Iran can reach the semi-finals of the 2016 FIFA World Cup if they manage to beat Paraguay on Saturday.

After the heroic and stylish performance against World Champions and main title contender Brazil, Team Melli is oozing with confidence. Paraguay is the hurdle between Iran and the first appearance in semi final since 1992. 

Futsal Team Melli played the south American team of Paraguay 5 times. All of the matches, bar the first one in Hong Kong during the first participation of Iran in the World Cup , were in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Team Melli is a regular invitee for the tournament.

 

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS:

Team Melli started the tournament with a very tough match against Spain. Despite the 5-1 loss to the European champions, the match was far from one-sided and definitely did not reflect the reality in terms of possession and goal attempts. The shock defeat was a catalyst in Iran’s revival in the next match where they comfortably defeated the African champions Morocco 5-3. In that match, some individual errors cost Iran dearly. Similar errors were repeated in the match against Azerbaijan where Team Melli needed to win to ensure a second place in the table and avoiding Brazil in the next round. It was not to be as Azerbaijan proved a tough nut to crack and the match ended in a draw 3-3 allowing the Azeri national team to clinch the second place in the group.

There are many individual winners in Team Melli with skills to match the best in the world. Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh , Alireza Samimi and Hossein Tayebi are amongst the best in the world, however the team really shines when it gets into gear as a unit. Quick passes, excellent runs and individual skills to dribble past opponents have been the hallmark of Team Melli. The shortcoming is in the occasional lapse of concentration by defenders that nearly cost Iran elimination from the World Cup. It is this area that concerns  Nazemalsharieh the most as evident from the time-out talks he gave his players in the last match. Defenders must not lose focus in front of their own goal,

Against , Paraguay, Iran will find it tough. Strong offensive force and an excellent goalkeeper is the main strength of the South American team.  Pace and quick counter is one way of upsetting Paraguay , and Iran has a plenty of that.

4 wins out of 5 is a proud record against this ever improving team which has just knocked out the host Colombia in the last round in a penalty shoot-out.

Past records

No.	Date	competition	Team	Team 2	Goals	Goals	Venue
1	7-Sep-15	Grand Prix 2015	Iran	Paraguay	2	0	Uberaba / Minas Gerais (BRA)
2	27-Oct-13	Grand Prix 2013	Paraguay	Iran	2	6	Maringá (BRA)
3	23-Oct-10	Grand Prix 2010	Paraguay	Iran	3	3	Lages (BRA)
4	20-Oct-07	Grand Prix 2007	Iran	Paraguay	6	4	Anápolis (BRA)
5	20-Nov-92	World Cup	Iran	Paraguay	10	6	Hong Kong

 

Statistics

P	W	D	L	GF	GA
5	4	1	0	27	15

 

 

Team PARAGUAY

 

Strengths and styles
Paraguay coach and two-time world finalist Carlos Chilavert has created a side in his own image: organised, balanced and combative but attack-minded with it. Led by the experienced Fabio Alcaraz and Rene Villalba, both of whom have three world finals competitions under their belts, La Albirroja have significant firepower up front in the shape of Thailand 2012 veteran Juan Salas and Richard Rejala, one of the new men to figure in a revamped squad. One of Paraguay’s strongest suits is their steely character, which saw them through some awkward moments in the qualifiers.

FIFA Futsal World Cup record
Colombia 2016 will be Paraguay’s fourth consecutive world finals appearance and their sixth in all, a record that is the third best in South America behind ever-presents Brazil and Argentina. Their only absences to date came at Spain 1996 and Guatemala 2000, while their best performance was sixth at Netherlands 1989, the inaugural Futsal World Cup. The Paraguayans reached the last 16 at Thailand 2012, where they lost to Portugal and finished 12th. 

Star Performer : Substitute goalkeeper Carlos Espinola