Your lineup vs Iraq

[Kiarash]

---------------------Beira-------------------------

Voria--------PAG---------Majid-------------Milad

Gholizadeh----Nourollahi---Ebrahimi----Taremi

-----------------Kaveh--------Azmoun-----------

[Foolad Khuzestan]

thats it !!!!!!!!!!! , Dejagah is not available right ?

[ehsan singapore]

we should play 3-2-3-1 or 4-4-2 but we just dont have the players to play 4-4-2 unfortunalty.

[ehsan singapore]

that is the line up.

[NYCTeamMelli]

---------------------Beira-------------------------

Voria--------PAG---------Majid-------------Milad

Gholizadeh----Nourollahi---Ebrahimi----Taremi

-----------------Kaveh--------Azmoun-----------

Excellent lineup and formation, except I somewhat disagree with your backline as I prefer Ramin as RB for his proclivity to push up in the offense and Kanani as CD over Majid H. due to his greater experience and tendency to make less mistakes. The midfield is well-balanced with two good holding Mids/CMs and two offensive players in Taremi (who is also a good forward defender and keeps possession well) and Gholizadeh. Having Taremi play right behind Sardar is a good idea because of their chemistry and combo play.

Azmoun and Kaveh could be deadly combo up front even if Kaveh has another sub-par performance up front; Kaveh like Sardar commands attention which could lead to more openings for Sardar and vice versa.

[inarsenewetrust]

Excellent lineup and formation, except I somewhat disagree with your backline as I prefer Ramin as RB for his proclivity to push up in the offense and Kanani as CD over Majid H. due to his greater experience and tendency to make less mistakes. The midfield is well-balanced with two good holding Mids/CMs and two offensive players in Taremi (who is also a good forward defender and keeps possession well) and Gholizadeh. Having Taremi play right behind Sardar is a good idea because of their chemistry and combo play.

Azmoun and Kaveh could be deadly combo up front even if Kaveh has another sub-par performance up front; Kaveh like Sardar commands attention which could lead to more openings for Sardar and vice versa.

kanaani is pretty mistake prone too. I dont like the idea of chopping and changing the two cbs so much. I think its clear majid will be the main guy for the D line in the near future and i rather just show faith him in now. Ramin I agree is superior offensively to voria but I think he is too much of a liability on the defensive end, his main job. Having said that about his offense, he may be superior, but thats only because he positions himself so high in the attack. Its not that he is superior technically, sends good crosses, or can dribble opponents. Going that high up he leaves huge gaps behind him as well (remember all 3 japan goals came from his side), and he doesnt have speed to recover back. And technically his first touch is poor and under any sort of pressure he often gives up possession. Moharrami is much stronger technically than any of them, and showed it for long time in PP and intermittently in croatia. Anyways, I agree with you that out of voria and ramin neither are really standout, both liabilities in their own ways.

I think KAveh and sardar will compliment each other much better than sardar and karim. Karim lacks any sort of smart linkup play or guile, just an experienced guy who runs and then fucks up chances in the box. Kaveh I think is so much better in all facets of the game and will actually be able to get more out of sardar than having a lump like karim next to him. Remember, strike partners are key for sardar's success so far, especially because he hasnt played on teams with really strong creative mids (including TM). His best form has come when partnered with Poloz in Rostov, Dzyuba in Zenit, Taremi in TM. he looks pissed off asf everytime he has to play with karim up top, dont blame him.

[Leicester City]

^ I disagree. Ramin is better than Ghafouri both defensively and offensively, in addition to having some European experience, even if it was a short stint. Ramin was always played in important matches for TM and against majority of big teams we’ve faced especially at the WC and Asian Cup.

[Bladsville]

^ I disagree. Ramin is better than Ghafouri both defensively and offensively, in addition to having some European experience, even if it was a short stint. Ramin was always played in important matches for TM and against majority of big teams we’ve faced especially at the WC and Asian Cup.

Unfortunately that is an unpopular opinion on this forum. A lot of guys on here (who I usually agree with on 99.9% of other things) tend to think that Ramin is trash. I really don't see it and think that hes a great RB. Probably the same way I think Allahyar is super overrated and some tend to believe he is the next Daei.

[KasraKhan]

When Ramin is actually covering his defensive duties, I think Ramin is better defensively than Vouria. Ramin is stronger, bigger, and more tenacious. Not a great comparison, but look what Ramin did in the WC, he saved some nearly sure goals.

On the offensive end, however, I think Vouria is much better. Vouria is very good in possession. Smart. Can play one-touch, give-and-go, quick one twos, and has a better cross than Ramin. He's a much better decision maker than Ramin in the final third.

[Kavian]

Both Ramin and Vouria have their own pros and cons … but I think the deciding factor between the two comes down to who has a stronger mental capacity for such sensitive and tense game.

My pick would be Vouria, as Ramin always appear to have too much unnecessary nervousness. He forgets what he is suppose to do. That said, I am not to worry if one is chosen over the other … my worry is our midfield and defense. both shaky at the moment.

[inarsenewetrust]

unnecessary nervousness and unnecessary emotion. Him and Hajsafi both play asabani and weird, and it impacts their technical performance big time.

In general, I would say there are two tactics we can adopt with the lineup I posted.

One is, building through iraqi press, by using Ebrahimi, Majid, PAGs passing qualities and giving shorter balls to strong carriers, Gholizadeh and Nourollahi. They can drive team forward. Then the combination of Kaveh, Taremi, Azmoun can be fed and combine well between each other, which I think we all can agree these three have the technical capacity and footballing IQ to do well vs most opposition (let alone IRaq).

Another tactic to use, is more of a long ball tactic, similar to Zenit. Majid, PAG, Milad (our best bets for accurate long balls from the back) can target Sardar and Kaveh, both of whom link play excellently and are strong on aerials. The key to this tactic is having Taremi, Gholizadeh, and Nourollahi well positioned and aggressive to get the knockdowns, and from there combine quickly with the forwards and advance to goalscoring positions.

Im not fully confident with Gholizadeh, Nourollahi building from the back yet, in such a crucial game, although I think in the long run it would be a good tactic for TM to adapt in general. I am confident in Azmoun and Kavehs abilities to link play and win aerials vs Iraqi defenders, as I am confident in Taremi's ability to connect to these knockdowns well. Key here is getting gholi and nourollahi to be well positioned to help with knockdowns as well. Once ball is under control in these attacking areas, then the qualities of Sardar,Kaveh,Taremi, Gholizadeh, and nourollahi who has shown impressive offensive skills for TM vs South Korea and Bahrain can take over. Key is ensuring that the long passes connect and they get the opportunity to do the damage enough times.

Hopefully Wiltits doesnt go with the tactic of 4-2-4 and building our entire offensive game plan and ball advancement off dribbling, decision making, and offensive runs of Milad Mohammadi and Ramin rezaeian, two relatively weak technical players with ball at their feet, isolated in low wide areas with no support from mids or forwards anywhere in sight. That would be a mistake and lead to a certain loss, havent seen a more clueless gameplan in international football (seriously, I cant ever remember such a tactic being used. Maybe teams like liverpool who has fantastic full backs like Alexander arnold and robertson can build offensive plays through them, not us LOL).

[PeymanCQ]

---------Beiro---------

Voria PAG Majid MiMo

------Omid Nur-------
-Gholi Karim Taremi-

-------Azmoun-------

[Leicester City]

Beiranvand

Mohammadi-PAG-Kanaani-Ramin

Amiri-Ebrahimi-Nourollahi-Moby

Taremi-Azmoun

[Sarbaze-Vatan]

----------------Beiro------------------------
---Ghafouri-Pouraliganji-Kanaani-Mohammadi---
------Ebrahimi--Nourollahi----Amiri-------
--Gholizadeh-----Azmoun-----Taremi-------

I still think this lineup is the best. We may only can change the formation as follows to make it better:

---------------------Beiro----------------
-----Ghafouri--Pouraliganji---Kananni--Mohammadi---
-----------Ebrahimi (C)------Nourollahi-----------------
-----Taremi-----------Gholizadeh-------------Amiri------
-------------------------Azmoun-----------------------

[Sarbaze-Vatan]

IMO Ansarifard should not be anywhere near the field and should be dropped from the squad.