Coach: Reza VATANKHAH
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Team Melli line consisted of the strongest and most reliable for the battle against the host Thailand in Bangkok packed stadium. From the start , Team Melli took control od the play and guided by creative midfield plays of Sirous Ghayeghran and powerful offensive moves on the right flank by Javad Zarincheh and Majeed Namjoo-Mutlagh while on the left similar powerful moves by Mojtaba Moharrami and Ansarifar , the Thai players found themselves desperately defending their goal against the Iranian onslaught.
It did not take long for Team Melli to get what they needed after the intense pressure. In the 12th minute of the match, a smart move by Zarincheh followed by a neat cross reached Karim Bavi who met the ball in the air and made no mistake from his header scoring the first goal for Iran.
16 minutes later , another series of creative moves in the midfield by Iran ended with the ball reaching Kermani-Moghaddam’s who back heeled the ball to Gahayeghran. The Captain released a thunderous and unstoppable shot right into the Thai goal to double the score for Team Melli.
In the second half , Team Melli eased up the pressure and mainly elected to control the game’s rhythm , although flexing their muscle on occasions but without yielding result. The Thai team just could not penetrate the Iranian defenses and despite being 2 goals down, they were too shy to go forward fearing fast counter attacks by Team Melli players and an embarrassing score line. The stalemate of the second half was broken 3 minutes before the end , when young Mohsen Garousi scored Iran’s third after an assist from Namjo-Motlagh to seal a comfortable victory for Iran. |