2018 World Cup Qualifiers: India 0-3 Iran

India suffered their third defeat in as many games after their 3-0 loss to Iran in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. 20-year-old striker Sardar Azmoun handed the Iranians the lead in the first half with a brilliant header before Andranik Teymourian and Mehdi Taremi extended the lead for the visitors.India failed to create too many chances against the highest ranked team in Asia but defended well even though they conceded three goals. India’s best chance of the match fell to Jeje late in the second half, but the Iranian defender was able to get a challenge in before the Indian could finish. Although it was a comprehensive loss, Stephen Constantine called the performance the best in his second tenure as Indian manager. Here are the main talking points from the match:

#1 Gurpreet has to improve to replace Pal

Even though Gurpreet did not have a great match, the youngster has a bright future ahead of him

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu made his first start for the Indian National team in the match, but his performance was slightly hit and miss. While he was good at dealing with crosses and corners, he was sometimes indecisive when it came to coming for balls played in behind the defense.

The second goal of the match could be put down as a mistake from his end as he was attracted to a cross and when he was unable to get to the ball, Iran captain Andranik Teymourian had an easy finish that allowed him to double his team’s lead early in the second half.

However, all the blame cannot be put on the 23-year-old as it was the first competitive game he was playing with Jhingan and Mondal. As the youngster begins playing with the pair in front of him regularly, they will definitely form a partnership that will serve India well for years.

#2 Midfield struggled to control the tempo

Pronoy Halder struggled to impose himself on the game

Although one has to take into account that the Iranian team were far superior in every part of the pitch, the Indian midfield were not able to control the tempo of the game at all. Pronoy Halder and Dhanpal Ganesh played in the centre of the park for the Indian team while I-League midfielder of the year, Eugeneson Lyngdoh was given a wider role in this game.

Throughout the game, India kept playing long balls towards Robin Singh and Jeje and hoped to play off the second ball. When the ball did fall to the midfielders, they were not able to keep it moving fast enough so as not attract pressure, and ended up gifting the ball back to the Iranians.

Lyngdoh was completely ineffective on the right wing as his lack of pace let him down on more than one occasion. India have to learn to use the ball better when they have possession if they want to get a positive result against the big teams.

#3 India\'s defense looks better with Jhingan

Jhingan (5) out-jumps his opponent to win a header

Even though India lost by three goals against the mighty Iran side, the defense won plaudits from both managers for the way they performed. Sandesh Jhingan did not look completely match fit but was still instrumental in the first half keeping the Iranian offense line under check.

Alongside Jhingan, Arnab Modal had an excellent game as he was able to deal with almost everything Iran threw at him. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu didn't have a lot of actual saves to make in the match and that was all down to the exceptional performance of his two centre-backs.

The Mondal-Jhingan partnership looks like the way forward for India, but Constantine has to work on the pair being more composed in possession and not just clear every ball forward. Having said that the performance of the pair was the only highlight of the game for the Indian fans.

#4 India have to improve a lot to match the big boys of Asia

The Indian team looked dejected after the third goal

The Indian team put in a tremendous effort against a team that was placed 115 places above them in the FIFA rankings but came up well short. Even though the margin of victory was expected to be higher by most fans, the performance of the team showed the huge gulf between the two sides.

After the 55th minute, when Iran were 3-0 up, they took their foot off the pedal but were still able to create a few clear cut chances. India, on the other hand, had just two chances throughout the match, one for Jeje which was blocked really well by the defender and a shot from 25 yards out from Sunil Chhetri that went wide of the post.

In the first 10-15 minutes of the match, India matched Iran player for player, but after the visitors had seen off the early pressing, they settled down well and controlled the match right till the end. Indian players need to raise their standard of football if they want to fulfil the dream of the nation of playing in the FIFA World Cup.

#5 Iran are the real deal

Sardar Azmoun looks like a top player despite being just 20 years old

After Iran drew the first game of their qualifier against Turkmenistan, many people criticized their performance and a lot of questions were raised about their chances of coming through the group stage. Since then, Iran have played two matches, scoring nine goals without reply in the process and now sit comfortably on the top of the table.

Their performance was complete in every aspect as the midfielders controlled the match from start to finish while the strikers kept the Indian defense on their toes through their running on and off the ball. The defenders did not have a lot to deal with as Jeje cut a lone figure for most parts of the match.

They could have easily scored more goals against the Indians but having guaranteed themselves three points they were more than happy to see out the match. They are now favourites to go through to the next round of the qualifiers and while Carlos Queiroz played down his team’s chance of qualifying for a second consecutive World Cup, they definitely showed why they are the highest ranked team in Asia.