Iran's offense was a disaster [By the numbers]

[The]

Yea, we almost qualified, tough opponents, bacheha motchakereem, and all that Jazz, but here are some concerning stats:

Iran had the lowest pass completion (68%) of any team this world cup. Not even by a little. The next worst team was Iceland at 72 %, followed by Sweden at 78%. Also the least total passes With 436.

Iran also ranked last with 4 shots on net Total.

We also got dominated in possession in every game we played.

This isn't sustainable, and if it was not for a lucky last minute own goal against Morocco and a very questionable late Penalty against Portugal, Iran would be goalless this world cup.


Doesn't matter if it's CQ or someone else, but by the next world cup we really need to focus on building up plays and passing the ball more.

[elnino99]

I agree with The.

Our attacking play really leaves a lot to be desired, bar the occasional case (every 20 minutes) where passes connect and we can construct a cohesive move.

Why are we lacking in that department:

- Lack of a confident player on the ball, that doesn't rush in possession and can turn on the ball when pressed...a playmaker if you must say
- Lack of natural dribblers in the squad that can take a man on, beat him, and create more space
- Lack of players that can shoot from outside the box...teams know it, and it makes our attack even more predictable.

But most and most important is lack of composure on the ball. We looked very rushed when attacking, loads of misplaced passes. There were at least 4-5 occasions within the 3 matches, when we were in promising counter positions and the final pass was rushed, overhit or underhit (Azmoun vs. Morocco first half, Taremi vs. Spain first half, for example)

[tooleh khers]

I agree. It is all perspective. If we look at it and say 4 points, that is clearly our best performance. However if we consider that 3 points was an absolute gift via an own goal, having 0 shots on net in the second half then we really need to ask ourselves if in fact we exceeded Iranian football standards or not. If we had advanced, we would have exceeded for sure since we had never previously but since we did not I would say that we did not exceed. Unfortunately, I believe a defeatist attitude is now prevalent in our football where not getting demolished by Spain, Portugal and Argentina is considered a great performance.

[Abtin]

Well, also makes sense, we didnt score a legit goal. So it seems right.

[ehsan_REAL1]

100% agree. We were very lucky to get where we were in terms of all these points.
Problem is midfield is soo poor and Azmoun lacks proper mentality.
I was Saman would be the solution to this but he never got playing time. Not having Dejagha was what really hurt us. As well as JB poor offensive performance, compare him with Amiri...

[RaginG Inferno]

I largely (but not completely) disagree.

Our stats reflect the fact that we played a radically different approach to other teams. If you're sitting with most of your players deep in the opponent's half, you're not going to complete many passes. It's too risky.

The truth is that in each of our three games, despite the figures, despite the stats, we had the best chances on goal. Yes, Azmoun against Morocco, Karim and Taremi against Spain, and Taremi against Portugal didn't score with their fantastic opportunities...but that is down to individual composure and skill.

With that being said, when we pressed higher against Portugal, our passing and fluidity should've been better.

[Nokhodi]

What is our xG? That is the important stat now.

[mahestan]

I largely (but not completely) disagree.

Our stats reflect the fact that we played a radically different approach to other teams. If you're sitting with most of your players deep in the opponent's half, you're not going to complete many passes. It's too risky.

The truth is that in each of our three games, despite the figures, despite the stats, we had the best chances on goal. Yes, the Azmoun against Morocco, Karim and Taremi against Spain, and Taremi against Portugal didn't score...but that is down to individual composure and skill.

With that being said, when we pressed higher against Portugal, our passing and fluidity should've been better.

I've said this before, if we are going to go that route, the best chances that we get on goal, we better damn well score on them. Azmoun against Morocco, Karim and Taremi against Spain and Taremi against Portugal. 4 GOLDEN opportunities that we did not bank on. So if the game style is fine, we need individual contributors that are going to nail that ball into the goal.

[RaginG Inferno]

Absolutely.

[krol]

Yea, we almost qualified, tough opponents, bacheha motchakereem, and all that Jazz, but here are some concerning stats:
Iran had the lowest pass completion (68%) of any team this world cup. Not even by a little. The next worst team was Iceland at 72 %, followed by Sweden at 78%. Also the least total passes With 436.
Iran also ranked last with 4 shots on net Total.
We also got dominated in possession in every game we played.

Our offense is not based on possession and tiki taka passes, so your stats are irrelevant and misleading (although I love how you completely ignore that we have THE BEST DEFENSE in the entire tournament). Our offense is based on the understanding that most goals, statistically, come from plays where the scoring team closes off the passing lanes and then pressures and dispossess the other team, catching them off guard as they're in the midst of transitioning from defense to offense. MOST goals in football are scored this way. This is how we created just as many dangerous chances against Spain and Portugal as they had against us, despite giving them the bulk of possession.

This isn't sustainable

The system is damn well sustainable because we qualified twice in a row to the WC for the first time ever, and backed Argentina and Portugal to the wall in two different world cups to the point both needed supergoals to score against us.

if it was not for a lucky last minute own goal against Morocco and a very questionable late Penalty against Portugal, Iran would be goalless this world cup.

Suuure We'll just ignore that Azmoun missed a one-on-one before that "lucky last minute goal" against Morocco. We'll ignore that against Spain Taremi and Ansarifard were inches from scoring, and Ezatollahi had a goal called back as a questionable offside. We'll ignore that if Taremi had converted that one-on-one with two minutes to go, we'd be playing Russia on Sunday as the winners of the Group of Death.

Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. The venom some red fans have against this man and their obsession with discrediting the team he built is downright disgusting. People like you have been throwing EVERYTHING at this team melli for months, hoping something sticks. Get help dude. Seriously.

[KeonKish]

I think that our effectiveness and fluidity improved with each game.

In the Portugal game we were much more effective with our counters and we kept the ball with more poise.

Ultimately I think a lot of it comes from nerves and no experience playing at such a level.

Some players were much better than others tho.

Azmoun was good overall, but his persistence on trying to run at defenders and then loose the ball himself, instead of passing the ball back to Ghoddos or somebody else was annoying.

Our guys simply didn’t have it in them to beat solid defenders 1v1




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[ali alipour]

After the few emotional days, this needed to be reflected on. Hopefully this thread stays clean from those pathetic people who want to make everything Queiroz vs Branko. Queiroz is a great defensive coach but not being able to string a few passes together is not going to cut it at World Cup level. People can keep saying almost Argentina almost Spain, Portugal, but it didn’t happen. Busting your ass for 90 minutes then relying on either a set piece or one hit or miss chance at the end of the game isn’t going to cut it. Queiroz should stay until 2022 but the player selection needs to be done in a way to allow for the ability to counter attack.

Before anyone wants to talk about ability or ipl this or that, no one who’s not delusional thinks Iran should be playing tiki taka and attractive offensive play against spain or Portugal. But this non-ability to string passes together has been a problem even against fricken UAE. Even when coaching Portugal, they only scored in 1 of the 4 games at the 2010 World Cup, which is why so many Portuguese people dislike Queiroz. This World Cup will only be deemed a success if good things come from it (like winning the Asian cup or getting players consistently playing at top levels). Otherwise almost getting the needed result against x team is only relevant for Iranians. No one took Iran seriously in 2018 even with the almost getting a result against Argentina.

[The]

Our offense is not based on possession and tiki taka passes, so your stats are irrelevant and misleading (although I love how you completely ignore that we have THE BEST DEFENSE in the entire tournament). Our offense is based on the understanding that most goals, statistically, come from plays where the scoring team closes off the passing lanes and then pressures and dispossess the other team, catching them off guard as they're in the midst of transitioning from defense to offense. MOST goals in football are scored this way. This is how we created just as many dangerous chances against Spain and Portugal as they had against us, despite giving them the bulk of possession.


The system is damn well sustainable because we qualified twice in a row to the WC for the first time ever, and backed Argentina and Portugal to the wall in two different world cups to the point both needed supergoals to score against us.


Suuure We'll just ignore that Azmoun missed a one-on-one before that "lucky last minute goal" against Morocco. We'll ignore that against Spain Taremi and Ansarifard were inches from scoring, and Ezatollahi had a goal called back as a questionable offside. We'll ignore that if Taremi had converted that one-on-one with two minutes to go, we'd be playing Russia on Sunday as the winners of the Group of Death.

Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. The venom some red fans have against this man and their obsession with discrediting the team he built is downright disgusting. People like you have been throwing EVERYTHING at this team melli for months, hoping something sticks. Get help dude. Seriously.

What does being a Perspolisi have to do with Iran's awful offensive performance at the world cup? I could care less about Brangoh, Minavand,etc... Every unbiased non-Iranian pundit/fans acknowledged that Iran's attack left more to be desired. Even for a team that was playing tough opponent. Nobody is expecting them to play flawless Spanish style passing, just expecting them not to be this bad offensively.

I've given CQ credit for what he did right already, I think it's time we look at actual facts and realize that even for a defensive minded team, our attack was not sustainable. I'm not even putting all the blame on CQ, our players needed to hit their target more (looking at you Mehdi), but in reality Iran's attack is lacking. We weren't the only defensive minded team this World cup, but somehow other defensive teams managed to not be dead last in these key offensive categories.

[Iran Doost]

Almost all of us have this stigma about not losing "badly".

As long as we the fans don't let go of that attitude, playing with a great defense and lousy offense will be the norm because our coach will get fired otherwise.

[Keano]

I've said this before, if we are going to go that route, the best chances that we get on goal, we better damn well score on them. Azmoun against Morocco, Karim and Taremi against Spain and Taremi against Portugal. 4 GOLDEN opportunities that we did not bank on. So if the game style is fine, we need individual contributors that are going to nail that ball into the goal.

Spot on points. All those sitter misses are the biggest indication of why we did not rely much on our offensive players. Another big factor in World Cup was our players lack of composure while in possession. In general this was a very inexperienced team, intimidated and insecure by its powerhouse opponents. What else could we have expected?