Tag: Allahyar Sayyadmanish

Iran U23 4-0 Afghanistan U23

Iran’s Omid team clinched a second victory in the AFC Asian Cup U23 qualifiers with a 4-0 defeat of Afghanistan in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Iran is temporarily at the top of the group, but the host Uzbekistan. playing Hong Kong at the time of writing this report, will most probably clinch the top spot with a win as their goal difference is superior to Iran’s.

It took a long time before Omid Team opened the scoring against the stubborn Afghan team which was defeated 8-1 in their last match. In the 29th minute, Mohammad Ghorbani scored Iran’s first goal with a header. In the 38th minute, Hosseinnejad’s cross and Hossein Goudarzi’s header registered the second goal of the match with a powerful header. The first half ended 1-1.

In the 59th minute, Iran’s third goal was scored with a header again, by Allahyar Sayadmanesh. In the 74th minute, Mohammad Javad Hosseinnejad’s shot from behind the penalty area and beautifully placed the ball in the far corner of Afghanistan’s goal to make it 4-0. It was the goal of the match.

Despite the easy win, Omid team looked far from comfortable as there were lots of chaotic moves, miscoordination, erroneous passes, and some selfish play, notably from the Captain of the team. Allahyar Sayyadmanesh.

Facing Uzbekistan in its third match will be far from easy. A defeat might very well knock the Omid team out of the competition and with it the hope of qualifying for the Olympics for the first time in 44 years. Only a win can ensure the U23 qualify for the finals in Qatar next year and a chance for the Olympics. A draw might also be good enough depending on the results of the other groups.

Enayati, needs to motivate his players and do much-needed hard-talking encouraging them to refrain from the showmanship and much better teamwork.

Far too many gaps in Estili’s game plan.

There were no surprises in the performance of Omid Team under Hamid Estili against Uzbekistan yesterday.  Even with such a statement, many fans were hoping that the famous players with household names in Omid Team will make a big impact and cover at least part of the team’s weaknesses and gaps.

Players like Omid Noorafkan, Allahyar Sayyadmanish, Mohammad Mohebi are already full internationals who have played and scored for Team Melli while the likes of Mahdi Ghaedi and Reza Shekari are considered valuable players with considerable ability to improve. The former has already registered 8 goals in the Persian Gulf Pro League.

However, except for Omid Noorafkan who is being utilized in defense hence depriving the team of his wonderful vision and Pirlo-like passing, the rest of them were disappointing. Ghaedi huffed and puffed like always but his delivery and final touch remains suspect when his team really requires every effort.

The feeblest performance of the so-called stars was Shekari and Sayyadmanish up in the forward line. Not coordination, no proper communication, little or no significant passing, no awareness of each other position and individualist showmanship that was a big waste for Omid Team.

A smart seasoned coach would have immediately figured out that this combination upfront is not working and would have acted accordingly, but Estili for reasons beyond comprehension failed to notice that.

The Midfield lacked a strong leader such as Noorafkan, who was in the central defensive position. Mohebi was quite disappointing against the Uzbeks despite having a very good season with his team. He missed an open goal and a chance for his team to take the lead.

Omid team never looked like a coherent team with a strategy. Against Korea, we expect the same old tactics, or lack of it, and emphasis on individual performance rather than teamwork. Not that a victory is not possible, but with a year of disappointing performances by Omid Team, it is highly unlikely that Hamid Estili will find a magic wand to fix the things against the powerful and organized Koreans.

Realistically and no matter how high our hopes and expectations are, the chances of a tactically deficient Omid Team qualifying to the next round are on the balance. A win or even a draw against the Koreans will still keep the hopes alive. A defeat will almost mean the end of the road and those abundant and unceasing promises that this team is good enough to make it to Tokyo after 44 years of absence.