbacks who compete with one another and rotate in this post, the younger, speedier Milad Mohammadi (WC-18) or the more experienced, but much slower, Iranian captain Ehsan Haj Safi (WC14 & WC18). Besides those two, Iran also has Mohammad Naderi who moved from Esteghlal to Altay in Turkey last year, but Naderi for now isn't part of the roster. Iran's right fullback position is filled by Dinamo Zagreb's Sadegh Moharami, who is a very good, technically gifted, (shy) player. Iran's coach seems to have tried to shield his former pupil at an Iranian 2nd division club, Malavan (Moharami later transferred to Persepolis on Skocic's recommendation to fellow Croat, then Persepolis coach, Branko Ivankovic, and then to Croatia thanks to Skocic) from serious competition. Some of Iran's best right fullbacks aren't being invited, including our WC-18 RB, Ramin Rezaian (Rezaian recently moved to Persepolis from Qatar at a financial loss just to be in better view for our World Cup roster). In practically the only thing Skocic has done that I fault him for, in interviews he has given, he has specifically mentioned that he won't invite Rezaian by name, without giving any reason. As it is, in this post Moharami's back ups are untested players who might or might not be able to carry the responsibilities that will be thrust upon them when Moharrami is unavailable. Anyway, my wrap up should end with Iran's goalkeepers, the WC-18 veteran Alireza Beiranvand (Boavista, Portugal) and Amir Abedzadeh of Ponferradina in Liga 2 in Spain. These 2 bring very different strengths and weaknesses to the table, but I am fine with both. Abedzadeh can have a very bright future ahead of him. He is only 1.86 m tall, which is a few centimetres shorter than most top goalies and almost 10 cm shorter than Beiranvand, which ultimately is practically his only negative point besides national team experience.
Ultimately Iran has two strikers who could start for the USMNT, a GK who might compete during down times like now, and the Feyenoord midfielder who probably wouldn't break into the MMA midfield but seems fairly good, anyway. I'm sure they have some decent domestic guys in there, too. But the USMNT should win this game by 2-3 goals. That's not to say they will. This USMNT hasn't lived up to their talent yet.
That is absurd. It is frankly simply trolling. Especially when talking about a team like Iran which has conceded more than one goal only once every blue moon.
Another fun fact: At Iran's first world cup in 78 they played Scotland (who obviously might be in this group) Iran played really well and might have won the game if it wasn't for an atrocious own goal. seriously one of the stupidest I've ever seen. The goal was scored by Andranik Eskandarian (other wise a good player I think) Eskandarian moved to the US and played for the New York Cosmos. He had a son Alecko Eskandarian who won MLS Cup 2004 with DC United and earned 1 cap with the USMNT - against Wales of all Teams. Interesting connection between the countries of this group
interesting. As an aside, Iran played Wales in a friendly before the revolution in Tehran and I was at the stadium. Wales won 1:0. I was a young boy then and the first time I saw Iran lose a match I actually attended. I guess, subconsciously, that is one reason (besides Gareth Bale) that I don't want Wales to be the UEFA playoff team in our group.
also interesting! so you were around to see when Iran dominated Asia. I don't suppose you attended the '76 Asian Cup? last time Iran won a trophy
No, but the first Iran games I attended were the 1974 Asian Games hosted by Iran which Iran won as well. Until 2002, when the Asian Games football followed the Olympic model, the Asian Games were also considered an Asian championship. And while Iran's last Asian Cup trophy was in 1976, Iran did win several Asian Games championships since then (AG90. 98. 02).
US vs Iran will likely be a low scoring match. First goal might be the game winner. It wouldn't shock me if it was 0-0 draw
It is harder to predict because it is M3 and a lot about how that game is approached by each side will depend on the M1 and M2 results.
It's not absurd. It's what a team with 10 players on Champions League roster should do to a team like Iran. That's not to say it will. The USMNT has underperformed.
📰 One of the world's most foremost footballing publications, @Marca, analyzed Iran's team. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱Embarrassment of riches in attack.𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗱Iran's tactics vs. stronger opposition is reactive & baffling.𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺The right system has been elusive. pic.twitter.com/0u6phOn6uP— Persian Soccer (@prznsoccer) April 3, 2022 p.s. off the bat, their lineup for Iran has errors...
They didn't do any better with ours, but it's probably better than the EA FIFA game, old stereotypes, or nothing at all.
I repped you, but the best games to watch from Iran (to see Iran in a typical lineup and in a more contested atmosphere) would be: 1- MD2: Iraq v Iran 0:3 (in Qatar) 2- MD3: UAE v Iran 0:1 (in UAE), M3 3- MD4: Iran v S. Korea 1:1 (empty stadium Tehran) The best game where Iran nonetheless did miss important players but were 1st line substitutes were available would be: 4- MD6: Syria v Iran 0:3 (in Jordan) (Taremi and Jahanbakhsh both unavailable for different reasons, but otherwise Iran was at full strength) The game Iran clinched qualification was at home against Iraq. Iraq and Iran both missed players due to Covid etc, in Iran's case we missed Azmoun along with several others of lesser note. But it was an important match for both sides: Iraq needed 3 points to keep its playoff hopes realistic and Iran to clinch. It was also the first game in Tehran with (partial/restricted #) spectators. 5- MD7: Iran v Iraq 1:0 (in Tehran) S.Korea v Iran 2:0 on MD9 was a predictable disaster for Iran: in the best of circumstances, playing in a packed stadium in Korea isn't easy. But Iran was in the worst possible shape: Iran's depleted roster and make-shift lineup in the game held barely together by out of position players who were themselves not fit, several recovering from injury but used because Covid and suspensions had already deprived Iran of a dozen players, including 4 fixed starters (Taremi, Jahanbakhsh upfront, Ezatollahi in midfield; Moharami our RB) plus first line subs such as Ghodoos and others. Once one of them couldn't continue in the first half, replaced by an uncapped player, the seams began coming off. But as long as you don't fool yourselves into thinking that is a typical showing by Iran, you might enjoy that game too,
Yeah, especially considering how generally anemic our offense is. It’s not we are a team the rolls teams by high scores. Iran, from all the information we are learning, has a strong defense. No doubt about it, it’s going to be a hard fought close game.