Friendly Game: Iran - Japan @ Azadi Stadium, Tehran; 13-10-2015

[Omids]

It is not only about giving the new players experience but also trying new combinations. However a coach also needs to allow a player to grow in the area and not throw them to the wolves so to say, bringing in a whole new inexperienced lineup as some proposed earlier would not be the best thing to do against a strong Japan, dont want to demoralise the players either. Wonder how many subs are going to be allowed for this game?

[ehsan singapore]

we need our players to gain experience, but if we can beat them with no gucci, no jahanbaksh and low moral in team, it will be great

[ali alipour]

A lot of people getting a little too excited for this game. Pretty decent chance that both teams come out with subs vs subs and ends up being a boring match.

[Nader25]

i guess japan is going to take this game very seriously for many reasons.......you know iran as the asias nr 1 is very sexy from many perspectives.

[khodam]

Japan has come to claim the no. 1 spot. No doubt about it.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

[teammelli91]

This is the perfect game for all our new and younger players going into the final round of qualifiers next year.

[Salar]

On paper they have a much better and more experienced squad than us but CQ knows how to play against the top guns and in Azadi it's never easy for anyone. Our defence looks shaky, I'm predicting 2-1 for Iran.

[mehdi13]

Kiarash, please change the flag to a neutral or Shiro Khorshid flag dadash

'Hall of famer' masalan. Setting an example for the new memebers on here. Its just a match thread bro relax.

[Abtin]

'Hall of famer' masalan. Setting an example for the new memebers on here. Its just a match thread bro relax.

this one deserves an ""

[Bi-honar]

Don't set your expectations too high for this match boys. Japan play a lot of high-profile friendlies, so Halilhodzic doesn't have anything to prove here. To them, this is just a friendly, not played in front of their fans and it's not against Germany or Spain where they have something to prove.

If he fields an experimental squad and they lose, he'll just say I was testing out new players (as the case should be with friendlies) and it's not the end of the world for him or Japan. On the other hand if he beats Iran with an experimental or "B" squad he'll be a hero in Japan, won't he?

So, the incentive is definitely there for him to experiment and he knows FIFA rankings or being 1st in Asia mean jack all in the bigger scheme of things. He took an all-domestic squad to EAFF Games and he didn't care that they finished last, because that too didn't mean jack shit.

I'm more concerned about what WE do in this match - field our full squad to beat Japan in a meaningless friendly just to brag about winning a match that means jack shit, like we did against Chile and then play like crap in important matches (like we did against Turkmenistan and Oman) or do we not waste this opportunity and give some new players and tactics a try.

Team Melli is VERY broken at the moment - whoever does not see that is in denial. And this our last chance to fix it before our next two qualifiers in November. Guam are playing at home and won't be making the same mistake as last time in underestimating Iran. And Turkmenistan will be heading into this match with high-spirits knowing that they have held us before.

We can't afford to drop any more points or we could make a VERY early exit out of the qualifiers. So the focus of this match shouldn't be this match at all, but instead what's coming up, who's going out and who should be coming in. That's what the focus of the Chile and Sweden friendlies should have been as well and we've all seen the disastrous results of the short-sightedness there.

This match isn't about job security for Queiroz or bragging rights for the fans for a month - it's about Team Melli and World Cup 2018 and bragging rights for something that actually matters - like two consecutive World Cup appearances, or making the 2nd round of the WC. Let's not encourage short-sightedness any more than we already have.

[Z Joon]

Japan's arrival in Iran in video

[Nader25]

cheghad sade o mazloom o riz o pizan,
unbelievable these small guys building a soccer power house in asia....
no iranian crowds around them, not even iranian officials......

[Ando Teymourian]

This is also the perfect opportunity for the new guys on our team to learn TM's system of how to play without the ball. We haven't really played a team that has allowed them to learn that part of CQ's system yet, but they will definitely get a chance against Japan.

Defend as a unit when we don't have the ball, allow JPN to hold non threatening possession in and around their own half, contain the opposition well, and move forward quickly and with purpose when we gain possession.

[mehdiKia15]

Both teams have same record in there last 5 games 3wins-2draws.But Japan is coming in as the hotter team out scoring there last 3 opponents 12-0.i predict most likely a tie or 2-0 for Japan.This might be CQ's last game!

[PersianLegion]

Both teams have same record in there last 5 games 3wins-2draws.But Japan is coming in as the hotter team out scoring there last 3 opponents 12-0.i predict most likely a tie or 2-0 for Japan.This might be CQ's last game!

Hopefully a good farewell just like last occasional window in past march. I am really enthusiastic for a good performance against a meaningful team.