Coaches:
Saudi Arabia: Bill McGary (ENG)
Iran: Heshmat Mohajerani (IRN)
Team Melli played its first game in the World Cup 1978 qualifiers with minimal of preparation as the result with only a few days left for the match , a training camp was set in the city of Ahvaz to acclimatize the players to the warm weather of Riyadh.
Iran has denied the services of three main players . Bijan Zolfagharnasab - Parviz Ghleechkhani(c) and Nasrollah Abdollahi were all injured. The fatigue factor with takhte Jamshid league in full swing was also a concern fro the team in Riyadh , however all those were found to be of little effect on the performance and the impressive result of Team melli.
Despite the valuable results , there were several areas of the team performance which has worried the critics. The defense was especially vulnerable, with the young Saudi team hitting the woodwork twice.
The hosts were not successful in scoring during the 90 minutes despite the gaps in Iran's defense.
The star of the match was Gholamhossein Mazloomi who scored two goals and provided the assist for the third for his teammate Hassan Rowshan.
In the end ,it was quite a comfortable win for Iran against Saudi Arabia, who could not match Team Melli players despite the depleted side. |