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

[shahname]

Seeing how both Spain and Portugal were knocked out in the 1/8 finals, I would say we played way too defensive and with too much respect for these two teams.

I think CQ himself had way too much respect for these two opponents and there was a kind of a psychological inferiority issue with himself.

[bbbsyd]

Don’t criticise CQ its blasphemy!
We should rename Qom Carlos and start naming our newborns Carlos Reza or Reza Carlos.

[arash123]

Not directly from a corner kick but the continuation of it.

So yes, it was a goal from free play.

[Irandoust]

Great post, exactly my main concern, by seeing both Spain and Portugal in this tournament, they were both beatable, we played too conservative and with a team much more talented than 4 years a go, i guess we could actually played more attacking minded game, at least for the last 1/3 of the match. We have respected both Spain and Portugal too much. I always wonder if CQ has any strategy other than direct game plan, because other than Masoud he never believe on having a classic CAM. I love what he has done for our football, but as it was said we were one of the worst team in level of making plays.

Hi there, how are you?
Since taking charge of the National team in 2011, CQ has without a doubt proved that he is not interested in CAMs. He even once said that there will no longer be positions for CAM's in the future football.
His style is a one dimensional defensive system which relies on quick counter attacks and on set pieces to score one or two goals at most to win his games. This style has been very effective against most of the opponents that we have faced thus far since 2011 because he is a master of knowing how to keep the game score less til finding that one opportunity to score the winning goal.
But if the opponent manages to somehow score the first goal against us, then CQ's weaknesses on how to search the equalizing and the winning goals quickly unravel because it is difficult for any football team to transition from that one dimensional defensive style, into an attacking one in search of that tying goal.
And that is why under CQ, we have yet to come back from behind and win a match. The last 30 minutes of offensive game against Spain was just a one time exception which did not repeat itself in the following game against Portugal.

[parisian homie]

You guys are generally living in dreams (at least when you're commenting).

Queiroz is a PRAGMATIC. Nothing is going to change that. We got a bit lucky to win against Morocco, but we also had the game's best opportunity with Azmoun's 1 on 1. We had the best opportunities against Spain, and against Portugal they scored a goal out of nowhere, otherwise I don't recall any dangerous situation for them. Football is easy: if you don't concede, you don't lose, if you score one more goal than your opponent, you win. That's Queiroz's mentality, whether people like it or not.

Look at how Russia beat Spain today? They did exactly what Iran did. Simple copy and paste, even less attacking that Iran during the second half of the Iran Spain game. Look at Croatia tonight and how all other big teams have struggled. The WC is becoming more and more like a chess game. As a small team like TM, you get maybe 2-3 opportunities a game to score, the rest of the game you spend it defending trying not to concede. Now I also would prefer to see Iran play joga bonito style and play decent, pleasant football. But the truth is we were just INCHES away from finishing top of that group. That fucking Taremi last shot. On any another day it would have gone in and the story would have been completely different.

Now the only part I agree is to say that at least during the Asian Cup we must take the lead and play not just to win, but to win by a 3, 4 goal difference margin against the likes of Iraq or Vietnam. Although to be honest, I don't mind that we play defensive if we win it in the end. The Asian Cup should be even more important than the WC. To win it means we're definitely back in business, and the Confederations Cup would provide a strong enough prep for the following WC.

[Omids]

I see all the teams that are causing upsets play like iran did - Uruguay and now Russia. Just sit back and absorb pressure and counter when they can. So not sure what all this fuss about iran playing this way or other is about.

Also got to remember that during the knockout phase big team play a bit more conservatively rather then going all out in the group stages.

CQ will play as the situation demands and the player he has at his disposal. I was there at the Asia Cup in Australia and went to iran's games. That was an offensive team, who can forget the game against Iraq where iran kept coming back even when they were playing for 10 men against 12 (ben Williams just needed to put on an Iraqi shirt). That was offensive.

[Under Lahaf]

You guys are generally living in dreams (at least when you're commenting).

Queiroz is a PRAGMATIC. Nothing is going to change that. We got a bit lucky to win against Morocco, but we also had the game's best opportunity with Azmoun's 1 on 1. We had the best opportunities against Spain, and against Portugal they scored a goal out of nowhere, otherwise I don't recall any dangerous situation for them. Football is easy: if you don't concede, you don't lose, if you score one more goal than your opponent, you win. That's Queiroz's mentality, whether people like it or not.

Look at how Russia beat Spain today? They did exactly what Iran did. Simple copy and paste, even less attacking that Iran during the second half of the Iran Spain game. Look at Croatia tonight and how all other big teams have struggled. The WC is becoming more and more like a chess game. As a small team like TM, you get maybe 2-3 opportunities a game to score, the rest of the game you spend it defending trying not to concede. Now I also would prefer to see Iran play joga bonito style and play decent, pleasant football. But the truth is we were just INCHES away from finishing top of that group. That fucking Taremi last shot. On any another day it would have gone in and the story would have been completely different.

Now the only part I agree is to say that at least during the Asian Cup we must take the lead and play not just to win, but to win by a 3, 4 goal difference margin against the likes of Iraq or Vietnam. Although to be honest, I don't mind that we play defensive if we win it in the end. The Asian Cup should be even more important than the WC. To win it means we're definitely back in business, and the Confederations Cup would provide a strong enough prep for the following WC.

I agree, people forget how close we were from finishing on top and actually eliminating Portugal...

As for Asian Cup; the table has turned! You all know how we, and others have defended against these stronger teams, same strategy will be now applied by Asian teams against us. Question is now that we find ourselves in "Spanish shoes" in the Asian Cup, can we beat the somewhat weaker teams that can win, as we could've in World cup, or will we also struggle as Spain did?

[Under Lahaf]

Interesting stats by country at the group stage, Russia comes in 1st, Morocco at 6th, Abadan at 8th , Iran 11th. Germany, France etc under us.

[Omids]

Interesting stats by country at the group stage, Russia comes in 1st, Morocco at 6th, Abadan at 8th , Iran 11th. Germany, France etc under us.

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[Irandoust]

I agree, people forget how close we were from finishing on top and actually eliminating Portugal...
As for Asian Cup; the table has turned! You all know how we, and others have defended against these stronger teams, same strategy will be now applied by Asian teams against us. Question is now that we find ourselves in "Spanish shoes" in the Asian Cup, can we beat the somewhat weaker teams that can win, as we could've in World cup, or will we also struggle as Spain did?

Judging by the way the islamic republic has been running our beloved country since 1979, ..... *** editing***

This is A FOOTBALL FORUM! Don’t go offtopic! Use Gen. Forum instead!

You should know that....!

[Irandoust]

Judging by the way the islamic republic has been running our beloved country since 1979, ..... *** editing***
This is A FOOTBALL FORUM! Don’t go offtopic! Use Gen. Forum instead!
You should know that....!

With all due respect, even if I was aware, the occasion and the timing of the discussion compelled me to respond in a way that I thought it was appropriate.
If I may, since football and specially the world cup and politics are heavily mixed and can not exist apart from one another, and since according to the current events, roughly more than eighty percent of the people of Iran suffer daily in the hands of the men in charge, then what is so taboo about bringing up of what is the truth about the current affairs and the negative impact that it has on football?
Who gets hurt from the mixture of football and political discussions in this forum?
If you can, please explain.
Thank you in advance.

[Nokhodi]

Status as of yesterday:

[Kiarash]

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

Yeah we did win against Uzbekistan today, but in attack we are abysmal. It’s seriously worrying that we can only win with 1-0 score lines and miss so many opportunities.

We’re not going to win the Asian Cup if we continue with these 1-0 business and actually concede first in the game, especially against better teams than the Uzbeks. Eventually this is bound to get exposed.

I seriously can’t remember the last time we conceded first and then came back to win the game. Something to be concerned about.

[Keano]

I seriously can’t remember the last time we conceded first and then came back to win the game. Something to be concerned about.

Well because we do not concede. In other words for Asian teams it's quite hard to score on us. For me a win is a win, doesn't matter if it's 1-0 or 10-0. Of course the more goals we score, the more entertaining and exciting it is for us as football fans. However in reality what count at the end is the result, and we have been achieving it at least in Asian level. Football and any other sport in a way can work like a gamble, meaning there are no guarantees that if you score 3-4 goals, you win, because simply you can also concede 4-5 goals.

The main problem we face is that our strikers lack precision and that perfect last touch in front of the goal. This is not something the coach can teach them at such age and football level. Daei was the best striker we've ever had, the man knew how to convert and score. He could have not touched the ball for the entire half, however upon the first opportunity in front of the goal, he would score. Call it what you wish, but that's what a real striker's job is and should be (To score)

[Kavian]

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.

Forget about these stats. They are obviously thing of the past, as they no longer apply to the outcome of the games. Possession for example is not even 1/10 of the law anymore!

I suggest you also analyze the stats for Morocco, Portugal, and Spain to determine why they did what they did against Iran and then let's have anther conversation.