Preview

This is the second meeting in the double-header within a week between the two big guns in this qualification group, and China had the upper hand on Iran after having defeated them by two goals to nil in Shenyang. With just the group winners advancing through to the second phase of the World Cup qualification, Iran were desperately in need of not just a win today, but to win comprehensively. The Chinese could probably afford to lose, even if it meant that they would be two points behind the Iranians in the table, as they had a home fixture against the group’s bottom team to negotiate the following week. Iran needed to boost their goal difference, so an emphatic win was in demand, although ultimately even that might not prove to be sufficient. 

Pos	Team	Pl	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
1	China	4	4	0	0	9	0	8
2	Iran	5	4	0	1	9	3	8
3	Bangladesh	6	1	0	5	4	9	2
4	Thailand	5	1	0	4	2	12	2

China had struck twice late on last week to defeat Iran, and were now favourites to sneak through to the next phase of the qualification. They had participated in the football tournament at the 1988 Olympic Games in South Korea, and though they ultimately finished last in their group without scoring a goal in three appearances, their participation would have served them well and provided inspiration for this World Cup qualification. Iran, who had last taken part on the footballing world’s biggest stage at Argentina ’78, were a formidable opponent, and especially in a packed Azadi Stadium, where around 90,000 spectators had gathered in hope of a win that left them with a hope of making it through to the final stage of the qualification. 

Realistically, only a win with the margin of three goals or more would see Iran with a chance to progress, as Thailand were unlikely to prove much of an obstacle for China the following week. 

The majority of the Chinese team had featured at Seoul ’88, when indeed manager Gao Fengwen had also been in charge. For example, in China’s first outing in the Olympics, ten of the players who started against West Germany also started here in Tehran. As for Iran, they had earlier in the summer replaced head coach Reza Vatankhah with Mehdi Monajati, who has been in charge since after the 1-0 home win against Bangladesh. 

Since the clash in China, Iran have made three changes to their starting eleven, with full-back Mohammad Taqhavi, defender Mohammad Kakhpour and striker Karim Bavi all giving way, and coming into the side were Javad Zarincheh, Mohammad Ansarifard and Mohsen Garousi. As for today’s Chinese visitors, they had made a solitary change to their line-up, with Liu Haiguang coming in for Wang Baoshan. 

Iran (4-3-3)

Player	Notes	Age	Club
1 Ahmed Abedzadeh		23
2 Javad Zarincheh	sub 24′	22
4 Reza Hassanzadeh		24
5 Morteza Fonounizadeh		28
6 Mehdi Abtahi		26
7 Majeed Namjoomutlagh		22
8 Mohammad Hassan Ansarifard		27
11 Farshad Pious (c)		26
12 Seyed Ali Eftekhari		25
13 Morteza Kermani-Moghaddam		24
15 Mohsen Garousi	sub 83′	20

Substitutes
10 Karim Bavi	on 83′	24
16 Fariborz Moradi	on 24′	25

Manager: Mehdi Monajati

China (4-4-1-1)

Player	Notes	Age	Club
20 Zhang Huikang		27
2 Zhu Bo		28
3 Gao Sheng	10′	27
4 Guo Yijun		25
5 Jia Xiuquan (c)		25
8 Tang Yaodong	sub 58′	27
9 Liu Haiguang		26
10 Ma Lin	sub 80′	26
15 Zhang Xiaowen		25
17 Mai Chao		25
18 Duan Ju		25

Substitutes
6 Wu Qunli	on 58′	29
14 Tu Shengqiao	on 80′	20

Manager: Gao Fengwen

Tactical line-ups

Match report

First half: 

On this occasion we have a total of just over 49 minutes of footage, which is divided into identical playing time for both halves. 

Needles to say the atmosphere inside the vast Azadi Stadium is electric by the time of kick-off. While the attendance figure is typically quoted as 90,000 for this match, there are still patches high up in the stands where there’s hardly any spectators. The capacity at the time could well have been close to 120,000. For the opposite encounter the previous weekend, only around 25,000 were said to have been present in Shenyang. The visitors get the game going, and they seem to wish to go about frustrating their opponents early on. It is just as massive a game for them, as they’ll want to keep the scoring as low as possible. 

The initial phase follows a pattern which would have been expected, with the visitors sitting deep and inviting the Iranians on to them, although with a number of technically adept players within their ranks, the Chinese would not be foreign to keeping possession and playing their way out and across the halfway line, unfazed by the not too organized pressure from the home side’s players. They looked a tight-knit, composed unit defensively, and it would take Iran the opening minutes to try and find out ways of how to unlock this defence which had yet to concede in the qualification hitherto. They produce a shot from left-back Abtahi with his right foot just over the bar some six-seven minutes into the proceedings. 

In the wake of the shot over, the hosts look to switch off as the Chinese mount an attack from the back, again playing their way out of defence in a controlled manner, making use of a number of players as they make forward progress along the left hand channel. Eventually the ball finds its way to Ma Lin, who appears to be playing slightly ahead of the midfield four, and from a position to the left just inside the area he plays in his striker Liu Haiguang, who arrives to the ball ahead of his marker Fonounizadeh, and with the outside of his right boot he flicks the ball onto the outside of the post to give Iran a reminder that the Chinese are indeed not to be taken lightly. 

There is a yellow card on ten minutes as Gao Sheng expertly takes out Abtahi as the Iranian left-back wishes to quickly transport forward to try and catch the visitors off-guard after China themselves had kept possession with several passes inside the hosts’ half of the pitch. The game’s brilliant young Syrian referee Jamal Al Sharif, aged 35, who had run the rule over two matches at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Hungary v Canada and England v Paraguay, would tolerate no fuss, and immediately showed the Chinese central defender a deserved card for unsporting behaviour. 

On what is in earnest their first purposeful approach, the home side take the lead. Right-winger Kermani-Moghaddam had initially caused some stir along his flank, and when the ball was crossed into the centre by right-back Zarincheh, Garousi ought to have scored when he prodded the ball goalwards from close range after Pious’ header down, but ‘keeper Huikang, on his birthday, saved with his legs. China couldn’t clear their lines properly, and when the ball found its way to Abtahi outside the area, the left-back struck it back into the mix with what was a partially failed shot, and with Haikung stuck on his goalline, he had no chance when Garousi got a touch from close range to Abtahi’s effort. On 14 minutes, it was something of a dream start for the hosts. 

No sooner than having scored, it gets even better for Iran as they increase their lead only a couple of minutes later. Left-back Abtahi had been very instrumental in the opening quarter of an hour, and when he decides to go on a run deep into Chinese territory, he’s unceremoniously brought down by right-sided midfielder Bo. There doesn’t look to be too much of a threat from 27-28 yards out, somewhat to the left of goal, but when central midfielder Seyed Ali Eftekhari steps up and curls his effort over the Chinese wall (…) and high into the left corner, the stadium erupts as Iran have built a stunning two goal lead so early on. There’s not many inside the Azadi Stadium now who doesn’t believe that Iran can go on and win as comprehensively as they need to have a chance to progress to the final phase of the qualification. 

The Chinese team

To their credit, the visitors don’t lose faith in their principles, and with manager Gao Fengwen being a stout believer in possession orientated football, they continue to keep the ball within their team, playing through midfield as they search for ways back into the game. However, that early threat which had hit the outside of the post apart, they struggled to make serious inroads against the Iranian defence during the opening half. 

They had four players across the back, with skipper Jia Xiuquan operating as right-back, at times tucking in and being lent a hand defensively by right-sided midfield man Zhu Bo, while the booked stopper Gao Sheng keeps an eye on the more central among Iran’s three forwards. Behind him operates Guo Yijun as something of a spare man in defence, while Zhang Xiaowen is the left-back with some license to move forward. He appears to do so with more freedom than Xiuquan on the right. 

While Bo is clearly a right-sided midfielder, there is a more fleeting role along their left hand side, where Duan Ju is originally positioned, but the #18 also comes in field to participate against the three man strong Iranian central midfield. Tang Yaodong is the more defensive of the pair in the centre, and he’s certainly not without qualities on the ball, while there’s a more roaming role for #17 Mai Chao, who lends a favourable impression with his playmaking abilities. It is he rather than Ma Lin, who seems to be working as a second striker behind Liu Haiguang, who tends to dictate their play. Altogether, they’re a team of qualified individuals, and they would appear to be a good fit in the kind of plot prefered by the manager. 

On a sidenote, both captain Xiuquan and striker Haiguang had featured in the Yugoslav league for Partizan Belgrade from ’87 to ’89. 

Iran

While we have the first 22 minutes or so available to us in full, the final moments prior to the referee calling an end to the first half see the visitors dominate play and pin the hosts back. It doesn’t lead to any dangerous moments in front of goalkeeper Ahmed Abedzadeh, though, as the teams leave the pitch for half time with Iran two goals to the good, something which also sees them go top of the qualification table: 

1. Iran 6 5 0 1 11-3 10
2. China 5 4 0 1 9-2 8

However, as we know, China have Thailand at home a week later, and if it stays like this, will need a two goal win to proceed to the next stage. 

Like their Chinese counterparts, the Iranians also operate with a spare man in defence in the shape of Reza Hassanzadeh, who sits behind his man-marking central defensive compatriot Morteza Fonounizadeh, who has an impressive frame. He’s so far contained China’s lone striker well, albeit with a blip early on as Haiguang flicked the ball against the upright. At right-back Javad Zarincheh had started, but during the first half he’s been replaced by Fariborz Moradi. There is no pictures showing us what led to Zarincheh leaving the pitch. He had contributed coming forward, but opposed to left-back Abtahi, Zarincheh had rather provided an option along his flank rather than transporting, as was clearly one of Abtahi’s strengths. 

Their holding midfielder was scorer of their second goal Seyed Ali Eftekhari. The Iran #12 sat deep behind #7 Majeed Namjoomutlagh, who in his roving role to Eftekhari’s advanced right was the closest the hosts got to a playmaker in their set-up. Namjoomutlagh was skillful in possession, and would drive forward ball at feet along the right hand channel, preferably engaging with one of the three forwards. Mohammed Hassan Ansarifard in the third midfield position more lent the impression of someone stabilizing whenever left-back Abtahi strode forward. 

The captain of the team on this occasion was the player operating through the centre among their three forwards, namely Farshad Pious. He hadn’t come all that much into play as shown through our footage, but he seemed to be capably handled by China’s man-marking centre-back Sheng. Along the right Morteza Kermani-Moghaddam was a tricky customer, while Mohsen Garousi, whose original position was wide left, would seem more keen to come inside and operate as a second centre-forward, as width was far more visible along their right hand side than opposite.

Second half: 

There had been no half-time changes as the teams reappeared for the start of the second half, and it would be the home side kicking the game back into life. While, isolatedly, a 2-0 win over China would be a very good result, they would probably still look for further goals to make the Chinese’s task next weekend as difficult as possible. The front duo of Pious and Garousi got the ball rolling. 

It would’ve been interesting to know the gist of the half-time talk in the Chinese dressing room. They had likely thought through various scenaria beforehand, where different scorelines would be simulated, but how would they go about their task now? A 2-0 defeat from their point of view probably wouldn’t be seen as particularly bad, but how nasty could they allow the outcome to be? As it were, they approached the early phase of the second half in confident manner, and kept possession and probed against the Iranian defensive third of the pitch, albeit without threatening the goalkeeper.

About seven minutes after the restart, the Iranians impress through a quick transition, where the ball is worked into space along the right hand side for Kermani-Moghaddam to run on to. He reaches the ball before it crosses the goalline, and his high and deep cross makes it towards the back post where Pious pops up to guide a header beyond the reach of Huikang and into the back of the net for an astonishing 3-0 lead! The stadium erupted. Those present, as well as players and staff with the home side, must have felt that they were dreaming, as the table now looked like this from their perspective: 

1. Iran 6 5 0 1 12-3 10
2. China 5 4 0 1 9-3 8

What now? 

Should 3-0 remain, the Chinese would need to score at least three times against Thailand in order to progress. While far from impossible, it would still ask questions from them. And as buoyant as the Azadi Stadium was at this point, even further home goals didn’t seem improbable. Still, you got a feeling that the three goal cushion was what the Iranian coaches had preached as a minimum of what was needed to still have a chance to go through to the next phase. Could this, if true, play a psychological role? 

Inadvertently, perhaps, Iran were beginning to sit back a little, allowing China on to them, and while it was understandable in the circumstances, perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to do so. The hosts were losing their grip on proceedings, and the Chinese were beginning to assert themselves with greater purpose. They had made a substitution a few minutes after conceding the third, bringing Qunli on for Yaodong, something which appeared to be a straight swap, although it could probably be argued in favour of the substitute that he was a more creative player than his predecessor. 

The breakthrough for the visitors comes on 64 minutes, when they’re awarded a penalty. A free-kick from the right hand side is swung into the centre by Chao’s left foot, and when Ju challenges goalkeeper Abedzadeh for the ball, the China midfielder manages to head it on to his team mate Haiguang, whose header goalwards is stopped by the outstretched hand of Eftekhari on the line. Chao expertly dispatches the penalty into the back of the net high to his left. The ‘keeper stands no chance. What follows is an almost deafening silence throughout the stadium. This goal could prove to be so telling. 

China are first to every ball now, and the goal appears to have knocked the stuffing out of the hosts entirely. It therefore comes as little surprise that already on their next venture forward, the visitors reduce the arrears when Ju is allowed to trot forward along the left without any resistance, and when he checks and decides to put the ball into the area with his right foot, Lin can’t believe his luck that no one challenges him in the air, and from ten yard out he powers a terrific header into the top left corner. The nearest home player was midfield man Ansarifard, who stood off his opponent too much. It was Lin’s fourth goal in the ongoing World Cup qualification. 

While Iran may be moving two points ahead of today’s adversaries, they are well aware that a win by a one goal margin only won’t suffice, and there is a feeling of dejection all around the stadium. It can be seen in the faces of the Iranian staff as well, where head coach Monajati had previously looked so enthusiastic. Now he’s just sitting back with a resigned look about him. China appear to have the game by the scruff of the neck, and next is Chao setting off on a mazy run which takes him past two opponents before he enters the area. There he appears to be tripped by libero Hassanzadeh, and perhaps could the hosts count themselves a tad fortunate to escape another penalty against. 

There is to be no revival for Iran, although they do try a half-hearted push after having brought on Karim Bavi for their first goalscorer Garousi with seven minutes left for play. However, they no longer pose a goal threat, and rather it is the visitors who continue to look the stronger in the final minutes. Both their substitutes looked spirited, with Qunli filling in well as a central midfielder and with Shengqaio, on for goalscorer Lin, appearing down the right hand side in attacking fashion. There’s nearly a late breakthrough for Haiguang, though Iran are saved by the whistle, and rightly so, for offside. 

It finishes 3-2, and while the game next weekend must obviously be played first, everyone inside the stadium now realizes that this win is not enough. At 3-0 Iran looked good value for their money, but once they conceded they lost their way entirely. A win of any margin will now see the Chinese through to the next qualification stage.