FIFA World Cup Qualifier: Iran 4-0 India - Five Talking Points

A brace each from Ehsan Haji Safi and goals from Sardar Azmoun and Alireza Jahan Baksh helped Iran thrash India 4-0 as the visitors succumbed to an embarrassing defeat in a FIFA World Cup qualifier match.

Gurpreet’s value rises on a demanding evening

If some of the Iranian players did at times cut a frustrating figure, it was due to the heroics of certain number 23. Goalkeeper, Gurpreet was comfortably India’s best player on the pitch tonight. The likes of Sardar Azmoun and Taremi were denied on multiple occasions by the lanky shot stopper.

He was a commanding figure in the box and effectively dealt with the oppositions aerial balls from the wings. Iran’s Ezatolahi coerced Singh into making a wonderful save to deny the hosts from running riot in the first half. He seems to have evolved as a Goalkeeper and continues to prove his importance as the man in between India’s posts.

Gurpreet’s distribution skills too would have impressed coach Constantine on an otherwise disappointing night for the Blue Tigers.

India sorely missed a reference point up front

In the build up to tonight’s encounter, Coach Constantine has stressed about how his sided would have to do most of the chasing and that’s exactly what transpired. Iran flooded numbers in attack and pressured the visitors on to the back foot from minute one.

As a result, India’s front two of Jeje and Udanta cut lonely figures and were rarely called into action. Among the few times that India did manage to get back possession, they were thwarted in the final third by Iran’s imposing defenders.

The absence of a holdup striker meant that the visitors never got going when they were allowed to break. Udanta and Jeje needed someone to play off. Unfortunately for them, they never got that tonight.

Iran’s quality on the wings too hot to handle

It’s not every day that you see a team playing with some old fashioned wingers. Wingers who run straight down the flanks and whip in crosses with persistence. Iran hounded the Indian fullbacks and never gave them a moment’s respite. They flooded the wings when going forward and were intent on driving quality crosses from the flanks.

Mehdi Taremi and Bakhsh in particular, did a wonderful job of orchestrating their team’s attacks. The Iranian players seemed to be engaged in their own private duel. Who can deliver the most dangerous cross? The fullbacks and midfielders took turns to decide this.

In the end, they managed to cause havoc in the Indian penalty box whose centre-backs looked extremely uncomfortable when dealing with aerial deliveries.

Coach Constantine must look beyond the scoreline

Although India lost by a heavy margin what will worry their coach Constantine, even more is the way in which his players conceded cheap position. The Blue Citizens were facing Asia’s highest rank team; any lapse in concentration would be punished was a given.

The Indian midfielders were guilty of being a tad too casual on the ball. They gave away the ball to the Iranians even when not under any real pressure. At certain intervals they played the game at pedestrian pace leaving the defenders completely open. Quiroz’s men made merry of the situation and broke with pace and intent at such times.

They could have easily scored 3-4 goals more on the night. But for keeper Gurpreet who put in an impeccable performance for the visitors.

Debutant Udanta Singh leaves the Indian fans longing for more

19-year-old Udanta played arguably the biggest match of his life. The winger put in a satisfactory performance. When given the opportunity, Udanta ran at Iran’s defenders which was exciting to watch.

The youngster has pace to burn and looked a livewire on the right wing. On one such occasion, he was given the chance to sprint a good 50 meters and zipped past his marker with relative ease. His resulting cross though wasn’t on point. That’s one area which the Bengaluru FC striker will be looking to improve upon.

Looks like Manipur has managed to produce yet another gem for Indian football. If he can get his crossing game right, the diminutive and tricky winger will be a force to be reckoned with in the near future.