It is quite odd to criticize a team that has full marks from two matches and  has a good chance of qualifying for the Olympics Games 2020. This is the case with Iran’s Omid Team under the coaching of Zlatko Kranjcar and assisted by Reza Sharoudi.

Two wins out of two with a goal difference of +5 is not bad under any normal circumstances, but the qualification rounds of the AFC Asian U-23 Championship 2020 which also the preliminary qualification for the Olympics men football competition is an odd one.

Right now, with only final round left in all the groups, Iran is out of the competition. Omid Team goal difference is not good enough and neither are the six points from 2 games ! Teams like Myanmar , Palestine and Vietnam have also 6 points but better goal difference.

What is very clear before tomorrow’s match against Iraq is that Omid Team needs a win to assure themselves of qualifying for the finals. Iraq is not an easy team to beat and at this level of competition, it has always given Iran a tough time one way or another.

A draw might be good enough for qualification but dependent on the result of the rest of the groups. Defeat, means Iran is most probably is out.

At this age group of football, any result is possible, so Omid must focus on a win which is the only way it can qualify without complicated calculations. This is very much possible, however, from the two matches seen so far, the squad has major gaps and tactical issues.

After 8 years reign of Carlos Queiroz, his style of football at Team Melli has progressed and developed quite nicely to be in the standard of the modern game. However, Queiroz legacy has not touched the youth teams for many reasons, primarily because Queiroz had no real inclination to work with that age level or had differences with the coaches of the youth teams. The result is that U-23 team style of play has no relation at all with the senior team which is a big issue for the future.

It is apparent for any observer that U-23 team playing under Zlatko Kranjcar is playing an archaic style of football and at the very basic. Teamwork is non-existence and simple maneuver such as diagonal passing is an issue in this team. The whole offensive strategy is based on crosses and heading into the goal, set pieces as commonly referred to. This is the style that Iran used to win the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Asian cup.

Football has evolved tremendously since then. Total football of the Dutch in the mid 70’s and then the Tiki Taka style of Barcelona in the millennium were the catalyst of a modern beautiful competition and enrichment of the sport which the whole world followed and enjoyed. Route 1 football, or direct route,   remained the style of English football lower divisions.

Omid team lacked proper team work, lacked ideas, initiatives, running with the ball and without it. Their positioning on the field was odd and ineffective, their finishing left a lot to be desired. The team has not scored a single goal during the run of the game all were from dead ball situation.

Obviously, Kranjcar has either failed to deliver the message or his own style of football is way out of date, but in any case, it is quite difficult to imagine this set of player with this style of football going far.

Individually, this team has some very talented players such as Reza Sheakri and Omid Noorafkan plus a few, but as a team , there is a big question mark on whether Krancjar and his coaching staff can gel them together to produce a force to be reckoned with in Asia.

Standing of the 2^nd Ranked team in Groups