Tag: Marcello Lippi

Team Melli vs China: players rating and performance review.

It was yet , another majestic display by Team Melli under the guidance of Carlos Queiroz. against China. Team Melli has not only enhanced its reputation as a team that can play modern and beautiful football, it also laid a solid claim and are the Chief contender for the title of AFC Asian Cup 2019.

Yet, neither Queiroz nor any of his players are talking beyond the next match. It is a wise and measured move but it does not mask the fact that from what we have seen in the last two weeks, Iran is the best team that has dominated its opposition and won matches deservedly on merit and perhaps with a class above the rest.

China was well beaten by Team Melli and much credits should go for one player, Sardar Azmoun. The Ruben Kazan forward was on a mission and he succeeded by mixture of strength, skill and determination. The Chinese defense, in truth, had a big role in the defeat of their team with some poor defending and suspect decision making.

China, however, was not a minnow team and did not lack the skills required at such level of football. They are guided by one of the world best and famous coaches in Marcello Lippi. A world Cup winner and a coach who has a trail of trophies behind him. Queiroz, on the other hand, out foxed the master in every department and his team came out a clear winner.

Queiroz has masterfully rotated the team for this tournament. He is the envy of the rest of the teams in UAE because he is spoiled for choices in every department. The absence of Vahid Amiri was not even felt. Hopefully , the same will be true against Japan when Mehdi Taremi will be missing due to his suspension.

Team Melli dominated the center and at times defended deep. their teamwork was a delight to watch. On my occasions, the series of short and fast passes interchanged between the players intimidated the Chinese who were chasing shadows. Despite the fact that most of the goals came either from long balls or route one followed by a Chinese defense blunder, that doe not hide the fact that Iran was the better team in all departments.

To be able to take advantage of the opposition mistakes , you need the quality player to do that. Team Melli had the right quality to punish mistakes by opposition defenders.

If there were some negative points, they were the same ones that were mentioned in other matches too and that is the wastefulness of the forwards, particularly Mehdi Taremi. It is very difficult to criticize a player who scored one goal and provided an assist for another, but Taremi was really appalling when he missed an open goal from a few meters after the ball was given to him on a plate by a perfect header from Kanani-Zadegan. It was a shocking miss!

Overall, it was an emphatic win in the quarter final of the AFC Asian Cup. Now……Bring on Japan.

PLAYERS RATING

  • Alireza Beiranvand (7.5): Hardly tested but when required he did his job perfectly.
  • Milad Mohammadi (7.5):  Routine day, defensive work was excellent, however, limited venturing forward to neutralize possible opposition fast breaks.
  • Morteza Pouraliganji (8): Another solid performance. His strong tackling and marking left very little space for the Chinese forwards.
  • Ramin Rezaeian (6.5): Improving with every match despite the fact that Queiroz wise squad rotation is not giving Rezaeian regular starting place.
  • Hossein Kanani-Zadegan (7.5): Only his second start of the tournament, however, he was as good as any of the regular players. When called upon for offensive work on corners, he nearly assisted in a goal but for Taremi’s profligate finishing from close range.
  • Omid Ebrahimi (7.5): Another solid exhibition of sheer power and tenacity. His defensive duties were executed perfectly. Strong and reliable as a holding midfileder. Tireless runner with great stamina.
  • Ashkan Dejagah (8): Continued where he left off. His vision, ability to find players on flanks and timely dribbling made a big impact on the game. Although he did not assist in the goals, his domination of the center of the park was excellent.  
  • Alireza Jahanbaksh (7.5): Continues his recovery and put up a good shift against China. Substituted in the second half.
  • Ehsan Hajsafy (7): Had a quiet game in the midfield zone. Nearly scored from a long range shot from outside the box, but the Chinese keeper saved it with full stretch.
  • Mahdi Taremi (7.5): Scored a goal and provided an assist for the third, however, he is still clumsy and wasteful. A player in his class should not miss an open goal, and that reckless challenge on a Chinese player cost him a yellow card and a suspension. Many rough edges to his game.
  • Sardar Azmoun (10): The best of the lot. A really great performance by Sardar capped with an assist and a goal. He was on turbo mode today running at the Chinese defense and creating havoc. He could have score more goals too.

 

Substitutes 

  1. Saman Ghoddos (7): Proving his quality every time he comes on. He does need to have more playing time to reach the peak of his performance and improve his teamwork.
  2. Roozbeh Cheshmi (7): Had a decent game and stuck to the script.
  3. Karim Ansarifard (8): In his short spell on the field, he scored a beautiful goal which proves that he can be a clinical finisher. He needs to deliver more frequently to dislodge Taremi.

 

China 0 Iran 3: Azmoun punishes the Chinese defense.

Team Melli produced an impeccable performance in Abu Dhabi today to defeat China in the quarter finals of the AFC Asian Cup 2019. It was a real statement of intent by Queiroz’s men as Iran progressed into the last four with this commanding 3-0 quarter-final win over China PR.

Sardar Azmoun, who was the man of the match, scored one and set up another in the first half. While substitute striker, Karim Ansarifard sealed the win with late strike in the second half to set up a clash of giants against Japan in the semi-final next Monday.

Marcello Lippi has been tipped to bring his time as China coach to an end after this tournament and his side crashed out with a whimper, all three goals being scored following defensive lapses.

Azmoun celebrates

China failed to heed the warning after surviving an early scare when Azmoun’s header was cleared in front of goal by Zheng Zhi, the striker capitalizing after Feng Xiaoting let a long ball bounce to tee up Taremi for a simple finish –  his third goal in as many matches at Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium.

Taremi was denied a strong penalty appeal for a trip by Zhang Chengdong and missed a sitter from three yards, but Iran extended their lead in the 31st minute.

Azmoun profited from yet more sloppy defending by racing in behind and rounding Yan Junling, the goal allowed to stand following a brief VAR check for a potential foul on Liu Yiming.

Lippi has not been afraid to tinker with his formation during matches but his reversion to a midfield diamond did not have the desired effect.

Iran sealed the three-goal win late on through Ansarifard, who made the most of a gift from Shi Ke to slot home from Taremi’s through ball five minutes after replacing Azmoun.

While the result spells the end of the road for the Chinese, Iran remains in with a chance of claiming their first Asian Cup crown since 1976. Based on the dominant manner in which the Iranians claimed the victory against China, they might even be heading into that tie at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium as favorites.

Immaculate display of attacking prowess

It did not take them long to assert their authority on Thursday and they threatened as early as the fourth minute, when Alireza Jahanbakhsh played a teasing first-time ball across the face of goal that was just too far for Azmoun to reach.

Two minutes later, China had an opening of their own with Hao Junmin breaking through down the right and playing in a cross that would have spelt a certain goal for Wu Lei, only for Ramin Rezaeian to halt the threat with an amazing recovery challenge.

Azmoun threatened again in the 10th minute when he was left unmarked at the back post at a corner and would have opened the scoring with a free header if not for Zheng Zhi being alert to the danger and clearing just before the line, but there was to be no denying Iran eight minutes after.

There looked to be no real danger when the Iranian defence played a long ball over the top but Feng Xiaoting’s hesitation saw him recklessly lose possession to Azmoun, who did well to unselfishly square a pass to hand Taremi with a simple finish.

The Al Gharafa star should have doubled his and his side’s tally in the 26th minute from a similar position when he was left with a sitter after being picked out by Hossein Kanaanizadegan’s flick-on from Ashkan Dejagah’s freekick, only to fire wide with the entire goal gaping.

By now, China’s 2006 FIFA World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi had seen enough and was motivated to make two substitutions even before the half-hour mark, but it still seemed only a matter of time before the Iranians’ supremacy reaped a second goal.

That duly arrived a minute after the half-hour mark and – this time – it was Liu Yiming who was the culprit despite being the favourite to make an interception, allowing Azmoun to nip in and win possession and casually take the ball past Yan before slotting into the unguarded net.

With a two-goal advantage now in their grasp, Team Melli were never in danger relinquishing control of the contest in the second half, and even had further chances to add to their tally which would have certainly but the result beyond doubt, although they were never really threatened by a lacklusture Chinese outfit.

And, in the first minute of injury-time, they finally added the gloss on an emphatic victory after profiting from another China error; Shi Ke’s poor touch handing possession straight to Taremi, who immediately threaded a ball through for substitute Ansarifard to latch onto and finish into the bottom corner.

 

IRAN: Alireza Beiranvand, Ramin Rezaeian, Morteza Pouraliganji, Hossein Kanaanizadegan, Milad Mohammadi, Omid Ebrahimi, Ehsan Hajsafi, Ashkan Dejagah (Rouzbeh Cheshmi 76’), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Saman Ghoddos 68’), Mehdi Taremi, Sardar Azmoun (Karim Ansarifard 86’).

 

CHINA PR: Yan Junling, Liu Yiming, Feng Xiaoting (Xiao Zhi 28’), Shi Ke, Zhang Chengdong, Hao Junmin, Zheng Zhi, Wu Xi (Zhao Xuri 25’), Liu Yang, Wu Lei (Yu Dabao 75’), Gao Lin.

Lippi ” China need ‘more focus’ ahead of Iran Asian Cup quarter-final clash”

Marcello Lippi said China need to learn how to focus for an entire game ahead of their crunch Asian Cup quarter-final with Iran, the biggest – and possibly last – game of his tenure.

The Italian World Cup-winning coach hailed his players after they overcame Thailand 2-1 to reach the last-eight, saying they had proved they were among the best in Asia.

But Lippi, 70, said China still had a habit of drifting in and out of games after another Jekyll-and-Hyde performance in which they trailed 1-0 midway through the second half.

“Chinese players have to improve psychologically,” said Lippi, who is expected to leave China after the Asian Cup following two and a half years at the helm.

“Sometimes they need to be much more focused and concentrated and pay more attention during the game. It’s a psychological thing. It’s very important to have the same intensity, the same determination from the beginning of the game.”

China were under the cosh against Thailand on Sunday until Lippi switched his formation at half-time, turning the tables as they swamped the Thais for much of the second period.

But Iran, Asia’s top-ranked team, will provide a much stiffer test and the expectation is that after Thursday’s game in Abu Dhabi, China will be packing their bags.

Lippi already appeared to be defending his record when he volunteered statistics that in his 10 competitive matches, China have won six and lost only two, to Iran and South Korea.

“That means I have to be very proud of my players,” he said, adding: “I’m very satisfied because this team is getting great results and we’re in the quarter-finals, which means we’re one of the top eight Asian teams.”

Reaching the quarters matches China’s performance of 2015, when the Asian Cup had only 16 teams rather than 24. China have never won the trophy in 11 previous attempts.

However, Lippi also sounded the alarm for future Chinese teams after fielding an ageing line-up including four starters in their thirties, and only one younger than 26.

Captain Zheng Zhi, widely expected to quit the national set-up after the Asian Cup, remains a vital cog at 38, while goal-scorers Xiao Zhi and Gao Lin are 33 and 32 respectively.

“I can say this is a problem for the future of the Chinese team,” Lippi said. “Because if the best players are always (in their thirties) it means that right behind them there aren’t any young players coming up.”

Iran 1-0 China : Another firm step towards the World Cup 2018

Team Melli defeated China 1-0 in the seventh round of the FIFA World Cup 2018 Asian zone qualifiers to cement its lead on group A. Iran now leads the group with 17 points , four ahead of closest rival Korea Republic with 3 rounds to go.

The match was played in front of capacity crowd estimated to be over 110,000 fans played early in the afternoon, The doors of the stadium had to be closed early as the fans were still flocking in with the stadium already full.

China which defeated Korea in the last round , was hoping to repeat the same against Iran to have any chance of reaching the World Cup for only its second time in history. A large number of Chinese fans all wearing red , were in Azadi;s special guests section cheering their team. Marcello Lippi has successfully led the Chinese in the last two matches.

Taremi celebrates

The first half :

Queiroz made 3 changes in the line up from the Qatar match including Ghoochannejad replacing Azmoun in forward line, while Shojae replaced Hajsafy. TM did not waste much time going forward as Ghoochannejad shot powerfully in the 6th minute for the Chinese keeper Zeng Cheng to parry over the bar for corner.

Following a series of slick passing moves in the 20th minute, Jahanbakhsh fired a shot that just shaved the bar

Next serious threat on Chinese goal was on minute 35 where Taremi’s shot was saved by the outstretched legs of Zeng Cheng.

Team Melli continued its assault on China’s goal and should have scored a minute later after another set of passes following quick interchange of positions. Masoud Shojaei, the captain of the team, sent a measured ball to the fast advancing Milad Mohammadi on the left flank. The Grozny player controlled the ball nicely, passed his marker and was one on one with Zeng Cheng. However, with the angle closing and becoming acute , Mohammadi shot was met by the excellent Chinese custodian, and sent to the corner.

Reza Ghoochannejad vs China WCQ 2018

5 minutes later , another marvelous passing game, this time from the right resulted in Ghafoori sending an inch perfect pass to Shojaei. The Captain shot cleanly but once again Zeng Cheng saved China’s blushes. The ensuing corner saw Taremi’s scissor kick marginally missing target.

The first half ended goal-less.

It only took 30 seconds in the second half for Iran to take the lead. After a series of shamble clearances by the Chinese defense, Taremi found the ball at his feet inside the six yards box. His halfhearted lefty shot beat the wrong footed  Zeng Cheng and finally passed the goal line.

It was much deserved and long waited goal for Team Melli.

China on the other hand, showed very little initiative and ambition. Only late in the second half that the Chinese really pressed hard to score an equalizer , which incidentally would not have made a big difference in their chances.

Iran now awaits the crucial encounter at Azadi with Uzbekistan. A win, will guarantee Iran early qualification.