Iran vs Iraq Post Match Ratings

[KasraKhan]

If I have to pick the best Ianian player, it would be MilMo.
This guy totally subdued all of Iraqi speedsters. sometimes with his pace, sometimes with his game reading.
I am so excited to see him evolve into this magnificent player.

With all due respect, DD jan, I didn't think MilMo was great. I am starting to see why CQ prefers Ehsan.

MilMo is very fast, no doubt about that, and he's a pretty good defender. But he offers nothing else. I believe he's tactically inept, and he makes some very dangerous decisions with the ball at times. Although he streaks forward at times, his final touch in the final third always leaves something to be desired.

MilMo is not great at building up play from the back, which is essential for CQ's system. It seems like whenever he gets the ball in a tight circumstance, he just boots it up field, which we're trying to shy away from.

[khodam]

I have to admit, ARJ was really absent in the entire game (except for a shot over the bar from 5 meters out). He is a very good player but something is missing from him in TM.

[Tehranto]

Spot on. Ebrahimi was OK as well considering it's his 3rd game in a row.

Carlos may have to rest Omid for the next game. He can use Hajsafi and Dejagah there.

[ramingeles2000]

People are underestimating a few factors here:

-Iraq was playing the match of their lives. No idea why they went so crazy today and why they were so fired up. They always play us like it's the WC final, but today it seemed they were trying to avoid the tougher side of their bracket. Funny considering that their coach claimed he was going to play their "B team" - their squad was more or less identical to the previous 2 matches!

-We saw the effect of cycling 18 players through a lineup. Choppiness and less cohesion, totally predictable. Could we have played Ramin, Ashkan, Taremi, PAG instead and won today? Yes, but what's the payoff? Nothing, especially when our next match is in 3 days. And you risk injury and fatigue. Don't forget that this tournament is now potentially 1 game LONGER than it used to be. Not easy. I do wonder how Azmoun, Ebrahimi, and some of the others who've played serious minutes will fare from a fatigue standpoint.

If you compare our pre-red card, first-half performance against Iraq in 2015 to today's performance, we were much better in 2015. I think Iraq is stronger than they were then, and that our B-squad lineup played a role. We'll be fine in the round of 16.

Some scattered thoughts:

-Cheshmi is tall and is a beast with aerial duels, but that's it. His first touch is slightly below average and overall, the guy isn't TM-level and I'm not sure we see him again this tournament barring injury or cards.

-Not sure what to make of MilMo. For a while during WCQ, we thought we'd found our starting LB of the next 7-8 years. However at some point, CQ decided to demote him (or rather, promote Hajsafi at LB). Not sure how he fits into this squad moving forward. He's the fastest player on the team but his linkup play is just nonexistent. I think that he may be prone to boneheaded errors under pressure. I can't trust the judgment of a guy who does a somersault throw-in, I'm sorry. Overall, very happy to have him on our depth chart. I'd like CQ to play both him and Hajsafi together.

-Jahanabakhsh...we have high expectations for our star player but he's never quite found his spot in CQs system. He gets a pass today (and I'm glad CQ "broke him in") and I appreciate his judgment and hustle on defense. But still concerned about his chronic underachieving for TM. He's one of the few players we have (along with Ashkan, Saman, Azmoun) who can change a game with a moment of brilliance but I see him and Torabi battling in practice for the starting spot. Torabi is currently more effective for us.

-Azmoun's been fantastic. Underrated playmaker/passer. A confident Azmoun is a gift to us - we're lucky he's firing on all cylinders right now.

-I'm happy we got rattled today. It was a low-cost wake-up call to our players to stay sharp. I also loved our composure and discipline - we didn't give in to Iraq's theatrics, the ref's missed calls, or our own frustration from lack of finishing. Another classic focused 90-minute performance under CQ. Don't forget the days when our players would lose steam and concentration by the 65th minute.

My biggest concern now is avoiding PKs. Our weaker (arab) bracket opponents will park the bus and take their chances in PKs (same thing Iran would probably do if it got to the knockout stages in the WC). We need to score early against Oman/Syria/Palestine.

[Futbolista]

Disagree, I thought he was his usual solid self. Shut down that side of the pitch, good in defence and showed his glimmers in attack. I felt much more confident with him than any other defender.

He is one of our most gifted and tactically astute players and barely ever puts a foot wrong.


Apart from Beiro of course, the two players who did very well were Milad and Sardar (after moving a little deeper).

Spot on. Ebrahimi was OK as well considering it's his 3rd game in a row.

[KasraKhan]

None of them were PKs for me. Omid flopped and went to ground too easily, and the other handballs were not intentional nor were the defender's hands in an unnatural position.

The ref wasn't great today, but TM got pretty lucky that Saman didn't get sent off, so it balances out.

[Ardalan]

Beiro - 8- Agar ba noke angoshthaash toop ra nemidakht poshte darvazeh eraqihaa baramoon emshab miraghsidan.

Vouria 7- vaghti mire jelo khob kaar mikone va yeki dota ra balade, amma dar faaze defai azash har az gaahi skah daram, va eraghihaa emroz az samtesh chandta toope khatari endakhtan to 18-ghadamemoon,

Kanaani 7- vazifeye khod ra anjam daad amma hess mikonam ke roberooye bazikonhaaye ferz o tekniki manande Japon va Kore sakhtash khahaad bood.

Hosseini 7, - On ham kaarash ra kard amma behtare ba PAG baazi kone ke behtare baraye amalkardesh.

Milad -9- yek divar bood, eraqihaa azash natonestan rad beshe, omidvaram dar tarkibe asli roberooye harifhaaye ghavi bashad.

Omid - 7- Dar nimeye avval toophaaye ziyadi dar miyaneye zamin bord, va hatta chandin baar dar omgh harkathaaye khobi anjam daad, dar nimeye dovvom khaste shod va kaaresh ba toop por-eshtebahtar shod.

Cheshmi 6- Ba toop khob kaar nemikone va inja hast ke jaaye Ezatolahi vaghean sabze, chera ke ham az ghalbe zamin toopha ra khob pakhsh mikone, balke az nazare jesmi besyaar ghavi ast va mitone nabardhaaye vasate zamin ra bebare.

Amiri 6- Az nazare koshesh 8 amma emroz az nazare khalaqiyat kam azash dide shod, risk kam kard ke shayad baraye in bood dastore CQ ra donbal mikard.

Ghoddos 7 - Man az bitarsish va angizesh khosham omad, dar faaze hamlei natonest mesle baazie Vietnam amal kone amma neshon mide ke ba keifiyati ke daare bayad dar tarkibe asli baashe.

Jahanbakhsh 5- aslan ba ahange baazi yektaa nabood, ke dalilesh barghasht az asibdidegish bayad bashad.

Azmoun 6- Toophaaye ziyadi nagereft ke bahash kaar kone, amma ye kam dar faaze daryafte toop ham kamtamarkozi kard.

Torabi 6 - Omad, jangid, vali in baar natonest karsaaz bashe.

Taremi 6 - Mesle Torabi, amma ye kam emroz gomshode bood.

Askhkan 6 - TM niyaaz be yek basisaaz daare dar markaze zamin, emroz jaaye Askhkan khali bood, amma shayad dar in baazie fisiki kam miyavord.

[khodam]

Both incidents were really too close to call. Referees are always instructed to give the advantage to the defending team in tight situations. As for the handball, I still give credit to the referee for not being pressured. He didn't see it and that is that. Overall I thought the ref handled a very rough and challenging game very well.

[Epitome]

I had waited four years for this day to see us take revenge and there you go...we didn't appear as strong as expected, penalties were stolen from us and I don't want to begin how some players were disappointing, if it wasn't for Beiranvand we'd end up losing 0-2...heif shod.

[DR Strangemoosh]

Mohammadi: 4 Milad khabi?!?! Pasho soob shod!!! Definitely not his usual self, hope to see improvements from him!

Disagree, I thought he was his usual solid self. Shut down that side of the pitch, good in defence and showed his glimmers in attack. I felt much more confident with him than any other defender.

He is one of our most gifted and tactically astute players and barely ever puts a foot wrong.


Apart from Beiro of course, the two players who did very well were Milad and Sardar (after moving a little deeper).

[saeed_noro]

i am not satisfied with our ball possesion today, and our overal passing and combination. in this case i see saudi arabia and japan stronger compared to us. we are somehow "sangin" and probabably this will break our neck if we face stronger teams and in 120 minutes for example...not having the ball = not scoring...even with an goali which can throw the ball into the other net...

[armen]

Queiroz's post-match comments:

https://www.khaleejtimes.com/the-real-asia-cup-starts-now-says-iran-coach-queiroz

[Nokhodi]

Seriously what penalties is everyone talking about ? There was no penalty in this game

2 hand balls by the Iraqis and one foul on Ebrahimi where they hit his legs in the box.

[Leopard]

JB proved that he is not ready.so much for going to UK.
I think the team should have reviewed the two goals Vietnam scored on Iraq and see how they penetrated through the defense line of iraq. We tried many things and they did not work. and for corner kicks the stupid referee allowed the iraqis grab the players.He should have asked one corner to be retaken. A jackass young referee who watched Serbia versus Swiss probably got the wrong idea and that is ok to wrestle the players down. He picked up the idea from the world cup.

we may meet this team in the final and it is crucial to review Vietnam goals. If they get posted here and emailed to TM staff it may help.

[happydoggo]

Seriously what penalties is everyone talking about ? There was no penalty in this game

I think there could be an argument for one penalty for the first handball, since it looked like he used his arm to lift the ball a little, other than that i don't think there should've been any penalties.