Iran vs Iraq Match Ratings

[The Realist]

Definitely not an entertaining classic most of us expected. The only thing for sure was expected Iraqi antics right from the start, embarrassing. A table topper playing for counter with 11 men in their own half!?

I can’t believe it has been easy on our boy:

Playing away from home
Covid and bubble conditions/arrangements
Sweltering heat. Training/Match day
Terrible stadium/ground
4 matches in 14days

We should learn from our shortcomings but I for one can’t be too critical given the dire straits we were in 14 days ago thanks to Willy boy and IFF.

4 wins out of 4 - into the next round. Higher class Aussies, Japs, Korean, .. demands better planning and preparations with quality games on fifa days.

[Keshwardoost]

This was an important win and I don't want to spoil the celebration, but I have to be honest I did not enjoy watching this game. It was frustrating to see the team getting into a relax and casual mode in the second half. We were lucky Iraq was not the same team that beat us in the first game, otherwise they could have hurt us and I say we were lucky. I was expecting a game with more efforts and conviction, but that did not happen. Too many bad/poor passes, wrong judgements, misses, unnecessary fouls. I was happy that we got rid of the "zir e toop bezan" culture, but I heard someone from the bench providing instructions in Farsi, shouting get a "foul" as though that is really a football tactic. That is not gonna cut it for us in the next round. CQ had stopped all of that b.s. and if this is coming back, I have to say, it is not helpful.
I give the team a passing mark for winning the game, but individual players for me all performed below average.

yeah i still say, good work Skocic, but plz now bring in CQ and everything is much better.. im happy with Skocics work and compared to wilmotz he is superior but still maan against better teams idk.. and its not like IFF will manage us 3-4 proper fiendlies against teams that will test us.. we will be happy if we play uzbeks in 2 training games.. we should alteast approach Japan since we are in the same pot, one against Qatar, and get a game against Croatia since they have had so many meetings between the federations about working together, + maybe 1 uzbek game and also a team like scotland to get a similar game as the aussies... but that would be dreaming

[zereshk-ali]

Can someone GIF up Kanaani's defending for that Bashar chance in the opening minute of the second half? It's for evidence when Dragan gets pulled up in The Hague in the international court of justice. Man's got one of the continent's best defenders sat on the bench just so he can be invited to Bagheri's mehmoonis.

Oh man! I couldn’t believe that was professional level defending, never mind international

[orbicular]

Not gonna bother with going through ratings for everyone but our finishing was abysmal. Good thing Sardar got us that 1st half goal

I wouldn't say the team's finishing was abysmal. Ghaedi missed one golden opportunity, but the rest of missed chances were mostly a result of good iraqi defense, particularly their goalkeeper's superb performance today. Still, Iran was good enough on defense not to concede a goal, particularly against a solid and determined team like Iraq. And, let's not forget, this team's progress, which has endured tremendous amount of turmoil in the past few years--lack of financial resources and prepartion, and a disastrous coaching transition from Queiroz to Wilmot--has been
happening in incremental but solid steps, and it looks as though, with better resources and prudent decisions, the team is likely to grow stronger
and more cohesive in the coming months. I would say that, at this juncture, our roles as fans in expressing gratitude to the players and the coaching staff on social media for their accomplishment plays a minor but nevertheless important role in reaching the ultimate goal.

[Ghermez Agha]

My god his 1 on 1 defending is an atrocity every time i see him bend over you just know even a toddler can blow by him. He has that panic style of defense that is infuriating to watch.

Yeah now that I’m thinking about it I think that’s why he didn’t look as bad against Bahrain bc he didn’t have to go 1v1 very much with anyone. Despite my admittance that he played better than I expected it’s still absolute insanity that he is a starter and more so playing over PAG. Someone needs to call out Skocic on that BS bc Korea and Japan will roast kanaani in the next round (one of them already has).

[Iran_19]

The bright side was Sadegh Moharrami, i have criticized him few time and i believe rightfully as he should have polished his defensive game, but he turned to become a very solid RB.

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[Karimi 8]

Not to make excuses but let’s not pretend the shit field didn’t impact our finishing abilities as well (not saying they were solely the reason we need to work on it a lot) but it had an influence for sure.

[rdwrrr]

No one really stood out to me as our star player today. We gotta work on our finishing we should’ve scored 2-3 more goals easily, thank you Azmoun for that finish (and Hajsafi with a great pass, shocking...)

I think it accidental pass, it kind off slipped off his foot. He was trying to make goal from that spot.

[oracle]

Biravand b
Shoja. B-
Kanani. C
Hajsafi. B-
Moharami B
Saeed ezat. C+
Ahmad noor b-
Jahanbakhsh c
Golizadeh b
Taremi. C+
Sardar. B

[TM4LIFE]

Jahanbakhsh ESPECIALLY looked bad. Wasted a golden break through the iraqi defense with a heavy dribble, didnt show us much creativity or confidence, couldn't get himself involved in the game. Pretty much all of our attacks came through Gholizadeh's side and Gholi was ultimately the one who made that BEAUTIFUL incisive pass through the defense.

Highlights: Sardar. Finished when we needed it. Could've done better on the second chance he got but 1/2 is enough for us. Wish he got himself a bit more involved in the play in terms of dropping inside and coordinating with Taremi a bit but overall he's the guy who gets it done. Moharrami another big highlight, great in possession and helped to keep things flowing on his side which produced many opportunities. Gholizadeh as well with a great game, just lacking a bit of composure in front of goal on the chance he had (should've really placed that better).

Lowlights: ARJ for reasons mentioned above. Kanani for making Iraqi forwards look competent; however I will admit he is O.K. in buildup, a little slow in decision making and occasionally some sooti passes but not the worst.

Overall I think this couldve easily been 2-0/3-0 in our favor although i do see a universe where the Iraqi's score on one of those horrible misplaced passes as we try to build up play.
Not sure I like the 4-4-2. I think I would prefer a 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 with Taremi dropping in behind azmoun, Ghoddos either on the left or central (which if he is central would move Taremi to the left which he has done in the past), Gholizadeh on the right. PAG in defense, a healthy Amiri alongside Ezatollahi in the midfield OR as a LB.
I see many

[PEJ]

The bright side was Sadegh Moharrami, i have criticized him few time and i believe rightfully as he should have polished his defensive game, but he turned to become a very solid RB.

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I don’t know what to think of him. He had some good runs from the defensive and middle third. But he lost the ball countless times in the attacking third. His first touch is horrendous.

[fairplay]

It does not make sense to start JB, when you have a much better player in Saman, beyond understanding, that's why I'm not sure about this coach as this did not make any sense tactically, maybe he may need more time to get to know these players?

[PEJ]

It does not make sense to start JB, when you have a much better player in Saman, beyond understanding, that's why I'm not sure about this coach as this did not make any sense tactically, maybe he may need more time to get to know these players?

They don’t really play the same position for TM. Saman is becoming a true modern day number 8, while JB is a traditional winger. I thought JB had a decent few games till today. Offensively he was absolutely non existent. However I did like his defensive work rate. He did a good job of tracking back and making challenges.

The more I think about it, the more we need to go back to that 4231 formation that CQ liked. Sardar up top. Mehdi, Saman and Goli (although he also had bush of terrible games). Ezzi and Nourolahi behind them.

[bozghaleh]

To all the Hajsafi haters, I have to say the cross to Sardar was beautiful and may be the one reason we qualified. Without that goal, who knows what would have happened.

[oracle]

Hajsooti will stay around till he break
The all time cap for tm
He assisted exactly to the day 3years of the assist he had against marrocco.
Eveey 3 years hajsooti has an effective game
And he be some how involve with tm till the record is broken. He is iff golden boy specialy since he went against ali karimi.
Anyway i hope since he is involve he has good games all tye time