Iran eager to bounce back against Guam

Persianfootball.com – TEHRAN, Anything less than three points against the clear underdogs Guam in World Cup qualifying in Tehran’s Azadi stadium on Thursday would be a huge disappointment for Carlos Queiroz’s Iran.

Team Melli are seeking their fifth World Cup appearance, but began their campaign poorly with a 1-1 draw in Turkmenistan in June.

Guam in Tehran seem the right opponent in the right place at first glance, but the times in which the Asian giants could route their opposition 19-0 to set a back-then world record are lying way in the past.

In fact, Guam lead the table after two matches and as many wins, and send a quality team to Iran’s capital that, should Iran give less than 100% throughout the match, at least repeat what Turkmenistan achieved three months ago.

Iran are missing several key players due to injury or lack of match praxis, but still will be able to field a team barely another Asian team can match on paper.

In absence of Mehrdad Pouladi, Reza Ghoochannejhad, Masoud Shojaei, Karim Ansarifard, Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Soroush Rafiei, Queiroz will have to improvise on some positions, but still has two quality options available for each spot.

A key question will be who will support sole striker Sardar Azmoun in a slightly deeper role. Ashkan Dejagah could be moved there from his right wing position, but also upcoming Persepolis star striker Mehdi Taremi would be an option.

Another question mark is central defense, where veterans Jalal Hosseini (33) and Pejman Montazeri (31) are challenged by Hossein Kanaani (21) and Morteza Pouraliganji (23).

Either way, no less than three points are expected from Iran before the team will head to India for the game on Tuesday.

Iran’s possible lineup: Haghighi – Ghafouri, Montazeri, Hosseini, Hajsafi – Teymourian – Dejagah, Ebrahimi, Taremi, Amiri – Azmoun