Iran vs China Player Ratings | Post Match Discussion

[Zamboor]

I love how everyone here Rates Shojaei as one of the best players this game. Then Mahan Baghdadi makes statements that Shojaei was our worst players on social media. What ever drugs that kid is taking i want some of that.

[O-ZoNe]

azmoun missed one half-chance off the pass from shojaei and people are calling for his head LOOOL. In the last 2 games he has barely been given ANY service. He is an Ibra style player not a giovinco or a tevez who make their own chances

So then he is not good for TM since we play with 1 striker and we are no where near the style of play you believe he needs. He has to generate, distribute to the wings, and move into open areas better.

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[Zamboor]

Saeid needs playing time to become the greatest midfielder of all time, so does Sardar. Hence why they start every game now. Carlos knows it carlos sees it.

[O-ZoNe]

Saeid needs playing time to become the greatest midfielder of all time, so does Sardar. Hence why they start every game now. Carlos knows it carlos sees it.

This should not come at the expense of qualifaction. For the want of 2 players we risk an entire generation and future generations of players.

The right players should play, and if more experience is needed use AC, WAFF, friendlies, and other post WCQ chances for this. I never understood CQs insistance on cancelling friendlies, and withdrawing from regional tournaments. Send your youth or b squad to WAFF...give the kids exposure.

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[Zamboor]

This should not come at the expense of qualifaction. For the want of 2 players we risk an entire generation and future generations of players.

The right players should play, and if more experience is needed use AC, WAFF, friendlies, and other post WCQ chances for this. I never understood CQs insistance on cancelling friendlies, and withdrawing from regional tournaments. Send your youth or b squad to WAFF...give the kids exposure.

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Then when should they play? its not like we get friendlies or anything?

We got a good enough squad to qualify, and we will qualify. Plus forcing them to play more is a win win situation.

[K. Nader]

Oh dear. It seems the usual critics are out at it again after one match. These mood swings, which Ghermez Agha referenced, are most unsettling. Anyway, let's break down various components:

Positives

1. Milad Mohammadi - While Mohammadi seemed a bit lost going forward, he played his LB role very well given his limited caps. It's important that a played is fixed in the LW position so that Mohammadi can establish some form of offensive synergy with that player. Rotating between Amiri, Torabi, Hajsafi, and Taremi isn't going to cut it. Overall, so long as Mohammadi maintains his composure, he will fit nicely in our defensive line. Not only does he add youth to an aging line, his energy and speed are needed in our otherwise semi-slow team. Speaking of youth, that brings me to my second point.

2. Morteza Pouraliganji - After the Qatar match, many praised Montazeri and Hosseini while expressing concern over their age. Luckily, Pouraliganji serves as a fantastic alternative and successor to either of our veteran CBs. Like Hosseini, he's both physical and strong in his approach and compliments the more strategic-minded Montazeri. That being said, he can play just fine alongside Hosseini (as seen in both this match and the AFC Asian Cup). Pouraliganji's stability in the CB position not only adds much needed depth, it also opens the possibility of moving Montazeri to the RB position. While Pouraliganji has received a lot of negative press over his move to the QSL, his performances for Team Melli have remained excellent.

3. Improved Performance - As already mentioned, our passing was much more fluid in this game and there was no shortage of opportunities. With the next three games in fairly quick succession - two in October and another in November - we should be able to build on the synergy established here. If all else is ignored, our play in the first 2/3 of the field was truly truly excellent today. We moved the ball quite well over this area of the field, a feat which becomes more impressive consider the dismal state of the grass. While it's true that we weren't able to score, we were no longer under threat (as we were in the Qatar game) aside from the one instance the Chinese player turned into Ronaldo and Rezaeian's gaffe.

4. Ando Teymourian - Whether Teymourian can continue to the 2018 World Cup remains a question for me but my concern of his current state was alleviated after the past two match days. His ability to disrupt the opponent's midfield play remains a valuable asset for us, one which will be particularly important in the October matches.

5. Table Standing - As Doctor Doom mentions, it's best to collect as many points as early as possible. He's certainly not wrong and there isn't a team that wouldn't want to take maximum points from every match but sometimes, this is not possible. Rather, if we can - on average - obtain 3 points from home games and 1 point from away games, then we're well on our way to qualifying for the World Cup. As it stands, we've played one home match and one away match and have 4 points. While South Korea will be the most difficult away match (on paper), China has the 2nd largest home crowd (after us) and we were unfortunate to face them under poor weather conditions. On the bright side, our away matches in Uzbekistan and Qatar will be in October and March, respectively. Furthermore, Qatar and Syria will have very small crowds in comparison. While South Korea is following my statement of '3 points at home and 1 away', they conceded two valuable points given that Syria - in their current state - is the weakest of the crowd. Uzbekistan have done well so far but tougher tests await and a single match day can see them fall in the table.

Negatives

1. Ramin Rezaeian - I honestly did not think I'd find someone I'd dislike as much as Heydari in the RB role but here he is. In his first 5-6 games, I gave Rezaeian the benefit of the doubt, believing that he was still trying to settle into the role (and Team Melli overall). However, he now has 12 caps for the national team. Not only is he sporadic in his offensive game, his defensive abilities leave much to be desired (and this is not even considering his ridiculous blunder in the match). His height, physicality, and speed are all attributes which can be of great ability in the RB positions but there's an underlying lack of intelligence and emotional control. Not only does this leave our defense vulnerable, it hinders Jahanbakhsh's performance on the right when his 'partner' is inept at linking up play.

2. Vahid Amiri - As opposed to Rezaeian who has consistently been rather poor in Team Melli, Amiri started quite well and performed a little bit worse in each succeeding match. While 16-18 of our Team Melli players are fixed in each selection, Amiri is one of the few who I believe is truly expendable (alongside Rezaeian). Unlike the younger and more energetic Torabi, Amiri is lethargic and disappears when he's off the ball. Like Ando, Torabi makes an effort to disrupt play and Hajsafi does an excellent job of moving the ball and tracking back to support the LB (similar to his role in the World Cup). Overall, he's been given his fair share of chances to impress and has failed to do so.

3. The Result - This isn't meant to contradict 'Positives' point #5 above. From a standings position, I firmly believe that there's nothing to worry about. From a result perspective, it's a shame that we did not walk away with 3 points. However, by that same token, we can consider ourselves extremely fortunate to walk away with 3 points against Qatar. If we can obtain 7 points from our next three games (Uzbekistan, South Korea, Syria), we'll be in a very good position.

4. Last 1/3 of The Field - I've already talked about Amiri above but will use this section to focus on Azmoun and Jahanbakhsh. In regards to Azmoun, it has already been mentioned that he's a static player who needs to be served as opposed to creating his own opportunities. When those responsible for serving him fail to do so, his presence in the match is lost. This is in opposition to Ghoochannejhad who moves around the field and tries to create as many opportunities as are created for him. In regards to Jahanbakhsh, his play was simply not up to the standard we expect of him. That being said, I'd like to see him paired with a more competent RB. As I've said, Rezaeian's movements are so sporadic that he would often run past Jahanbakhsh and leave him closer to the back. Intelligent players like Montazeri and Ghafouri have much better off and on-the-ball movement than Rezaeian and should be able to compliment Jahanbakhsh more.

5. Substitute Timing - Aside from the first substitute, which was necessary, the timing of the final two substitutes felt far too late. Doctor Doom has already provided excellent analysis on this point but I'll say it as well. While CQ put out a (mostly) correct line-up, the changes that were necessary came far too late. The introduction of Gucci and Torabi added a new dimension to our game in the final third, something which may have yielded a far more positive result had the changes been made in 60th-65th minute.

Looking Ahead

It goes without saying, we have a very difficult pair of matches ahead of us in October. Fortunately, we're currently in a good position; neither too comfortable nor in a position that allows for complacency. Positive changes in the line-up between the Qatar and China match as well as an improved performance allow for optimism going forward. If The RB and LW positions can be filled by more reliable and competent players, then we will look very good on paper. What follows is for the outfield players to perform to their abilities. Another trump card that we can look forward to is Ali Karimi. So long as he continues to develop at Dinamo, it will only be a matter of time before he adds another young defensive dimension to our team.

Next up are Uzbekistan (away) and South Korea (home). The results of the next two matches will surely set the precedent of whether this will be a 'relaxed' or 'stressful' campaign.

*Excuse any spelling errors. Too tired to proofread.

[DJPedram]

*Our performance was poor today.

[PSGman#19]

Some comments :

- The line-up was much better than the one against Qatar, not the best one but was more logical/rationnal. The same can be said about the substitude even if they could have be done much earlier (don't forget Montazeri injury waste an early subsitute).

- I see some hard comments about JB or other young players. At least they are young and will learn. That's what make them strong and experienced. I have no pb with them having one or two bad games. They will learn. but It bother me that CQ maintain so long so many underperforming veteran/middle aged.

- Directly related to last point, I am worried about Montazeri long injury. that's why CQ should have test other option in the last round of WCQ and friendlies.

- The excuse of lack friendlies etc.. is BS. CQ has the same core of players since 5 years, playing WCQ, ACQ, AC, World cup and various friendlies. He cancelled a friendly against Croatia and Played two others in June. It is not like our 23 players discovered each other one week ago. He made Torabi play against Japan and Uzb last year and now he remains on the bench.

- CQ is somehow right to keep more or less the same core of players but among his IPL selections, it seems a lot of them aren't extraordinary since a long time (Amiri, Beiro, Hajisafi, even Torabi)

[O-ZoNe]

Then when should they play? its not like we get friendlies or anything?

We got a good enough squad to qualify, and we will qualify. Plus forcing them to play more is a win win situation.

How about WAFF? We complain about friendlies, arab tricks, why not partake in this tournamemt with our b or younger squad to give them exposure. TM plays well against strong opponents and makes a mountain out of an ant hill against weak ones...this for example could help us, even spare us from catastrophe against teams like qatar, and iraq..We have had many friemdly opportunities go to waste. People will cite Chile and Sweden but those matches were so long ago any positives from them are likely gone.

So far we have been fortunate to have 4pts and be in 2nd...and from where I am standing the team seems out of sync and somewhat disjointed.

Yes these are the usual complaints and grumblings K.Nader has politely pointed out. We are a moody fan base, because nothing has changed and it seems like nothing will for the forseable future. When things consistently improve, the nature of the fans shall too I am positive Brazilians complain everytime they don't win the WC too...wouldn't it be nice one day when we can expect our team to be just as competent...even just im Asia?

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[Abtin]

The way Sardar gave that post-match interview, it was obviuos they all knew we should have won this match :/ They were never as dangerous as qatar, and we dominated the game.

[Keano]

Beiranvand - 4 Absolutely unreliable and shaky in this match, We were lucky not to have played a team like S. Korea today

Rezaeian - 5 He was ok, he made a lethal back pass which could have cost us a goal, or even a penalty. He should be thankful that blunder did not convert to a Chinese goal

Montazeri - 6 He was solid as always for the minutes he played

Pouraliganji - 7.5 He did real good, I was impressed with his defending work

Mohammadi - 7 He functioned like a piston, fast back and forth runs and contributions to our offense line. His crosses were off though, just like everyone else

Teymourian - 6.5 The usual solid and consistent Ando, a true fighter

Ezzatollahi - 5.5 He had an acceptable day, somewhat better than his Qatar performance

Jahanbakhsh - 3.5 I don't think I have seen him so bad ever with TM, his crosses and shots were just hard on eyes to watch, totally off. He couldn't have a single clean cross/shot

Shojaei - 7 Definitely one of our best players on the pitch, Him and Hosseini perhaps were our only poised and calmest players on the pitch

Amiri - 4.5 He failed to impress, I expected a lot more from him

Azmoun - 3.5 He also had a horrendous day, I am certain had we not been forced to waste one of our subs for Pejman Montazeri, CQ would have subbed Azmoun out for someone else (Maybe Ansarifard)

------------------------

Hosseini - 6.5 Solid as always

Torabi - 5 He was good, but he would get lost at times while trying to dribble or get passed the players, the first 5-8 minutes of his game, he was totally lost, but later regained confidence and improved

Ghoochannejhad - 6 Not enough time for him to prove much but in the 15-17 minutes of playing he did not disappoint.

[Keano]

*Excuse any spelling errors. Too tired to proofread.

At least you proofread, I never do

Nonetheless your posts Nader jaan are always eloquently written and perfectly said, always a classy and sensible. Having members like you abroad makes it more pleasant to browse through pages and read comments.

[Bi-honar]

People need to calm down a bit. Two games played and we are undefeated and in first place.

Winning away games in Asia is not easy given the difference in climate/pitch/time and all the game surroundings going from country to country. When you have turf flying over player's heads, you know the pitch has to be atrocious. The humidity was also a big factor. Just by looking at the player's faces, you could tell it was affecting them.

Having said that, yes, we should have beaten this team. At the same time, you also have to play not to lose. A 1 point from an away match is acceptable. A loss would have been devastating to us.

As for the player performances, I think our biggest concern is the GK spot. Beiranvand doesn't always make good judgments on when to exit the goal. Too many balls getting punched out instead of trying to keep possession resulting in the Chinese players getting extra chances. Too many sloppy catches on the ground giving up dangerous 2nd opportunities. To his credit, his ball distribution is just awesome.

Our defenders were solid. Hosseini and company did well, as usual. I liked Milad's game and I think his speed was very valuable in this game.

Amiri and JB had below average games. Too many crosses resulting in turnovers. I don't understand why our football players are still cross happy.

Shojaei had a good game until mid-way through the 2nd half. This team badly needs a play maker and the fact that we still have to rely on a 33 year old Shojaei, says alot. Not having Ashkan did hurt us.

It's not a disaster by any means Offside jaan, but we've put unnecessary pressure on ourselves going into the next two important matches against the two strongest sides in the group (other than ourselves of course).

I think overall people put too much value in ties... ever since they changed the pointing system a tie is not a hell of a lot better than a loss... don't forget 3 ties = 2 losses so it's nothing to write home about.

Having said that, I don't think we should be giving up on TM or panicking yet... we always have a tendency to get off to a shaky start and after two matches we're still in better shape than we were last time around and frankly almost all of our other campaigns.

But it would have been nice if we weren't in must-win situations for our next two matches already... the 3 points were there for the taking and China looked TERRIBLE in the 1st half.

We kind of let them get into the match in the 2nd half, so I think a lot of the disappointment comes from that, not necessarily that dropping 2 points is the end of the world or all hell needs to break loose now.

Of course, the good news is that at this early stage it looks like we're guaranteed at least that third spot even if we have more screw-ups!

[Iran_19]

Look like Montazeri will miss the next qualification matches..

پس از حضور در بیمارستان مشخص شد پژمان منتظری دچار پارگی ماهیچه کتف و شکستگی دندان شده است.

[Iran_19]

Mazdak said there is a good chance we face Turkey before Syria's game.. I wished it was before the games vs Uzbak and Korea.