Receive news, analysis, and other content straight to your inbox by subscribing to Football Palestine (free or paid), here.
The undoubted big dog of Group C is Team Melli. A side that legitimately ranks amongst Asia’s elite with three trophies to their name, 9/18 finals appearances have resulted in at least a semifinal finish, and on the world stage they have played at the World Cup finals on six separate occasions.
The current iteration of Iran might just be the most talented side it has fielded since the Golden Age of Iranian football in the 1970s. It has not been all smooth sailing though. Iran were heavy favorites to lift the title in 2019 but fell to Japan in the semifinal. That led to Carlos Queiroz stepping down from the post and a brief, but disastrous, stint with Marc Wilmots. The Belgian was sacked right before the outbreak of the Coronavirus Pandemic and it was left to Dragan Skocic to right the ship. The Croat did not last long and was replaced by Carlos Queiroz in the lead up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals.
Since then, the team has been in stasis relying on mostly the same veterans to deliver results. They have been up to the task having not lost in 12 matches- an entire calendar year.
Recent Results:
Manager: Amir Ghalenoi
A blast from the past. Long time followers of Asian Football will remember Ghalenoei from his first stint as Iran Manager. Sixteen years before his current stint started, Ghalenoei was appointed to the post in the aftermath of the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals. The former midfielder delivered results losing just once in 17 games (10W-6D-1L) but it was the way he played- particularly at the 2007 Asian Cup- that resulted in his eventual downfall.
Ghalenoei might be on the same trajectory for his second go-around with the national team. Thus far, he has produced results at an even more impressive clip. Nine wins and two draws in eleven matches belies the performance in the last competitive game Iran played.
Iran had sprung out to a 2-0 lead away to Uzbekistan but were pegged back in the second half. That draw raised the specter of doubt amongst fans who are not sure of Ghalenoei’s ability to react on the fly to an opponent’s tactical changes or to an injury as was the case in Tashkent in November.
Iran had dominated the first half but after Saman Ghoddos limped off in the 40th minute.
Iran are very much in win-now mode with a coach that knows he will need to win the tournament to be given any chance at guiding this team past June of 2024.
Style of Play:
Ghalenoei is not wedded to a system of play but to a methodology which can get the best players on the field at the same time. If healthy, expect Mehdi Taremi, Sardar Azmoun, Saman Ghoddos, AND Alireza Jahanbaksh on the pitch at the same time. To facilitate this, Iran is deployed in a 4-4-1-1 shape. Mehdi Taremi is expected to drop back and link up with the midfield while Saman Ghoddos takes on more defensive responsibilities than he did earlier in his career.
Squad:
Key Players:
If Ghalenoei wants to play his players all at once then the most important players are not the likes of Taremi or Azmoun but the midfielders. There is no other player that can link up with the forwards as well as Saman Ghoddos and for whatever reason, Iran seems to have not found a suitable replacement for Saeid Ezatolahi who is an automatic starter in spite of his lack of playing time in the Danish top flight.
The midfield is even more important when you consider the vulnerability of Iran in transition. If Iran can get that issue sorted then the team has the ability to go far and will be nearly impossible to beat in the group stage.
Final Take
If Iran fail to win this group it would be a major surprise. Iran has not lost a group stage game since 1992- when they lost to eventual champions Japan. Since then they have not lost a single group stage game and have only failed to top their group once- in 2004- when they were once again grouped with eventual champions Japan.
The Asian Cup for the elite teams only really kicks into gear at the quarterfinal stage and that will be the case for Iran. That said, this is a team- and a manager- badly in need of a good group stage to keep the fans on board.
