Team Melli defeated Qatar 2-0 in Azadi stadium in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualification rounds. Two goals from Reza Ghoochannejad and Alireza Jahanbaksh in the added times of the match , ensured Iran grabs all the 3 points and heads the group on goal difference.
In a tightly balanced match , the players of both teams failed to break open each others defences and at the end of the match they seemed to be content with a draw. Qatar would have been the much happier side with one point. However , a sudden turn of events, a momentary lack of concentration turned things around.
When the referee announced a 6 minutes added time , it was ominous for the Qataris. Their usual or in fact, classical time wasting and faking injury bounced back against them.
A serious blunder by Qatar goalkeeper Amine Lecomte-Addani in the 94th minute when he gifted Ansarifard with a ball which the Iranian Forward subsequently lost from a tackle by Qatar defender , the ball conveniently reached Reza Ghoochannejad lurking to the left and the sub forward finished in style for the Azadi to explode in celebration.
The match was stopped for 5 minutes after the goal when the Qatari bench players entered the pitch followed by the Iranian bench. Following a pandemonium and eventually when sanity prevailed , the excellent Sri Lankan referee whistled for re-start and the goal stood. One minute after re-start of the game , Ando Teymourian sent a delightful ball to Alireza Jahanbaksh on the right flank. The winger dribbled past two defenders before sending his shot to the extreme right of the hapless Qatar keeper to score Iran’s second with this killer punch.
The match was never easy for Iran against a solid and highly organized defense.
Qatar proved to be a tough opponent for Team Melli as the Persian Gulf nation managed to frustrate the host from the first half. It was balanced half with both teams having chances to score but the finishings left a lot to be desired
Team Melli midfield despite the good performance by Dejagah and Ezatollahie , could not influence the match nor properly feed the two forwards Azmoun and Taremi. The few good balls sent by the duo were all wasted due to the poor finishing and some wayward shots into goal from. Jahanbakhsh was a shadow of himself on the right flank , which did not help the team while the left flank saw the better side of the team with Dejagah and supported by the excellent Hajsafy.
The defense of Team Melli was solid however the temperament Jalal Hosseini is worrying , while the slowness of Montazeri was telling. Hosseini would easily get frustrated, and despite being the oldest and most senior players , he was far from exemplary in his actions. Ramin Rezaeian, who incidentally has not played a single league match this season and is club-less, was awfully short of form and perhaps the worst player of the half along with Taremi
speaking of temperaments, the match threatened to boil over near the end of the half as Qatar frustrated team Mell, while the Iranian players took their frustration in form of protesting or committing uncalled for silly fouls.
Hassan Al Haydoos , the Qatari winger gave Iran defense some real test and was quite a handful.
Not much changed in the second half except that Team Melli were getting more frustrated , playing in haste and in angry mood. Qatar players were content in wasting time, hitting Iran on the counter and closing their defense by packing the midfield and inside the box.
Perhaps it was a heartbreak for Qatar , but they only have themselves to blame for loss of concentration
This was the most precious three points that Team Melli has gained in many years. A real releif for Carlos Queiroz and 80,000 fans in Azadi.
