Iran vs Spain [Post-match discssion]

[Mamad Gorgu]

Lol Kevin Prince Boateng chilling with his iranian friend and making fun of Mohammadi's throw
https://www.instagram.com/stories/prince17/

I was just going through my archive looking for pics of Dejagah with Kevin Prince Boateng cus I know they were best friends at Hertha Berlin, and I also came across these other pics of him rubbing shoulders with some of Germany's best players since then. Came as a bit of a shock since I hadn't paid much attention to the pics before.

[KC McElroy]

We had 3 different captains on the field today.

[ShervinJ]

[eerooni]

Spain actually lost Steam right after the goal , if they were fit, theu would have gone for a much harder 2nd goal, but they pulled back in exhuation and allow TM to push up, what killed us was losing so much damn possession! and Azmoun was not in the game, nor in the last one either! Gucci would have been a better replacement ! All in all, with a few pep talks and tweaks we can and should beat PORTUGAL!!

[Doctor DOOM]

Barely anyone calls him that man - only foreign journalists (few) who don't know anything and just do a quick google search of the players.
I've heard you say Iranian Messi in the last week more than I have anyone else combined since the world cup started.

fox network & FS1 did plenty !!!!!

[val]

It's safe to say Shakira is now Amiri's girlfriend!

That LAYEE made us 1-1

[val]

Also it's important that our players don't lose hope and motivation. CQ needs to help them to recover mentally. We don't want to see another Bosnia match.

Perfectly mentioned, we dont want another Bosnia match

[Tehranto]

Heshmat Mohajerani says this is one of the best TM games ever.

حشمت مهاجرانی: «کی*روش بهترین آنالیزور دنیاست و با انتخاب بهترین ترکیب ممکن به*همراه عملکرد فوق*العاده بازیکنان که برای عزت ایران با جان و دل بازی کردند، شاهد یکی از بهترین بازی*های تاریخ فوتبال ایران بودیم. به تیم ملی ایران تبریک می*گویم که چنین عملکرد افتخار آفرینی داشتند.»

[Nokhodi]

Another great performance from TM.

Tactically we did everything right. My only light complaint is we could have gone to attack mode earlier in the 2nd half.

We completely neutralized Spain. That a**hole Costa had to be one that scored. What luck! Perhaps karma for our Morocco goal.

Beyranvand - damesh garm. Lots of great saves and didn't look shaky at all. I am really hoping against Portugal we get to see him implement one of his long throws successfully.
Rezaeian - agressive and didn't take shit from anyone.
Hosseini - Might as well have been Seyed Jalal, may he continue to defy expectations.
PAG - Amazing and needs to go to Europe. He is being wasted in Qatar. Didn't make a single mistake today and wins everything in the air.
Hajisafi - Thankfully he wasn't actually tested defensively as Spain is too slow in the final 3rd on the wings.
Ezatollahi - Showed why CQ loves him. This kid was great. Shame he plays in Rostov in Russia. Calm, composed and in another world he might have tied the game up.
Ebrahimi - Again, he really has stepped up.
Amiri - runner, physical, beast. Shame he was discovered so late. His laee - legendary.
Taremi - This is why Taremi is in TM. He can go man to man with any Europeans. He is strong, speedy and has quick reactions.
Azmoun - Poor guy got no service. His job was to win and hold the ball. That's it. Barely fed. Nowhere near as bad as some say.

JB - Needed more space
Mohammadi - minus the throw, he was a great sub for Hajisafi
Ghodoos - didn't get a chance to do much.

I think what can really help us is some space on the wings for our wingers to actually work and move fast. We are playing such compact tight games, we can't utilize our speed.
Physical fitness of this team has been remarkable - guys like Taremi and Amiri are loved by coaches for a reason.

Dame hamashoon garm..
This was essentially a free game - now to beat Portugal. Let's do it boys! BELIEVE!

[TM4LIFE]

Had some time to reflect on the game and think before posting my views on it
General thoughts:
Our first half was a masterclass of disciplined defending. No, i will not hate on our boys for parking the bus when they are facing a Barcelona-Madrid hybrid. In fact, and the Fox commentator also pointed this out, we did come out of our deep block on numerous occasions even in that half when we had possession of the ball. However, we were more than aware of the danger of our opposition and the quality they have. What impressed me the most about that half was that we managed to make Spain look uncomfortable and took away any rhythm/flow they tried to establish. They were pretty much met with a dead end on every attack. I would say their brightest points came from Isco, who was successful in beating Ramin on several occasions, and on Silva who is perhaps the most brilliant player they have possessed since Xaviesta at their prime. The center of the park was so incredibly well managed by Saeid and Ebrahimi that anything short of a juicy European transfer offer for them this summer would be an injustice to the talent they put on display today. The physicality and coolness on the ball, particularly from Ezatollahi, was marvelous. People will try to push the fouling narrative on us, but the truth is that our players were every bit as slick with their dribbling movements as the spanish and we managed to draw a ton of fouls which gave us opportunities to break the tempo of the game and shift our gears. Our tactics were similar to those against Morocco in that it was very clear we aimed to frustrate the spanish and draw out sloppiness/errors. This was abundantly clear when Costa stepped on Beiranvand's toe.
Start of the second half was more of the same, however we began to feel comfortable enough to expand our defensive shape and press higher up the pitch, and it damn near paid off when Karim was inches wide with a thunderous, beautiful shot. Our change did lead to the Spanish goal; Iniesta worked his way past Amiri (who had pressed him out of the game for the most part) and Saeid missed the interception on the pass to Costa. The end product though was just frustratingly lucky, and honestly there is hardly anyone you could blame for that. Ramin did well to get there in time and that sort of clearance rarely ends with a perfect deflection that Costa was gifted. Beiro was a tad slow to get down in time but that sort of goal could have just as easily beaten the likes of De Gea too. Speaking of Beiro, take a bow son. My respect and love for this player has gone through the roof so far in this world cup. Just beautiful positioning, confident punched and exits, that juicy dribble we saw in the second half, and lets not forget how incredible that diving save was. Top class is an understatement. What a ways he has come.
Once the Spanish scored, we all know what happened next. Confidence. Pure confidence. We were working the ball up and creating space with absolute class. Amiri's nutmeg on Pique, that cross, ugh if only Taremi could keep it just a little lower. From minute ~60+ Iran had far better chances and earned a ton of respect in the international football community with how well they played. I hope that our boys don't take it too hard on themselves (as Sardar in particular seems incredibly upset) and instead they gain confidence and a hunger for results against Portugal. Quieroz was right, 1-0 was just not deserved by our team. They attacked primarily through the wings and were constantly sending in dangerous crosses, truly a pity we couldn't get a point out of this. Either way, this game was a big middle finger to anybody who predicted a blowout or who doubted the quality of our team. Now they know.

Key Players
As far as players go, if i'm to be honest everybody played incredibly well but there are obviously some standouts:
1. Amiri. He is like the James Milner of our team. Stern, tough as rocks, world class level of fitness and defensive ability. He was instrumental in shutting down the spanish midfield throughout this game, imposing his physical strength and his speed on Iniesta/Silva/Isco throughout. Offensively he was always making intelligent runs and practically every ball he sent in damn near produced an opportunity.
2. Beiranvand. Discussed him in the other section a bit but my god does this man play with grit and heart. His focus today was sublime, and it is abundantly clear to me that he has been aware of his weaknesses and has been working on improving them (see: the punches and exits he had throughout this entire game). Deserves a quality European offer IMO.
3. Ezatollahi. Confident on the ball, not afraid to showcase his technical abilities and did an incredible job of making space for us in transition. Defensively he was at the heart of our block and was so focused, so valuable in the box that without him i think the Spanish would've had more effective crosses. Young, but played very maturely.
Overall takeaway? Lets destroy Portugal.

Edit:
Forgot to point one other thing out. Many say that we should've employed our 60min+ gameplan for the entirety of the match. Something most people don't realize is that we were at that point utilizing a high press, which would be suicide against the spanish who are one of the masters of breaking down pressing teams and using the space they leave behind. Add to this the fact that it is exhausting to play like that for the entirety of the 90 minutes. What we did was in my opinion an intelligent decision: Absorb pressure, frustrate, and wear them out. Then take control of the game in careful bursts.

[LoveTeamMelli]

Outstanding game by our boys and very happy to be a TM fan. Better yet, happier to support and bleed for Iran after this marvelous performance. Bache put their bodies on the pitch and cause hell for every opponent, which I love. They have no reason to be disappointed after that match, but only get stronger for Portugal and they will win to advance to round of 16. Ezza needs to be on Real Madrid, the dude is incredible, and Majid Hosseini will certainly get a big contract after the WC. Very proud of the boys

[Nokhodi]

Also I read some interviews by Spain players after the game - Costa, Isco, Jordi Alba, Carvajall... all classless and say we play anti-football and waste time... they can f*** themselves. I won't cheer for the Spanish national team or any club these pricks play on. TM and then Persepolis only in football.

[mahestan]

Also I read some interviews by Spain players after the game - Costa, Isco, Jordi Alba, Carvajall... all classless and say we play anti-football and waste time... they can f*** themselves. I won't cheer for the Spanish national team or any club these pricks play on. TM and then Persepolis only in football.

F#^%’em. I hope Russia or Uruguay steamrolls them in the knockout stage. Cocky assholes.

[diz]

Also I read some interviews by Spain players after the game - Costa, Isco, Jordi Alba, Carvajall... all classless and say we play anti-football and waste time... they can f*** themselves. I won't cheer for the Spanish national team or any club these pricks play on. TM and then Persepolis only in football.

It's very telling when Iran comes up with a strategy to hold them and actually almost beat them, then they cry foul and say that "this is not the way to play football"...really? who are you to say...As our Futsal and Beach Soccer has shown, there is nothing special about Spain...we got their number and they know it, so now they cry foul

[Tehranto]

Also I read some interviews by Spain players after the game - Costa, Isco, Jordi Alba, Carvajall... all classless and say we play anti-football and waste time... they can f*** themselves. I won't cheer for the Spanish national team or any club these pricks play on. TM and then Persepolis only in football.

Cna you post links to interviews? F these bitches.glad no barca players. Arroganxe is a Real Madrid thinf