Iran vs Algeria Post Match Ratings and Discussion

[diz]

Ozone jaan, if the common factor is IFF mismanagement (which I agree is a huge factor), how did CQ manage 4 points in our 18 WC group against Spain/Portugal, while we’re staring down a barrel of a 0-5 defeat against England with Skocic?

The point is we can’t rely on Skocic exactly because of IFF mismanagement; he just doesn’t have the heart, brains, or balls to overcome IFF or our opponents.

[inarsenewetrust]

This is Skocic 3rd friendly game in a row in my eyes. He had SK which was a very solid friendly game in challenging environment vs solid opposition, a game for domestic guys at home to lebanon, and now a 3rd friendly against algeria. In all these games results were immaterial and good opportunity to test new players OR establish chemistry between main guys. Neither has occurred. Out of these 3 matches Allahyar should have at least started one, we should have seen much more minutes afforded to new CM options (not naemd nourollahi or sarlak, 2 players clearly not at the level required for international football) and something done about the highway emerging on the left side. None of these things happened. These 3 games presented a great chance to try the best performing domestic RB, Saleh Hardani, Not afforded the chance, not even for a minute.

We were missing key players vs SK in a similarly immaterial match at the end of WCQ, we ended up getting a very valiant 0-0 while being down to 10 men in hostile atmosphere. This in itself was a great prep for the team if during the WC we ever went down to 10 men (still had to have an organization and structure in place to lock down defensively). We played much more expansive game vs a strong algeria side bound for WC and won 2-1, in the process learning a great deal about the level of our 2nd RB option Ghafouri, and 2nd LB option Aghaei, while also trying out ansarifard in new midfield role (an idea that was discontinued during WC).

I think all I take away from today: Majid Hosseini must start going forward. The guy now proved even in worst situation he can deliver a solid performance and keep his composure. Impressed by him.

[TM4LIFE]

The biggest takeaways in my book:

The OBVIOUS:
- Noorafkhan is HORRIBLE at defending. The guy is beaten on so many 1v1 against amateur tier wingers as was evident throughout the entirety of our WCQ campaign and again against Algeria B team. If the fat man even bothers to look at review tapes this should be evident to him and there are plenty of metrics out there that cover successful dribbles. Going forward he is hot and cold. One moment he will play a nice switch with his weaker foot and make a couple good dribbles and another he'll ruin a counter attack by holding onto the ball too much. Had a great pass for the assist but on the defensive end he basically gave away a PK (if VAR existed that 100% would've been called back for a pen), gave them their second goal with a blind weak footed ball straight to their winger, was constantly exposed in transition... just not worth the slight chance of some offensive payoff
- Ebrahimi is still TM material and deserves to be tested a couple more times in the starting lineup. Having him alongside Saeid in a 2 - CDM system provides some more agility and better coverage for our weak ass back line. You simply can't survive against quality opponents with the midfield lineup we had today. You need 2 midfielders that can defend, not 1 who also is notoriously slow. We haven't progressed enough as a footballing nation to produce THAT stable enough of a central midfield.

The not so obvious:
- Taremi needs better coverage behind him. Putting Nourollahi or Gholizadeh there would be very risky. Honestly Amiri at LB, Ebrahimi at left mid would provide the right coverage. Otherwise having a striker at that position is either going to hinder Taremi being able to move forward as freely or put more pressure on the left side defensively. At Porto he gets covered by Zaidu at LB who while he isnt a great tackler has a shit ton of pace and can cover the spaces.

- ARJ is a controversial coin flip. He isn't great at breaking presses, lacks pace and isn't a good dribbler. He often makes the wrong choice on fast breaks as was apparent in the random cross he tried to send to Taremi. BUT he has great ball control, shooting, and somehow has managed to get himself on the scoresheet very often as of late for TM. I think Sayyadmanesh has potential to get on the score sheet just as often though and provides a lot more vitality on the right hand side. Its wishful thinking but I want him to take the starting spot.

[ben.walken]

They are no different than the ones we had in 1998 for those who were around PFDC then...same in 2006, 14, 18, and now. We go through this every WC cycle. The common factor in all this is IFF mismanagement.

This was the teams first match in how long? In Qatar heat after 2 weeks of training. Others including Algeria have had more match practice than us. Even so we all wanted to see more.i don't blame Skocic for this loss any more I do the players. It wasn't the best but better get exposed now and fix things. We all saw Abedzadeh and a few other players really look like they should not start.

This WC prep is not similar to the previous ones. A week ago our players did not even know where the camp will be? Heck, we didn’t even book a stadium in time for today’s game and because of it there were talks for cancellations. There is a difference between poor management and no management .

This was TM longest training under Skocic and he will not have another lengthy camp like this till the WC. Yet, we only saw aliasghari type playing with no signs of any planning. This Algeria team did not have match practice, this was their B team and had 7-8 new players playing for the first time. Algeria was playing in similar weather conditions, so let’s not use this as an excuse.

Here is a prediction for you; Abedzadeh will very likely be our no1 goalie in WC. Sadly, Skocic thus far has never shown any signs that he can learn from mistakes.

[taremiscores]

Now you want to know why Dragan nixed the Uruguay game? Can you imagine Nunez, Cavani and their offensive weapons against our team?

It would have got ugly, real fast.

[diz]

Now you want to know why Dragan nixed the Uruguay game? Can you imagine Nunez, Cavani and their offensive weapons against our team?
It would have got ugly, real fast.

He’s just biding his time till the WC. He knows we won’t make it out of the group. He just wants that badge on his resume. That’s it!

[Wahid Dejagah]

My thoughts this game

Match itself: 8/10. Good, tough and technical opposition who took the game seriously. Gave us a hard time and played good football. Personally thankful to Algeria for playing us and this game gave us multiple learning points. On reflection a huge shame we didn’t get more friendlies out of this camp. Would’ve good to have had the likes of Australia, UAE, Peru and even NZ lined up, given they’re all in Qatar as well.

Skocic: 4/10. From every game I watch, a clear second half coach. Credit to him for this aspect of his coaching, adapts well and realised his mistakes. This also usually means first halves can really be hit and miss. The team played some nice football at intervals. However, I really, really expect more from him regarding friendly matches. He needs them. The team needs them. I wonder what his philosophy re the camp was (if any). Two more camps left, we should finalise friendlies from today. Given two weeks with the players, I expected more. Given his resume and what he managed to achieve with us, I hope he does not disappoint.

Players:
Abedzadeh: 4/10. I’ve tried multiple times to give him the benefit of the doubt, but plain and simple, he has shown every time he has been tested that he has multiple factors which in my eyes make him unreliable. Short stature, unreliable handling, poor exits. Even in a calm friendly today he seemed very anxious and on edge. Had a good save from that free kick. Overall I’m still undecided on Beiro vs. Abedz, I believe through more friendlies we’d be able to judge better.
Moharrami: 5/10. Similar to the above, has weaknesses which recur. Every TM game I watch, there’s sequences where he gets completely caught out. Vs Korea gave Son the goal. Vs UAE got sent off. Same thing today. However must be given credit for his work rate and had a few nice dribbles and link up plays.
Haji Safi: 4/10. One would think after 100+ caps his experience would set him apart. Unfortunately for TM doesn’t appear that way. Not convincing in DM and neither in LB. Had a couple nice passes and then, as usual, completely exposed defensively. Shame Mohammadi didn’t transpire to be the LB we thought we had… Quite worrying a position that doesn’t seem to have found a key, reliable player for over 6 years now.

Nourafkan: 2/10. Poor, poor performance. In all attempts to remain logical over emotional, lacks quality. Lacks attitude. Lacks discipline. Lacks technical and tactical prowess. Whether it’s left back, midfield or CB as seen today, a liability. I believe he is a prime candidate to be dropped/replaced. Caught out of position multiple times. Starts fights in a friendly game. To add to everything else, gave an extremely unnecessary penalty. Was a clear pen which the referee did not give. It did not end there however, as multiple times he’d jump into a tackle late and put his leg out. Late tackle after late tackle. In all fairness, CB isn’t his natural position, and unlike PAG, not a position he looks comfortable adapting to either. Directly responsible for Algeria’s second goal.

Hosseini: 7/10. MOTM. Calm, composed, collected. Disciplined and had to essentially cover Nourafkan all game. Had a nice goal line clearance as well. Beautiful defending sequence at the end where he jockeyed his man 1v1 on the break and won the ball. Really had high hopes for him post 2018, hope he regains his form and continues. I think for CB it should be 2 of PAG, Hosseini or Kanaani. Kanani’s suspension means we should hopefully see him more in friendlies.

Saeid: 5/10. Clean, one touch passes. Beautifully weighted, amazing vision. Slow speed is part and parcel of him, needs to be supported in midfield otherwise the other team does circles around him. Happened today. Unsure why he was subbed first instead of Nourollahi.
Nourollahi. 2/10. Ever since leaving Persepolis, he has been regressing game after game. Nil involvement, sloppy passes and no notable contributions. Well replaced by Ebrahimi.

Gholizadeh 3/10. As far as memory serves, other than a beautiful first half pass vs Iraq that resulted in our goal, I am yet to see a convincing Starting XI performance. Complacent, heavily left footed and weak. Ghoddos is a superior option looking at the World Cup. However, similar to when Khalatbari was in the team, a valuable asset to have 70+ min onwards as a dangerous sub against tired legs. If I’m not mistaken at fault for their first goal with a shocking pass.

Azmoun: 5/10. Some neat plays in the first half, tries too hard to dribble past keepers in 1 v 1 situations. Could’ve buried that chance quite easily. As with Taremi, they need each other when playing in order to be effective. Subbed at half time, unable to comment further.

Taremi: 5/10. Tried hard, hustled. Frustrated, can you blame him however? Mistimed many runs, strangely offside multiple times as a result. Had a golden chance which he should have finished off.

Jahanbakhsh: 5/10. Post Alkmaar I yearn to see him take a man on 1v1 and win the dribble. Constantly turns and looks for a sideways pass. Had a good pass forwards which Taremi should have buried. Nice to see him play decent in the national team. Hopefully wins his position back in Feyenoord going into the World Cup. Class character to have in the team and as a vice captain. Good finish.

Subs:

Ebrahimi: 6/10. Welcome back. Age is irrelevant, this man is an engine. Plays in qatar as well, no signs of it. Well acclimatised. Looking at the past games we need Amiri-Saeid-Ebrahimi in midfield, potential for Ghoddos to swap with one however unsure which. Clean, tidy football, nothing extra, nothing unnecessary. Personally glad he’s back.

Sayyad: 5/10. Young and promising, built like a tank. Want to see more and more of him, can and should be introduced earlier however.

Need to see more from Mehdipour and Hosseinzadeh before I rate them.

Aghasi: no comment.

Sarlak: he appears to be invisible every time he comes on for TM. Unremarkable.

[oracle]

abedzadeh D (only because ofhis last name)
norafkan D
hossini c+
moharami D+
saeed c
ahmad noor d
jb c+
golizadeh d
sardar d+
mehdi c

[milad_b]

Any news on Azmoun? If that wasn't an injury/fitness worry, I hope he puts some bitchy IG post up soon lolling the Croatian out of a job.

Azmoun was already bashing IFF . He knows who to bash.

[NYCTeamMelli]

I'm going to remind people we had the same criticisms and discussions when our National team played a bunch of S. African clubs and was unable to beat Orlando Pirate reserves...we thought then CQ and IFF wanted to keep their Fifa ranking in tact because of fears of losing. People called for CQ to be fired at that time. We seem to go through these cycles alot.

http://www.persianfootball.com/forum...329&viewfull=1

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That's correct, O-ZoNe. Iranians are highly intelligent people that are also generally a group of people that suffer from emotional rollercoasters (Javgeer).

I see it as a positive that Iran lost the Algeria friendly. How else will you adjust, learn, adapt and make changes if you play impeccably in every friendly? I am an avid fan like the rest of us on this forum. I also wanted Skocic removed about 4-5 months ago. I don't see it happening now and in my humble opinion it's too late now anyway.
We must be realistic and deal with what is actually going on rather than what we want to happen. IFF will never replace Skocic now.

From my understanding, there are only two FIFA days in September. Iran must play those both games on those September days. I think they should play two European B teams (i.e. Bosnia, Ireland, Scotland, Austria, Turkey, Sweden, ect) since the USA game is last and there is no point in wasting one game on a N. American team if going into the last game you have ZERO points (lose both to England and Wales). Then if they are able to play a closed door game in early Nov. before the actual W.C. kicks off, then they should choose a N. American team to play their last friendly with.

[NYCTeamMelli]

The whole point of a friendly as a WC prep, is to experiment and make mistakes. I remember before WC 2018 in the friendly against Turkey, we lost 2-1 to two really bad goals courtesy of Roozbeh Cheshmi (was not a fan, but CQ liked him). This was against CQ where defense comes first. Defense splitting passes regularly carved up our back line in that game.
I’m happy Algeria came to play motivated, pressed us very well, and did not make it easy for us. Both of their goals came off of defensive errors. Our goal came again, courtesy of ARJ, who is consistently proving himself to be a valuable member of the team, in spite of not being in club form. One goal here or there, makes the world of a difference in WC2022, and ARJ is scoring or assisting in almost every other international game for us.
Just like how our losses to Tunisia and Turkey before WC2018, were excellent teaching lessons for CQ to makes proper adjustments against our opener against Morocco, there MUST be more friendlies to help us. THEN, Skocic must make the proper adjustments. Or else, yes, it will be a repeat of our WC2006 performance.
But, Skocic’s gameplan was clear: no bezan ziresh tactics, be patient with build up play from the back. Hence, why so many sideway passes to the middle. However, against a good opponent like Algeria, who pressed us well, this is easier said than done. You need the proper spacing, with players who possess the skill and touch to play those deft posession based passes.
Noorafkhan should not play CB in the future, and Ghoddos’ clever passing and touch were sorely missed in many instances when our players needed someone to get them out of trouble.
Our team does play better when it’s not in posession, and wins the ball in the opponent’s half. This is a problem that has plagued TM many years, even during CQ’s era when facing good high pressing opponents.
I hope the coaching staff fully dissects this game, as well as future games, so we’re honed and ready in November.

Smart analysis. Keep it going, brother!

[NYCTeamMelli]

This is Skocic 3rd friendly game in a row in my eyes. He had SK which was a very solid friendly game in challenging environment vs solid opposition, a game for domestic guys at home to lebanon, and now a 3rd friendly against algeria. In all these games results were immaterial and good opportunity to test new players OR establish chemistry between main guys. Neither has occurred. Out of these 3 matches Allahyar should have at least started one, we should have seen much more minutes afforded to new CM options (not naemd nourollahi or sarlak, 2 players clearly not at the level required for international football) and something done about the highway emerging on the left side. None of these things happened. These 3 games presented a great chance to try the best performing domestic RB, Saleh Hardani, Not afforded the chance, not even for a minute.

We were missing key players vs SK in a similarly immaterial match at the end of WCQ, we ended up getting a very valiant 0-0 while being down to 10 men in hostile atmosphere. This in itself was a great prep for the team if during the WC we ever went down to 10 men (still had to have an organization and structure in place to lock down defensively). We played much more expansive game vs a strong algeria side bound for WC and won 2-1, in the process learning a great deal about the level of our 2nd RB option Ghafouri, and 2nd LB option Aghaei, while also trying out ansarifard in new midfield role (an idea that was discontinued during WC).

I think all I take away from today: Majid Hosseini must start going forward. The guy now proved even in worst situation he can deliver a solid performance and keep his composure. Impressed by him.

Majid Hosseini is a beast and a great find by CQ. I am with you 100% on this.

[Navid H]

I'm going to remind people we had the same criticisms and discussions when our National team played a bunch of S. African clubs and was unable to beat Orlando Pirate reserves...we thought then CQ and IFF wanted to keep their Fifa ranking in tact because of fears of losing. People called for CQ to be fired at that time. We seem to go through these cycles alot.
http://www.persianfootball.com/forum...329&viewfull=1
Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

Skocic may not be the manager we want but he is the manager that this country can retain and frankly he is the manager this fanbase deserves.

CQ was an abberation and WE chased him out. Butthurt PP fans, disgruntled players (go look at Shoja and Soroush interviews before AC19), national media, corrupt IR officials. All of those elements will remain in Iran, so we will naturally revert back to a coach who is at Skocic's standard.

Whether its due to incompetence, corrruption, or finances, this federation can't even reserve a stadium, organize a friendly, or lock down a shirt sponsor but you guys want a world class manager to walk through the door? You wanna pay Ancelloti in rials? Temper your expectations and be realistic.

Skocic was the 4th or 5th option even after Wilmots was fired. Golmohammadi rejected, Daei was banned, Sepahan didn't allow Ghalenoi. Skocic was literally one of the only remaining options for a bankrupt federation.

Now, despite all this, Skocic still led us to the World Cup and we are taking part in the greatest celebration in sport. There are almost 200 countries that would love to be in our position. So, understand that TM's ceiling has been and will always be at this level. Accept it for what it is, enjoy the ride, and enghad GHOR nazanin.

[Ahmad_DC]

A very discouraging display highlighting all of our deficiencies for our opponents to see. No pressing on defense and no running without the ball on offense. Taremi and Azmoun totally uninterested in working hard and not a single player on the team who can find time or space with the ball. Nice goal by JB. Abedzadeh looked awkward but he was correct in running out of the goal every time since our D line was so easy to punch through. Loss of Amiri was greatly felt as he is the only player who can dictate what he wants in possession and not simply toe the ball under pressure.

[orbicular]

Majid Hosseini & Omid Ebrahimi were good.
Omid Noorafkan, Gholizadeh, Nourallahi should not be starters. Noorafkan and Nourallahi shouldn't even make the team.

Hot temparatures, player rustiness and a pervasive sense of despair notwithstanding, today Iran lost the game because of two egregious errors that speak volumes about our lack of fundamental knowledge of defense as well as insufficient tactical preparation to compete at the elite level.

Algeria clearly had watched a lot of team Melli film clips. Their coaching staff had designed a coherent and well thought out tactical strategy, which was successfully implemented by its talented and capable students. They pressed the Iranian defense, continuously clogging the passing lanes, swarming the Iranian players, and relentlessly forcing them into making costly errors. (We should have actually lost 3-1, had a well-deserved penalty been awarded.)

But there are two nagging issues here:

Didn't Iran coaching staff learn about Algeria's strategy by watching some of their previous games? We were also woefully unprepared for the traps they kept setting, two of which resulted in absolute gifts because of our lack of adequate preparation and research.

My second question, and perhaps the more pertinent one, is this: Why are Iranian defenders of the recent decades, including some goalkeepers, prone to losing their poise and confidence at critical junctures, instead of cooly and confidently applying the fundamentals and basics of the game by clearing the ball away from the danger zone? (Maybe we should watch some of Kargarjam's sensational defensive plays of the 70s.)

Today we saw two shining exmaples of that major flaw. Our first goal resulted from a brilliant Algerian offensive trap forcing one of our players into making an il-advised play, a weak pass that was promptly intercepted by the opposing player and then easily converted into a goal. If a player is trapped and finds the passing lanes in a critical area too narrow, which causes him to feel nervous or unsettled, he should simply clear the danger by kicking the ball out, rather than telegraphing a pass into his own area and thus allowing the opponnent to score an easy goal.

In the second half, we saw the same amateurish mistake committed by Nouafkan. The Algerians set another trap, in the process unsettling Nourafkan and forcing him into making an error that was easily converted into another goal. (Here again, he lost his poise and made a play that could have been intended as a pass to a teammate or an attempt at clearing the ball, except that he had no specific target in mind and the effort wasn't forceful enough to clear the ball out of a dangerous area.)

Interestingly, during a WC game in 2007, Mirzapour, the Iranian goalkeeper, made a similar play against Mexico. In his haste to clear the ball, just as Nourafkan and the player before him had done today, he quickly kicked it towards the middle of the field. Unfortunatley for Iran, the clearance wasn't strong enough, and was effortlessly intercepted by a Mexican player who then easily converted it into a goal.

Why can't our players learn to embrace the most fundamental tenets of the game and, during critical periods of turmoil and nervousness, especially when their team is ahead or when the game's tied, simply kick the ball out so their defensive units can reset and regroup? Sadly, I believe this vulnarability is likely to persist. It's notable that, during Queiroz' tenure, this type of error was nearly nonextistant, as players had been taught to adopt the following motto: When unsure, take a conservative approach and simply opt for the safest play. That meant clogging the opponents' passing lanes while under pressure, and clearing the ball when relentlessly pressed by the predatory opponents. These were some of the lessons of that era that we clearly did not put into practice today. But are these transgressions likely to continue in the future as well?