Iran vs Montenegro Player Ratings | Post Match Discussion

[Sepandiiiiiiiii]

Am I the only one who is not convinced by Beiranvand? He looks shaky and far from solid when it comes to crosses and we saw that on the first goal. We saw that in Persepolis last games as well. He is pretty solid when it comes to shots but I get nervous everytime the other team crosses...

anytime I see him go out to punch a ball I suffer a mini stroke.

[Sly]

Dejagah's quality is still above our other players in his position. We really need to get Saman Ghoddos as he can be a great replacement!

[Karimi 8]

Overall:

Excellent test for us overall. We played against a very strong team, with their A squad, and beat them in their own home. We had a major problem after we scored our first goal, where out DM's really let the team down. There was way too much space in the middle of the field, our defense was put in constant pressure, and Beiranvand was challenged with many open long range efforts. It may have been because Hajsafi was injured, but Ezatolahi did not do well either. Ali Karimi however did a great job after coming in. Our play become a bit predictable, and the subs helped change that. Great performance by Azmoun, and some nice quick counter attacks gave us an amazing win! This was a perfect friendly match for us to be challenged, try new players, and deal with pressure from high caliber players. Great job TM.

Player ratings:

Beiranvand - 8.5 (made one mistake, but made up for it for numerous excellent saves)

Rezaeian - 8.5 (really good moving forward, involved in both goals, got the assist on the second one. Defending was average)
Pouraliganji - 5.5 (was doing okay, but got a red)
Montazeri - 7 (he was average)
Aghaei - 6.5 (he did not move forward much, defending was pretty good. Good to know we have him as a back up LB)
Pourghaz - 7 Solid after coming in

Hajsafi - 5.5 (weak performance, but was probably injured the whole time)
Ezatollahi - 6 (not impressed by him today, nice shot though)
Dejagah - 7 (did okay overall, had a big giveaway, but for the later part of the half he did a good job drawing fouls, and dribbling)
Torabi - 8.5 (excellent assist, nice dribbles! Was much more active in the first half though)
Mohammadi - 7 (average)
Karimi - 8 (did well after he came on)
Pahlevan - 6.5 (some nice touches and dribbles)

Ansarifard - 6 (didn't see much from him)
Azmoun - 9.5 (almost scored 4 goals, damesh garm)
Ghoochannejad - 6.5 (a few good chances)

[inarsenewetrust]

Firstly I would like to discuss the game overall. Lets put one thing to rest...Montenegro are a very good and have shown it as they are second in their Qualifying group behind poland. They have beaten a strong Danish side, and narrowly lost to poland, as their big results so far. Jovetic, Savic, Basa, Vucinic ( a bit old now) are all top, top players. They also have some promising young players in lower leagues (Bundesliga 2, Croatian league, etc). They were very physical today and ref gave no protection at all. Therefore I was very impressed that our team did not get bullied, and in the end definitely out muscled montenegro. We showed that if teams want to go physical, we have the personnel and attitude to deal with that too.

Now onto our performance.We lined up with ansarifard on the left, dejagah at CAM, and torabi on the right. First 15 minutes, we were on top. Moving ball very well, switching play,bipassing their high press, and creating chances. Hajsafi had an excellent cross field switch to rezaian, who layed it off to torabi. Then torabi twists and turns and leaves the montenegro defense for dead, and sharply cuts it back for sardar who one times it in. Then montenegro amped up pressure. Ansarifard was not heling aghaei nearly enough and left him exposed. We ended up too deep, and hajsafi was clearly struggling with an injury. eventually pressure told after some great clearances by our centre backs. Cross from aghaei's side because of lack of pressure on their winger, Beiranvand with a really shitty punch, and their player lays it back to jovetic who puts in the corner.
After that we picked it up again, and with Hajsafi leaving the pitch, Ali karimi came in and immediately we regained control. Dejagah got much mroe involved and we were unlucky not score with azmoun hitting inside of post with a great header from dejagah cross. Ezatolahi also had a stunning freekick from long range tipped over. Second half we made some subs, with milad coming in for ansarifard at left wing to provide additional cover for aghaei. Dejagah also was subbed (prob cuz he is just coming back from not playing for months) and gucci came in and we went 4-4-2. We controlled much of the play in the second half, and it showed with a great second goal. Karimi with a cross field through ball, rezaian lays it off with a header, and sardar volleys home with a half-bike. Could have scored again through sardar, or gucci who curled a nice one that went narrowly wide after sardar's lay off. Red card was not a red card from Ganji, but whatever. We didn't seem to troubled with 10 men until last 3 minutes where beiranvand made a good save from a long range strike.

This game had everything. A good opponent, who played very physical. Some top quality players for our boys to test themselves against. And a semi-hostile atmosphere. Plus we got put into a very realistic situation that could occur at WC (10 men) and dealt with that well. Also many guys played (Aghaei, Pahlevan, Ali karimi, pourghaz_ who normally do not so we got to see some new personnel, tactics.
Ratings

Beiranvand - 6.5 . One bad play that led to the goal. But other than that one of his best performances. Many crucial saves, and looked confident on crosses apart from the goal. Kicking could have been slightly better at times.

Rezaian - 7.5. Defended very well and was excellent going forward. Always an option with his runs. He looks in top shape for a guy who hasnt played club football, or a competetive game in almost two months.

Montazeri - 6 . Had some very good interceptions and blocks from crosses, but wasnt very good on the ball and struggled in the 20 minute spel where montenegro dominated.

Pag - 6 . Same as montazeri. He was out of position for red card, but on the ball he was good, carrying it out back well.

Aghaei - 5.5 . His debut against a good team too, he did okay. Let down by ansarifard not helping him at all defensively in the first half. Seems like a fairly quick, physical player who can be a good backup to MiMo. Didnt add much going forward, but looked much better when milad was infront of him giving additional support.

Ezatolahi - 8. Excellent performance, this is the ezatolahi we know and not the one that we saw with Anji. He was quick on the ball, switched play constantly, and took minimal touches. Defensively he was very good as well, and was able to deal with physicality of montenegro, and even bully them off the ball

Hajsafi. 6. Did well early on, then picked up injury but stayed on and was clearly struggling, giving away ball so was subbed.

-------Ali Karimi - 8.Came in for Hajsafi. Excellent in possession. Great range of passing, very assured on the ball, and smart defensively. Him and saeid are our future in defensive midfield. Hopefully he gets a starting spot next year at Dinamo and then he will start in WC.

Torabi - 7.5 . Great performance from a really bright player. Assist for sardar was brilliant. At times he dribbled too much and gave the ball away. If he gets to europe he will be a starter for many years to come. He has it all, technique, physicality, and endurance.

Dejagah. 6.5. Played as CAM. Did well in first 15 linking up play. Struggled when montenegro dominated, and gave ball away a lot. Later in the half when we regained control, he played a big part. Good set piece delivery as well. Lets remember he is just coming back from a long injury lay off and has only played 20 mins for Wolfsburg since his return

Ansarifard. - 5. He tried to make things happen in possession, but gave ball away too much. But his defensive work is what his rating is about. Played at LW, and gave little to no support to first time starter Aghaei. Subbed at half, probably for this very reason.

Azmoun - 8.5. Converted 2 out of 4 chances. one hit the bar, and other missed one on one. His first goal was instinctual and good positioning, second goal very acrobatic. Looked very confident. Did not over dribble as in previous matches. Had some good linking up with gucci, almost grabbed an assist. This guy is a special talent, lets hope he makes the right move this summer.
Subs : Gucci - 6.5. Played one half, nearly scored with a curling effort. But didnt get a lot of service.

Mimo -7 . Helped aghaei a lot , and was dangerous going forward. Played on the right wing a bit too. Im sure he will return to left back for most of our future matches .

Pahlevan - 6.5. solid. Made sure to help aghaei when he came on. Had some decent dribbling going forward and was good in possession. He will need to really be special next season with zob ahan to make potential WC squad. Kaveh Rezaei, Saman Ghoddos could take his place.

Purghaz - 7 Limited time on the pitch, but sured up defense. Sepahan is a good move for him, he will get to play for a big team and with a higher level coach in Kranjcar. He is a good defensive option to have, and im sure he will be in squad for WC. CQ was right about him all along when many of us questioned his spot on the roster.

I think CQ will focus his analysis on our poor 20 minutes in first half when we lost control. We dropped too deep and didnt keep the ball. Other than that we deserved to win. . Good job to all the players and coaching staff. Lets finish the job against uzbekistan. If we do, see you all in russia ( I will be there) !

[arasradio]

10 men Iran 2 Montenegro (old Yugoslavia) 1

Such a joy to see a top performance by our team on the opponent's soil!

Azmoun was just fabulous. He could have a hat trick at least considering a 1 on 1 and hitting the post once.
Beiramvand was awesome as usual. 10 saves!
Ramin Rezaian was everywhere and had a role in both goals; with a spectacular assist.
Our centre men CM, CDM and CAM were also good.

Therefore below will be my performance ranking:

Top 3 performers:
1- Azmoun 9.5 (2 goals)
2- Ramin Rezaian 9 (1 assist)
3- Beiramvand 8.5 (10 saves)

Torabi 8 (1 assist)
Ezatollahi 7.5
Karimi 7.5
Gucci 7.5
Mohammadi 7
Montazeri 7
Pahlevan 7
Dejagah 6.5
Ansarifard 6.5
Hajsafi 6.5
Pouraliganji 6
Aghayi 5.5


Honestly so happy to finally see a team at international level. A team that can finally send us to the second round of a World Cup. In 2018, we shouldn't park the bus and better play a beautiful engaging football as we now have a great and notable offensive strength with all performing excellent at the club level: Azmoun, Gucci, Ansarifard, Taremi and poor Quieroz; selecting the best 11 has never been this hard! Giants that he himself created.

Congrats and with this moral boost and great players like this we shouldn't have problem beating Uzbekistan next week. And Korea will even have a problem with this team. Cheers

[arasradio]

Am I the only one who is not convinced by Beiranvand? He looks shaky and far from solid when it comes to crosses and we saw that on the first goal. We saw that in Persepolis last games as well. He is pretty solid when it comes to shots but I get nervous everytime the other team crosses...

!!!!

Are you kidding with us?!!! The only reason we stayed in this game was his crazy strange and spectacular saves! Even the commentator kept mentioning his name!
I don't know what match you watched! Because during the match we watched today; he was our top performer today and the busiest man!

Beiramvand (knock on the wood) it's now the only goalie with the most clean sheet at qualifying matches and ACL!

GOD! HIS THROWS has gained us a name at international level. He can cause major problem for the opponent with his long accurate throws. Watch the game again bro!

Beiramvand SARVAREH

[inarsenewetrust]

Man of match:

Sardar

Close seconds : ezatolahi, Karimi, Rezaian


apart from goal beiranvand would have pushed sardar for Motm

[Love TM]

!!!!

Are you kidding with us?!!! The only reason we stayed in this game was his crazy strange and spectacular saves! Even the commentator kept mentioning his name!

I don't know what match you watched! Because I'm the match we watched today; he was our top performer today and the busiest man!

Beiramvand (knock on the wood) it's now the only goalie with the most clean sheet at qualifying matches and ACL!

GOD! HIS THROWS has gained us a name at international level. He can cause major problem for the opponent with his long accurate throws. Watch the game again bro!

Beiramvand SARVAREH

No, I dont agree. The reason that we havent conceded is more because of our solid defence which doesnt let the opponents get any real chances. Beiro is shaky when it comes to crosses and he even gave a really bad rebound on a shot that could have led to a goal. Sure, he saved some shots but they werent unstoppable. I want to like him but Im not convinced...

[Karimi 8]

!!!!

Are you kidding with us?!!! The only reason we stayed in this game was his crazy strange and spectacular saves! Even the commentator kept mentioning his name!
I don't know what match you watched! Because during the match we watched today; he was our top performer today and the busiest man!

Beiramvand (knock on the wood) it's now the only goalie with the most clean sheet at qualifying matches and ACL!

GOD! HIS THROWS has gained us a name at international level. He can cause major problem for the opponent with his long accurate throws. Watch the game again bro!

Beiramvand SARVAREH

I only know one word in their language which is "doboro" meaning good. And it seemed like they were really praising Beiranvand for having a good performance a lot. Also, they mentioned our famous players (Mahdavikia, Ali Karimi, Ali Daei, Azizi etc), a few times, maybe to show that we have a history of being a strong team with good players

[Nariman]

GOALS

HIGHLIGHTS

[arasradio]

No, I dont agree. The reason that we havent conceded is more because of our solid defence which doesnt let the opponents get any real chances. Beiro is shaky when it comes to crosses and he even gave a really bad rebound on a shot that could have led to a goal. Sure, he saved some shots but they werent unstoppable. I want to like him but Im not convinced...

It's your opinion bro. However we shouldn't forget his stats are the best in all qualifying rounds among all confederations. And at club level and ACL; should I even mention? and you're right he should work on his exits and crosses. Well everyone has certain deficiencies. But thanks to him and Azmoun we beat a resilient Montenegro away from home with 10 men! hihaaaaaa

[arasradio]

I only know one word in their language which is "doboro" meaning good. And it seemed like they were really praising Beiranvand for having a good performance a lot. Also, they mentioned our famous players (Mahdavikia, Ali Karimi, Ali Daei, Azizi etc), a few times, maybe to show that we have a history of being a strong team with good players

Yes they kept saying Dovro Dovro Beiramvand!
And also they were so focused on Azmoun of course because of his popularity in Europe and being a teammate of Jokovic.

[mayhem]

A lot of positives. Iran has better chance to score when the play at the back, pull the opponents out and place long balls towards the wings. Both goals came from long balls to the wingers.

I blame the goal on Dejagah, we cleared a dangerous attack, then ball came to Azmoun who gave a nice header to Dejagah and a counter was on, then he just gave it away trying to dribble, which led to the goal.

Aghaei was a great hustler but his vision was very poor, reminds me of Rezaei. Runs a lot into good positions but can't find a player with his passes.

Gucci really needs to improve his hold up play. So many times just losing it pointlessly, trying to make a cute pass or just being weak on the ball.

[04041374]

PAG is banned for the next friendly game according to FIFA statues

[MR.S]

...and those days where gone when TM would crumble with just 1-2 players missing...Thank you CQ!