PRE-MATCH DISCUSSION | Iran vs. Iraq - Asian Cup 2015

[ehsan singapore]

good analysis,however iraq defense is abit shaky,and we can press them hard and can make them give mistakes in the game, will be hard game but i think CQ has a plan and if we score first they will have a hard time since we defend very well and are strong on counter and set pieces they can be caught off break and we score,to be honest i dont see them scoring first, the only advantage i see is that they have played in canbera before us and know the stadium well that all

[Karimi 8]

Iran will win 2-0

[Ghermez Agha]

The main thread was closed with a very stupid last post so I have to post this here.
If people think Iraq is a good team then they must have not watched their group games. They allowed very mediocre teams like jordan and palestine numerous opportunities to score but the mediocrity of those teams did not take advantage. Their defense is amateur with the numerous mistakes they make. They should have lost to Japan by multiple goals as 3 shots hit the post with 2 being unbelievable misses by honda.

If you look at the lineup they played with in the friendly against us it is almost identical to the team they have been fielding thus far where as iran's was primarily reserves or vastly inexperienced players. Even with these facts Iran won and was able to create numerous chances that should have added to the score difference.
Also the vast majority of their players play in the iraqi league which I dont think is even a professional league. Their foreign based players play in very low divisions like the 3rd english league and the 4th dutch league. I know iranians europe based players arent playing at amazing levels either but the likes of dejagah, shojaei, teymourian, nekounam, gucci have experience at very high levels.

The most important thing is that this team is in horrible shape in terms of fitness. Their best player younis mahmoud doesnt even have a club. Their coach has criticized his team on this front. The best thing about this is that they will only have 2 days of rest compared to irans 3 before this game.

Overall, this should be an easy victory (by easy I dont mean 4-0) unless Iraq does a magical complete reversal.

I notice you really like to underestimate opponents of Iran. It's one thing to be optimistic but it's another thing to be realistic. I've watched all iraq's matches and while I do agree that they have looked pretty unorganized and have been exposed on the defensive end, they haven't looked all that bad offensively. Nobody is glorifying them to be a top Asian team but rather as a competitor that will keep it close/give us a hard time and if you think we'll breeze through them in a quarter finals you're the one who is mistaken.

[Karimi 8]

Really hoping Heydari does not play RB this game, and we have Ghafouri instead.

Most likely lineup:
-------------------Haghighi---------------------
--Ghafouri--Hosseini---Pouraliganji--Pouladi-
------------Nekounam--Teymourian----------
--Dejagah----------Shojaei------------Hajsafi-
-----------------------Reza---------------------

would like to see this lineup

-------------------Haghighi---------------------
--Ghafouri--Hosseini---Pouraliganji--Pouladi-
------------Nekounam--Teymourian----------
--Dejagah----------Hajsafi--------Jahanbakhsh-
-----------------------Reza---------------------
-I think JB can redeem himself and Hajsafi can play well in the middle and continousily switch positions with Dejagah
- Sub Azmoun for JB at 65th, and move Hajsafi to Wing and put Azmoun behind Reza

[Kavian]

As correctly said by many of you here, Iraq is a strong team and should not be taken lightly. The fact that they are among the quarterfinalist speaks to the reasons why Iraq is a strong challenge for any team in this edition of Asian Cup.

It is however comforting to know that our coach is a top-notch tactician and will be devising a proper game plan to overcome Iraq challenge.

Having said that, something inside me wants to see a strong performance by Iran to set a mark for reaching the semis.

I am hoping for crushing of Iraq by a good number of goals. 3-0 would be just ideal to scare the shit out of S Korea and Uzbekistan. I want to see a punch by Iran.

[Mir Javad]

Team Melli 1-0 Iraq

Wish I really could have went to the game in Canberra with my mates, but my Fathers feeling really sick and I have to take care of him. I have already booked tickets to watch the UAE vs Japan quarter final and will take my Iran flag to the match and will soon book tickets if Iran make to Semi-Final, which are both in Sydney where I live.

[Tehranto]

Team Melli 1-0 Iraq

Wish I really could have went to the game in Canberra with my mates, but my Fathers feeling really sick and I have to take care of him. I have already booked tickets to watch the UAE vs Japan quarter final and will take my Iran flag to the match and will soon book tickets if Iran make to Semi-Final, which are both in Sydney where I live.

Hope your father feels better. Send him a get well from us at PFDC!

[ehsan singapore]

javad jan hope your dad get well soon, also iran has two key factors, experience playing in world cup and also CQ. he is the key, he can evaluate well and control the game.I am sure he knows what to do with Iraq.

[babak_iran]

Iraq's performances have been very mediocre so far.They also seem to run out of gas after the 70th minute. Nonetheless we shouldn't underestimate them, they are still known as Iraq. If we play well it will be 2-0 or more. If we play bad we probably sneak out a 1-0 victory.

[babak_australia]

Team Melli 1-0 Iraq

Wish I really could have went to the game in Canberra with my mates, but my Fathers feeling really sick and I have to take care of him. I have already booked tickets to watch the UAE vs Japan quarter final and will take my Iran flag to the match and will soon book tickets if Iran make to Semi-Final, which are both in Sydney where I live.

All the best to your father mate.

We will cheer loud and get the boys home so you can see them in Sydney.

[ehsan singapore]

Iraq's performances have been very mediocre so far.They also seem to run out of gas after the 70th minute. Nonetheless we shouldn't underestimate them, they are still known as Iraq. If we play well it will be 2-0 or more. If we play bad we probably sneak out a 1-0 victory.

i agreee we need to take them serious , i am sure CQ will drill it the boys how important this game is, as the players say this a final,also tm has a psychologies, a very good one to motivate the players. I feel good about preparing the boys and tactic as CQ is a master tacticion

[littlepersia17]

PRE-MATCH DISCUSSION | Iran vs. Iraq - Asian Cup 2015

Look I'm starting to like cq's tactics. Sure we don't play the attractive tiki taka style, or do any fancy skills. What we do on nearly all Occassion is get the necessary result.

Compare us to Australia. yes they score 8 goals in two games but against SK they went and attacked carelessly, with no attention to counter attacks from the opposing. What happend? Well they didn't get the necessary result and lost.

Every team has a style. Our is defensive and I'm slowing becoming happy with that fact.

To win this tournament for the first time in 39 years, maybe we have to do something different that we haven't done before.


Like attacking, defending is an art that takes time to master. Fortunately our players have grasped this defending mindset and it's paying dividends in terms of getting the right result.

[Rumez]

I think CQ's tactics are like coping mechanism, like making lemonade out of a rotten lemons!
It is a strategy to get the best results considering the infrastructure, players, mangement, support, friendlies .... and other obstacles.

He tought the players how to defend, because that's one thing he can be sure of!
You don't concede you won't lose!

I suppose if we had a pool of players like Japan or Korea, he would use more attacking style than what we have.
So it is more as reaction to the circumstance than ideal solution.

[Farhad-7]

I think CQ's tactics are like coping mechanism, like making lemonade out of a rotten lemons!
It is a strategy to get the best results considering the infrastructure, players, mangement, support, friendlies .... and other obstacles.

He tought the players how to defend, because that's one thing he can be sure of!
You don't concede you won't lose!

I suppose if we had a pool of players like Japan or Korea, he would use more attacking style than what we have.
So it is more as reaction to the circumstance than ideal solution.

Iran has the pool of players to play attacking football. It is just CQ's preference just like how he did it with Portugal who had Ronaldo and other talents. He was heavily criticized for it though...and without him Portugal haven't been able to do so well with their attacking football recently if you recall their recent WC. CQ knows best.

[Z Joon]

People's memory become short all of a sudden, we had no history before CQ. Before CQ, Iranian players did not know how to kick in the ball, nor run.

Carlos came from the sky, and from there he became the prophet, the Iranian prophet. Only then, Iranian players started playing, however, they did not know how to pass the ball and play attacking football. So Queiroz himself, learned the way of defensive football, since it's the only thing Iranian players could learn. The league is amateur, yes, it's amateur. The UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain leagues were professional leagues on the other hand, where players knew how to pass the ball and play attacking football. King Carlos, let me kiss your hand, thanks for helping us.

Sorry I don't feel like giving serious answers today, just some QF stress.