A disappointing showing from Team Melli, but perhaps somewhat expected after a 1-1 draw at home last year to the Koreans, and now missing a number of starters for the Seoul fixture. That said, Skocic's line-up and substitutions left some scratching their heads. I'm not ready to throw the baby out with the bathwater just yet. Lets see what happens on the final matchday and then we can start to make decisions. As for the ratings...
Abedzadeh - 7 - Letting in the first goal, no matter how strong and unexpected it was, is on him. Some amazing saves to start the second half, and even after that as well. Game could've easily been 4-0.
Mohammadi - 5 - Came off after half-time, which says something about the coaching staff's opinion of his play in the first half, and also his sudden inability to contribute going forward. Not sure what we do with a mediocre LB who can't contribute on offense anymore. Not sure what Milad himself does to fix his play.
Hosseini - 6 - solid all around, although the defense was a bit of a mess. Maybe too many changes at one time? I didn't catch any mistakes from Majid though.
Kananni - 6 - great work in the air throughout the game, and a strong, physical presence on the ground. I'm very happy with his work.
Khalilzadeh - 6 - I didn't catch the knock he took, but appreciate that he tried to play through it and also out of position. No glaring mistakes, but again, the entire line seemed out of whack. He was matched up on Son's side, which is a credit to his performance. BTW, Son was HEAD AND SHOULDERS the best player on the pitch, even with his missed goals.
Noorafkan - 3 - generated nothing going forward and didn't organize the defense on the back end. He is a better player at LB. Was wasted at DM and not a contributor in any sense -- as a passer, defender, etc.
Amiri - 5 - the hustle was there as always, and outside of a few crafty link-ups, did very little to move the ball up (a common theme in our midfield). Continues to be a good role player, but we were asking too much of him with this line-up.
Hajsafi - 2 - oh my goodness. I've been a defender of keeping him in the squad because of his versatility and our need at LB. But this was insane. He is incredibly slow, missed a clear shot on goal (or dish to Gholizadeh) early on. Then invisible for large portions of the game otherwise. Should never be in midfield again, but likely should be out of the squad altogether!
Nourollahi - 5 - generated chances going forward, and made his usual defensive contributions. Solid, if unspectacular.
Gholizadeh - 5 - love his dribbling ability, but nothing ever comes of it. He loses the ball (including once in front of goal), or makes a bad pass afterwards. Made the cross for the one shot on goal we had. Doesn't move well off the ball and was caught flatfooted a few times. There is talent here, and hustle, but it seems his footballing IQ is fairly low. He doesn't know how to put it together!
Azmoun - 3 - the midfield gave him little service to work with, and he wasn't ready to play for so many minutes (COACH?!), but boy did he do nothing! One header and it was directly at the keeper...and it may not have needed to be a diving header anyhow. I really worry that Sardar's recent success is a product of playing for the best team in a bad league. We will see what develops at Bayer.
SUBS
Gholami - 4 - was playing out of position for his first cap. Some are being very hard on him. Yes, he didn't have the pace needed to be at RB and was beaten a few times. Yes, he was nervous and lost some balls. But he isn't the reason we lost, not by a mile. Showed some good footwork and decent defending. I'm glad he is one of three promising young players who got capped today.
Sayyadmanesh - 5 - physical, quick, looked dangerous and had a great cross. Then missed a chip into goal, perhaps trying to get too cute. Wish he had come on earlier!
Ansarifard - NA - not on for long enough, but didn't show much anyhow. I see why he's the #4 striker now.
Hosseinzadeh - 6 - not very quick, but made quality runs on and off the ball and looked physical in play. I'm impressed! Would love to see him get more time after locking in his first cap today.
Mehdipour - 5 - decent passer of the ball, but not impressive. Not sure why we're introducing older players to TM...
OVERALL: I'm concerned that Skocic isn't able to lead us against tougher opposition. This wasn't a damning performance, but his decision making with the line-up and subs (and their timing) makes you wonder if he can handle tougher team and being put up in a corner (with unavailable players).
With that in mind, I love that we finally started using some young talent, and would like to see them featured more over the next year as we prepare for the WC and figure out our squad. We have clear issues with depth, particularly in the midfield and on defense. Not even our starters in these areas are clear. Its time to phase out some old/underperforming players with the young talent we saw today. Lastly -- we only had an outside shot at Pot 2, so I'm not too beat up over it. Finishing first or second in the group doesn't matter, so lets focus on prep for WC2022 now! We need many friendlies, with varying degrees of quality, to test the possibilities of our squad.
Abedzadeh - 7 - Letting in the first goal, no matter how strong and unexpected it was, is on him. Some amazing saves to start the second half, and even after that as well. Game could've easily been 4-0.
Mohammadi - 5 - Came off after half-time, which says something about the coaching staff's opinion of his play in the first half, and also his sudden inability to contribute going forward. Not sure what we do with a mediocre LB who can't contribute on offense anymore. Not sure what Milad himself does to fix his play.
Hosseini - 6 - solid all around, although the defense was a bit of a mess. Maybe too many changes at one time? I didn't catch any mistakes from Majid though.
Kananni - 6 - great work in the air throughout the game, and a strong, physical presence on the ground. I'm very happy with his work.
Khalilzadeh - 6 - I didn't catch the knock he took, but appreciate that he tried to play through it and also out of position. No glaring mistakes, but again, the entire line seemed out of whack. He was matched up on Son's side, which is a credit to his performance. BTW, Son was HEAD AND SHOULDERS the best player on the pitch, even with his missed goals.
Noorafkan - 3 - generated nothing going forward and didn't organize the defense on the back end. He is a better player at LB. Was wasted at DM and not a contributor in any sense -- as a passer, defender, etc.
Amiri - 5 - the hustle was there as always, and outside of a few crafty link-ups, did very little to move the ball up (a common theme in our midfield). Continues to be a good role player, but we were asking too much of him with this line-up.
Hajsafi - 2 - oh my goodness. I've been a defender of keeping him in the squad because of his versatility and our need at LB. But this was insane. He is incredibly slow, missed a clear shot on goal (or dish to Gholizadeh) early on. Then invisible for large portions of the game otherwise. Should never be in midfield again, but likely should be out of the squad altogether!
Nourollahi - 5 - generated chances going forward, and made his usual defensive contributions. Solid, if unspectacular.
Gholizadeh - 5 - love his dribbling ability, but nothing ever comes of it. He loses the ball (including once in front of goal), or makes a bad pass afterwards. Made the cross for the one shot on goal we had. Doesn't move well off the ball and was caught flatfooted a few times. There is talent here, and hustle, but it seems his footballing IQ is fairly low. He doesn't know how to put it together!
Azmoun - 3 - the midfield gave him little service to work with, and he wasn't ready to play for so many minutes (COACH?!), but boy did he do nothing! One header and it was directly at the keeper...and it may not have needed to be a diving header anyhow. I really worry that Sardar's recent success is a product of playing for the best team in a bad league. We will see what develops at Bayer.
SUBS
Gholami - 4 - was playing out of position for his first cap. Some are being very hard on him. Yes, he didn't have the pace needed to be at RB and was beaten a few times. Yes, he was nervous and lost some balls. But he isn't the reason we lost, not by a mile. Showed some good footwork and decent defending. I'm glad he is one of three promising young players who got capped today.
Sayyadmanesh - 5 - physical, quick, looked dangerous and had a great cross. Then missed a chip into goal, perhaps trying to get too cute. Wish he had come on earlier!
Ansarifard - NA - not on for long enough, but didn't show much anyhow. I see why he's the #4 striker now.
Hosseinzadeh - 6 - not very quick, but made quality runs on and off the ball and looked physical in play. I'm impressed! Would love to see him get more time after locking in his first cap today.
Mehdipour - 5 - decent passer of the ball, but not impressive. Not sure why we're introducing older players to TM...
OVERALL: I'm concerned that Skocic isn't able to lead us against tougher opposition. This wasn't a damning performance, but his decision making with the line-up and subs (and their timing) makes you wonder if he can handle tougher team and being put up in a corner (with unavailable players).
With that in mind, I love that we finally started using some young talent, and would like to see them featured more over the next year as we prepare for the WC and figure out our squad. We have clear issues with depth, particularly in the midfield and on defense. Not even our starters in these areas are clear. Its time to phase out some old/underperforming players with the young talent we saw today. Lastly -- we only had an outside shot at Pot 2, so I'm not too beat up over it. Finishing first or second in the group doesn't matter, so lets focus on prep for WC2022 now! We need many friendlies, with varying degrees of quality, to test the possibilities of our squad.
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