Azmoun, Ghoochannejhad, Ansarifard and the one striker system of Carlos Queiroz.

[freak]

You are also changing the role of your entire midfield from what they are used to, to a completely different system. It might look like a simple switch, but now everyone in the midfield + wing has a different job than what they were doing in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3.

This.

Plus, having more than one good striker in a team doesn't justify the decision to change the system. CQ, being the defensive-minded coach that he is, doesn't want to sacrifice the shape and high-pressing ability that playing with a single striker allows for potentially getting blown wide open in the defensive third.

Now, playing with a CF up front and a supporting creative false-9 has been done before. But, if my memory serves me right, CQ usually opts for this against weaker opposition like India and Singapore. Playing with two guys up front against Korea and Japan just doesn't fit with his core philosophy of getting behind the ball and pressing the opposition.

[ehsan singapore]

Guys Ghoochannejhad is not a second striker. He may have been in his younger days but he is a number 9 who plays on the shoulder of the last defender, like Pippo Inzaghi. Azmoun is a bit more mobile but again I'd consider him more of a complete striker. If they played together I'd expect them to both play in the same area, causing lots of havoc for defenders

i agree this year he is doing great, he has scored 14 and 2 assist, i think currently he is better than azmoun, the issue is i dont know how our defense will cope if we go 2 forward, we have a strong defense and i think keeping clean sheets is key, we have the players to score

[Afat11]

It's sad that other teams get a chance to experiment new formations in things called "friendly games".

If only Iran could have some of those, maybe we could have a chance to try new formations outside of official matches. Top teams experiment in friendlies and find what works. CQ can't be expected to take such risks in official matches. You would not see any top team changing their successful formation without a chance to experiment in a friendly first. It is a recipe for disaster.

[greenguy4life]

Guys Ghoochannejhad is not a second striker. He may have been in his younger days but he is a number 9 who plays on the shoulder of the last defender, like Pippo Inzaghi. Azmoun is a bit more mobile but again I'd consider him more of a complete striker. If they played together I'd expect them to both play in the same area, causing lots of havoc for defenders

[PersianLegion]

We have many good midfielders and winger from IPL

Soroush Rafie
Sasan Ansari
Mosalman
Dejagah
Pahlevan (injured now)
Omid Ebrahimi
Ali Karimi
.
.
.

[Ando Teymourian]

We should be careful of thinking its easy to switch to 2 out and out strikers (meaning not like Azmoun - Taremi that we have seen, where Taremi is a bit behind and more pushed to the wing). It might look good on paper, but you are not just adding one striker.

You are also changing the role of your entire midfield from what they are used to, to a completely different system. It might look like a simple switch, but now everyone in the midfield + wing has a different job than what they were doing in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3.

It's not impossible obviously, but you should be aware that players might not be used to their new responsibilities right away.

I think the safer bet is using Karim where we normally use Taremi, and using Azmoun / Gucci as seen fit for CF.

[DireStraits]

The problem is midfield. Do we have two good CM behind these two? They should be tested.

[PersianLegion]

Gucci as second striker is great along Azmoun. Do you remember Gucci-Karim duet vs Qatar?

[Abtin]

It's like CQ have sympathy for our opponents...

[Kiarash]

Our three Team Melli strikers are doing great in Europe, while CQ's system and strategy (4-2-3-1) only allows place for one striker in the starting line-up.

Looking forward to the Qatar game, I think it would be criminal not to start at least 2 of them. CQ has a luxury problem, and IMO we should switch to the classic 4-4-2 system. Azmoun and Ghoochannejhad should definitely start together, where the latter can function as a ''Poloz'' role for Azmoun (it has been proven that it works great), while he's also Mr. Clutch. Not to forget that we also have an Olympiacos striker on the bench, ready to make a difference if we're still goalless against Qatar.

Point being, one of the best ways to open up the Qatari defence (assuming they will park the bus again) is to start our best 2 strikers proven their amazing form for their respective European clubs lately. Currently it's safe to say we have one of the best and most feared forward line in Asia and we should use it.

Your thoughts?