Discuss Group B here

[jack7000]

Just imagine if Iran defeats England AND the USA!

It will happen

[diz]

Another advantage IF we get Scotland (lord please make it happen), is they just tied England in Wembly recently. They will be SUPER motivated to do well against England. Another tie against England (or even a win) and Iran's chances just got even better.

[Under Lahaf]

I'm not as happy with this draw as most others, mainly because I don't think we do well against the direct, pacey, physical style of the likes of England, US and Wales and I don't think England will do as well against our opponents, which is a big part of qualifying as second ranked team.

yeah... sounds like ignoring the reliving of 98 vs. USA, we would have been better off with Portugal as you mentioned. Especially since Taremi and our goalies are used to them, and also probably focus of them would be mostly on Taremi alone!
dang it

[Team Melli Fan]

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[Ardalan]

"Kaar kaare ingilisihaast" /

Daayi Jaan Napelon.

[Ghermez Agha]

If we play the way we have in qualifying vs England they will score 5-6 goals on us easy. This team desperately needs reinforcements in the defensive line and also needs to get back to defending as a unit….if those England players go one on one with kanani shoja or moharami we are truly in for an embarrassment.

Thankfully USA has the worst coach of all 32 teams in the tournament so that game gives me a glimmer of hope, on a good day for us and a not good day for USA we can win that game but if USA shows up and so do we I expect a draw. Hoping Ukraine does not come through as they would be super tough to face and I’d like our chances vs Scotland or wales even with this coaching staff.

[Transformer]

yeah... sounds like ignoring the reliving of 98 vs. USA, we would have been better off with Portugal as you mentioned. Especially since Taremi and our goalies are used to them, and also probably focus of them would be mostly on Taremi alone!
dang it

taremi alone will win usa

[ABalls]

Dragan: you need to hire a team sports psychologist RIGHT NOW. Start the mental preparation NOW.

100%!!! This game is going to be super emotional, particularly in Iran. We cannot afford to have another Japan or Iraq match at the Asian Cup play out where guys aren't listening for the whistle or getting carded because they're too emotional! Its going to be so embarrassing!

THIS IS NOT A JOKE. GET A SPORTS PSYCHOLOGIST FOR THIS TEAM.

Shoot, I might need one right now...

[ParthianDE]

removed (got order of games wrong)

[Medzdidz]

Must admit that I would have liked the USA game second (think that is the easiest of the 3 games) or first to get some points on the board.

England is going to be tough, they have a lot of pace at the top that will threaten our defence. They play on the wings and through Kane in the middle. Kane has the potential to play some lovely through balls big also can come to deep and leave no one in the box when the attack goes further forward. Mark him well and frustrate him and you can get at them. Defence is a dodgy position at the moment, especially in the middle and they are prone to mistakes. The wing backs like to attack leaving space and potential for a ball over the top for Azmoun and Taremi. But there is then potential for us to be open at the back to a quick counter.

Scotland have performed well under Steve Clarke - he has really turned around their form and brought a great togetherness to the team and the fans are firmly behind him. They are strong in the middle and Gilmour and McGinn are clever players. Once again central defence is a weaker spot and they don’t have a good striker but they defend like lions. Andy Robertson and Tierney are also strong in attack and defence.

Wales (Team Bale) are two different teams dependent on whether Bale plays or not. He has the potential to score a blinder but his fitness is poor and his pace is not where it was. Questions as well over Ramsey’s fitness. Once again they don’t have the best striker and rely on goals from midfield- Harry Wilson for example. In Dan James they have a player with skill but little finishing ability. Some good young players coming through too but they are beatable and prone to mistakes and anxiety in their play too.

Ukraine will have the determination of this current year behind them when they play. They have Yarmelonko and Yaremchuk up front, who at times can struggle to finish. This Ukraine team isn’t as strong as it used to be and I wasn’t impressed with them at the Euros at times but I hope they don’t qualify. Out of the three of the Euros teams I worry about them the most.

USA I am not a massive expert on. Lots of youth coming through , players moving to Germany at a younger age and getting experience of bigger leagues. MLS is getting better every year too - playing in front of big crowds etc. Pulisic will be a threat against our defence but also is injury prone.

[Ghermez Agha]

Guys I’m good friends with USA keeper Matt Turner’s close circle…..many of the guys he went to high school with/played youth footy with are my close friends. I will make sure to pass along to kori to him and let him know Iran sarvareshe on behalf of PFDC

[peiman92]

For reference: Iran's current Fifa rating is #21

The games in chronological order.

game 1:
England
At Fifa ranking 5, England is much higher rated than Iran. While I'm not sure England is realistically the 5th best team world wide, it is justifyable much higher rated than Iran and definite favorite to win. Iran will be the absolute underdog. There is a low chance Iran will win this encounter, but it's not impossible. A draw is much more doable and I think Iran can pull it off. But Iran needs to be psychologically prepared to not lose its momentum if it loses against England and considering who the next opponent will be, I'm sure even a loss against England will not affect the next game motivationally.

game 2:
USA
At Fifa ranking 15, the USA is higher rated than Iran. But realistically the teams are perhaps more equal, with an edge for Iran IMO. So in theory it could go either way, but I expect Iran to win for a whole number of reasons.
Regardless of the result against England, Iran will go all out against the USA as if it was a final. On top of that, if Iran got points from the England game, Iran would have 4 or 6 points after a win against the USA. 4 points would a very favorable poition to go into game 3 and 6 points would virtually guarantee the round of 16. OTOH, the USA will be equally motivated, regardless of their first game, to revenge their 1:2 loss against IRan in their last world cup meeting. So this game will be a major battle.

game 3:
We still don't know what Iran's third opponent will be until June when the Euro playoffs are decided, so I will break this down further. If Iran comes into the third game with 3 points (loss against England and win against the USA), a win in the 3rd game should be enough to advance to the next round. Fortunately, all three teams are beatable. A lot would also depend if the opponent team would still have a chance to advance, so the intensity would also depend on their prior results. Regardless, none of these teams should be taken lightly.

Wales
At Fifa ranking 18, Wales is higher ranked than Iran and theoretically the favorite to win. It is also probably technically the strongest of the three playoff teams and favorite to win the playoffs. I'm not sure what to expect at this point and will research Wales more...

Scotland
At Fifa ranking 40, Scotland is much lower ranked than Iran. Iran has met Scotland before in the 1978 world cup which resulted in a draw. This time, I would give Iran an edge if they would meet in 2022. If Scotland would make it to the world cup, it would increase Iran's chances to advance, but of course no team that makes it to the world cup can be taken lightly.

Ukraine
At Fifa ranking 27, Ukraine is probably the toughest playoff team for Iran, not just for technical reasons, but because of the unbearably strong victim bonus Ukraine would get in the mains stream media vs the demonization of Iran in the same media. OTOH, Iran is used to demonization and may even be extra motivated. Regardless, even if Wales is technically stronger than Ukraine, it may be the better opponent.

Game 3 is against USA

[ParthianDE]

Game 3 is against USA

Correct, I removed my post I got the game order wrong.

[Hosseini]

Mossadegh, we will avenge you

[inarsenewetrust]

Having watched the USA team a lot:

They have an exciting group of young guys INDIVIDUALLY SPEAKING.

At their clubs the likes of dest, reyna, few others are generally not key players, but play ok minutes.

The leaders are pulisic and mckinnie in terms of status at club level and on NT.

Issue is when these players come together they still do not play as a team. They have a lot of super young players who never experienced such an environment or pressure. They struggled with likes of canada, costa rica (even costa rica u23s beat them 2-0 the other night) and in Berhalter they have a coach who is honestly more clueless than skocic.

If we play physical, direct approach and allow them to have possession I think they will struggle to break us down (if skocic can just set together a semi solid unit in mid and defense) and on transitions azmoun and taremi will run riot if we can ensure a proper supply line (ghoddos or Yasin, Ezatolahi, Amiri or Mehdipour will be key here). If I could describe them in one word it would be naive. If we play smart, organized, and ensure steady supply line for our front two we can certainly get all 3 points.

The england game is where I think we will need to pull out the argentina 2014, spain 2018 tactics of Queiroz.