Despite the 4 points in the bag , Team Melli has yet to produce a performance that eases the tension of its fans, nor did it satisfy the critics.
The well-organized Qatar team frustrated Team Melli for long spells and missed a couple of good opportunities to take the lead in the opener match of FIFA WC 2018 Qualifiers Round 3 played in Azadi. Against China 5 days later in Shenyang, there wasn’t much to rave about, either. Team Melli is not functioning on all cylinders.
Despite having all the key players available, Team Melli and coach Carlos Queiroz struggled against both Qatar & China.
It took a horrendous error by Qatar’s custodian for Team Melli to break the deadlock. Even when Claude Amin gifted Karim Ansarifard the ball , the Panionios FC forward could not believe his luck however he was too slow to react allowing a Qatari defender to tackle him cleanly from behind and push the ball away. Lady luck was in favor of Iran however, as Gucci gladly accepted the loose ball and finished clinically and in style.
Jahanbakhsh’s second was the one to marvel about. His diagonal run and the one side step dribble past two Qatari markers with a accurate shot into the far corner of Qatar goal was the icing on the cake and the most valuable play of the two games.
There was no such luck for Team Melli against China, though.
There was no such luck for Team Melli against China, though.
Carlos Queiroz who led Team Melli to the FIFA 2014 World Cup, seems to struggle with his game plan against oppositions who seem to have analyzed Team Melli quite well. His players seems to run out of ideas against packed opposition defenses.
The majority of the balls fed to the forwards , were crosses to the isolated Sardar Azmoun in center forward position, which both Qatari and Chinese defenders handled quite easily. It seems that Queiroz had a wishful thinking that Ali Daei is spearheading Team Melli forward line, according to one newspaper article!
The majority of the balls fed to the forwards , were crosses to the isolated Sardar Azmoun in center forward position, which both Qatari and Chinese defenders handled quite easily. It seems that Queiroz had a wishful thinking that Ali Daei is spearheading Team Melli forward line, according to one newspaper article!
The biggest shortfall of Queiroz game plan is lack of variations and alternative moves to unsettle opposing defenders. One or two players have the ability to shot from long range , but from what we have seen so far in the last two matches , no players seem to make it count. Some of the shots attempted were more suited for the fans to collect the ball as souvenirs.
One of the ways to unsettle defenders is dribbling into the box, or short swift passes between forwards inside, both techniques that Team Melli is quite capable of executing and have the skills for , were not attempted .
Team Melli had one method of attacking , that was to send crosses from flanks none of which yielded any result in 180 minutes of play. It will be even more futile against a strong , well organized and tall Uzbek defenders.
Queiroz needs to dig deep into his long years of coaching experience at top level to come up with much better game plans if he is to challenge for one of possible 5 places for Russia. Qualification is certainly and definitely feasible on paper, however , it is not as easy as saying it. Instead of blaming the earth and sky , Queiroz needs to sit and alter his strategy utilizing the ability of his players , his own skills One and the weaknesses of the opposition. One Game-plan for all , simply does not work and is highly predictable and risky.
Queiroz ’s capacity to heap negative publicity on Team Melli needs to be curtailed too. Taj and FFIRI need to encourage him to adopt a less combative and anarchist profile. He is in perpetual conflict with League managers, ghost enemies , the media and, to some extent, fans. The man never tires from spreading negative vibes before , during and after the games. His lack of self control and temperament in matches, highlighted by his antics in the home game against Qatar, eventually spreads into the players , as a result 4 Iranian players received the yellow card in one home match!
