Iran – Portugal preview: Balancing act for Iran against Ronaldo led Portugal

Persianfootball.com – SARANSK, Iran will have to find the right mix of their usual defensively stable game and a much needed attacking approach when they face Portugal in the final group match on Monday evening.

On one hand, Iran will have to continue their deep defending, low risk taking approach to somehow stop the overwhelming attack of Portugal, led by the almost unstoppable Cristiano Ronaldo. On the other, Iran need to win to reach the World Cup knockout stage for the first time ever, and therefore might be thinking about repeating the more offensive approach taken after falling behind against Spain on Wednesday.

Knowing current Iran and former Portugal boss Carlos Queiroz, Iran will start with the usual safety first approach and little points to any changes to the lineup that had successfully done so against Spain.

While Ehsan Hajsafi apparently recovered from the injury sustained in the last game, Iran’s arguably best player Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who surprisingly was kept on the bench for 74 minutes, is a strong candidate to return to the starting lineup. However, both wingers Vahid Amiri and Mehdi Taremi had a splendid performance against the European giants, making this another tough call for Queiroz.

Little doubts should arise over the presence of Majid Hosseini in central defense and Omid Ebrahimi in midfield. Both players did a splendid job so far and will almost certainly start.

Also Portugal have little reason the change their lineup from the previous match. Maybe coach Fernando Santos might be tempted to bring striker Andre Silva in for some more presence inside the crowded Iran box. But also the Portugal manager has previously shown that sparkling offensive football isn’t quite his DNA, making a more defensively solid approach for a game he hasn’t have to win by all means more likely.

The good performances and results as well as the high confidence make a sensational Iran win more likely than anyone would have ever expected. However, Iran will somehow have to overcome the curse of the last group game, which has been their weakest in all previous World Cup apperances.

Iran – Portugal
World Cup 2018, group B, matchday 3, Saransk

Possible lineups:

Iran: Beiranvand – Rezaeian, Pouraliganji, Hosseini, Hajsafi – Ebrahimi, Ezatollahi, Ansarifard – Jahanbakhsh/Taremi, Azmoun, Amiri

Portugal: Patricio – Cedric, Pepe, Fonte, Guerrero – William, Moutinho – Silva, Guedes, Mario – Ronaldo