In today's game, both sides deployed a 4-3-3 formation.
The Dragon Kingdom team has exactly the same lineup as the South Korean team.
The goalkeeper is Zeng Cheng, the defense is Jiang Zhipeng, Feng Xiaoting, Mei Fang and Zhang Linpeng, the midfielder is Wu Xi, Zheng Zhi and Huang Bowen, and the frontcourt trident is the combination of Wu Lei, Zhang Yuning and Lin Liangming.
Obviously, at the devil's home court in Tehran, Lippi and Pan Yi still want to continue the defensive counterattack style they played against the South Korean team.
With the current overall strength of the Dragon Country team, it is too demanding to play smooth passing and controlling football in a short period of time. At least there may be trouble in the backcourt stage...
Not to mention that under the high pressure of today's away game, it is even more difficult to play a good passing system.
Therefore, Lippi and Pan Yi are still very pragmatic and just prevent counter kicks well!
The Iranian team’s 4-3-3 looks like this:
Goalkeeper: Beiranvande;
Defence: Ghafri, Praliganj, Montazeri, Mohammadi;
Midfielder: Ezzatolahi, Shaojie, Ibrahimi;
Forwards: Jahanbakhsh, Taremi, Guchannejad.
Rookie striker Azmoun didn't even get a chance to start, which also shows how strong the Iranian team's reserves are on the front line.
At the beginning of the game, they immediately took advantage of their home court and launched a fierce attack on the Long Guo team's position.
After the kick-off, a long pass from the backcourt by captain Shao Jie found Guqiannejad who was on the wing, and then passed directly into the penalty area, looking for center Taremi.
However, Feng Xiaoting was well prepared and got ahead of Taremi and headed the ball out of the danger zone.
Soon, the Long Guo team also found a chance to counterattack. Zhang Linpeng launched a long pass in the backcourt for a fast break. Lin Liangming stopped the ball and passed it to Zhang Yuning in the penalty area.
However, the Iranian team's defender returned to defense very promptly. Zhang Yuning's movement was a little slow and was destroyed.
Huang Bowen then took a corner kick, but the Dragon Kingdom team failed to create a threat. Instead, Iran seized an opportunity to attack. Fortunately, Zeng Cheng's attack range was good and he rushed to the edge of the penalty area to intercept the ball.
After these initial waves of offensive, Iran's pace began to slow down.
This is not to say that they don't want to attack, but that the Dragon Country team's targeted arrangement of their midfield has begun to take effect, and Iran's advancement has been affected.
First of all, in Iran's three-midfield system, captain Shaojie is positioned slightly forward. He also leads the ball distribution and creation of opportunities in the frontcourt during the offense, and is responsible for delivering cannonballs to his teammates.
Long Guo asked Zheng Zhi, who is also the captain, to stay behind and be responsible for protecting the defense and following Shaojie, preventing him from passing the ball forward comfortably.
Ezzatolahi and Ibrahimi's positions are slightly deeper, closer to the position of double midfielders.
Among them, Ibrahimi is more inclined to be responsible for organizing and controlling the rhythm, so Long Guo arranged for Wu Xi to be responsible for marking and interference. As soon as he got the ball, Wu Xi got close to him immediately. , not giving him the space to easily get and release the ball.
As for Ezzatolahi, this young tall midfielder is not slow at all and has good footwork. This allows him to not only advance the ball on the court, but also quickly advance forward to participate in the attack. He is a very good player in the Iranian team. A dangerous player.
And he asked Huang Bowen to watch. While preventing the Iranian youngster from advancing, he could also help Zheng Zhilai to assist in defense in the middle.
In addition, the two wingers of the Iranian team, Jahanbakhsh and Guqiannejad, are responsible for widening the width. Coupled with the forward penetration of the full-backs when attacking with the ball, it is easy to form a numerical advantage, thereby creating Chance.
In response to this feature, Lippi's coaching staff also adjusted the tasks of the defensive line, allowing Jiang Zhipeng and Zhang Linpeng on the two wings to move inward, mainly to block the Iranian team's inward cuts.
This is because judging from the data of the past few games, the quality of Iran's passes from both sides is not high. Instead, the wingers' inward shots are extremely threatening.
Therefore, Pan Yi suggested that Lippi should "defend the center and let the wings go", which means blocking Iran's attack in the center, letting go of the wings, and allowing them to pass.
In the middle, Dragon Kingdom's two central defenders kept an eye on their center Taremi, preventing him from having a comfortable shooting opportunity.
At this point in time, Taremi is not the future Porto striker, and his ability is not that outstanding. Even if Feng Xiaoting defends alone, it is actually not that difficult.
Although the offensive players in Iran's frontcourt are all very impactful players, once the opposing team maintains a tight formation and does not leave space for them, their offensive effect will be greatly reduced.
And because of their prominent position in Asia, whether Qatar, Syria or any other team encounters them, they will actively shrink their defense, making it difficult for them to play.
This is why although Iran has played six games and remained unbeaten, they have only scored five goals in total.
Including the last time the Dragon Kingdom was able to score 0:0 against Iran at home, this was also the case.
Now, the Dragon Country team followed suit, and sure enough, Iran soon fell into the same hard-fought situation again.
——
"Today our Long Guo team's midfield defense was very well organized. A world-class coach is a world-class coach!"
Today's CCTV commentators are He Wei and Xu Yang. They are commentating on this game in a domestic studio.
He Wei was full of praise for Long Guo's solid defense. Of course, he also praised Lippi and Pan Yi for their training of the Long Guo team.
"You see, they have made great progress in assisting in defense and pressing and attacking, and the players' running progress has also been very good. The three forwards actively participated in the defense and formed the first line of defense, and the central defender Feng Xiaoting also took on the team's ball. The mission, offense and defense are more like integrated into a whole. This makes the Iranian team a little uncomfortable."
Xu Yang nodded: "Everything you said is right, but we still have to be more patient, try to control the ball under our feet, and then make more use of the width of the field..."
He Wei: "... today Lippi and Coach Pan probably want to focus on defense first and don't want to compete for possession of the ball."
"And their defense is just like when they played against South Korea, they are very strategic. In the past, our defense relied more on numbers, but now it seems that even with four defenders and three midfielders, we can still be well organized. The key to tactics is the players’ arrival rate and the overall pace of movement.”
"The three lines are not disconnected. Iran faces two lines of defense at any time when it gets the ball, so it is difficult to create opportunities. Moreover, our players have a consistent rhythm. They can be fast when they should be fast, and slow down when they should be slow. Their execution ability is very good. Stronger, the defensive loopholes are less likely to be caught by opponents.”
"What deserves special mention is our old captain Zheng Zhi. He can always appear where he is needed at critical moments, protect the defense, intercept the opponent's passing line, or attack."
"His role is really great! It's a pity that he is not young now, but there is still no one in the country who can take over his role."
Xu Yang nodded again: "What you said is very reasonable. At this time, someone needs to stand up."
He Wei: "...?"
Just when He Wei didn't know how to answer the call, a burst of exclamation suddenly came from the stadium stands.
I only saw a long pass from the backcourt of Longguo, crossing half the court and flying towards the frontcourt.
It was Zheng Zhi's long pass and fast break!
He Wei also quickly joined in to explain the situation on the field:
"Zhang Yuning of the Dragon Country team was in the frontcourt, competing with the opponent's central defender Montazeri for the first goal, and Zhang Yuning won the header!"
"The ball still fell at the feet of the Dragon Kingdom team. Wu Xi took the ball and looked at this attack."
"Wu Xi directly passed the ball to the penalty area. There was a chance! Wu Lei directly hit the goal!"
"Oops, goalkeeper Beiranvand blocked the ball!"
"It's such a pity that the Dragon Kingdom team missed an excellent scoring opportunity in the first half."
"The through ball from Wu Xi was very exciting, and it happened to land on the path of Wu Lei diagonally into the penalty area. At this time, the Iranian team's central defender was pulled out by Zhang Yuning, and Lin Liangming was also standing On the right side, there was some space in the penalty area, and Wu Lei stepped in to create a scoring opportunity."
"It's really a pity, the best scoring chance of the Dragon Country team so far in the game."
"Wu Lei looks very depressed. He should really feel depressed about this attack. What a great opportunity."
"If this goal can be scored, the situation will completely change, and the defensive pressure on the Dragon Kingdom team will also be reduced a lot."
"However, it can also be seen from this attack that not only the defensive level of the current Long Guo team has been greatly improved, but the counterattack has also become sharper."
"It doesn't matter if the goal didn't go in. As long as our boys stay calm and take their time, there will definitely be a chance!"
Xu Yang nodded again: "Yes, now the competition has reached a fever pitch. This is the time to test the will and quality of both parties."
He Wei: "…………"
——
After the Dragon Kingdom's attack, Iran coach Queiroz looked very dissatisfied on the sidelines and roared loudly at the players on the court.
They almost scored a goal just now. If the goal is lost, Iran will fall into a passive situation.
After all, everyone knows that as long as the Dragons score a goal, their defensive counterattack will be more resolute and thorough. By then, it will be more difficult for Iran to score, and there may even be a risk of the score being widened.
But Queiroz is also very aware of the current plight of the Iranian team.
This is similar to the problem faced by the Korean team in the previous round, that is, the Dragon Kingdom team is determined to defend against counterattacks. As long as they do not concede the ball, they will become more confident as they defend.
The Iranian team is dominant in strength. If it cannot attack for a long time, the team will inevitably play in a hurry, which is not a good sign.
The South Korean team was anxious and was scored on a counterattack and received a red card. In the end, they were beaten 0:3. The Iranian team could not be like them.
And Queiroz can also see that the Dragon Country team's counterattacks are basically aimed at Iran's weaknesses.
Iran advocates forward attack by full-backs, which makes the defense of the two ribs relatively weak. Just after Zhang Yuning grabbed the header, Wu Xi passed the ball diagonally into the penalty area, and Wu Lei got the kicking opportunity by inserting diagonally into the penalty area from the ribs.
This must remind the players on the field to pay attention. At least the two midfielders should make up for their ribs and stop giving Long Guo such a big space.
But before Queiroz could shout, Long Guo launched another attack in the backcourt.
This time it was still a diagonal pass from Zheng Zhi on the right side of the backcourt after getting the ball.
Zhang Yuning grabbed the header again. After pushing the ball down, Wu Lei grabbed the second spot.
As soon as he stopped, he saw Zhang Yuning pointing in front of him after landing. Wu Lei passed the ball straight with his right foot without thinking, and the ball passed to Zhang Yuning's right side.
After Zhang Yuning stopped the ball, he turned with his right foot and shot directly.
This shot was powerful and heavy, and the angle was very tricky. It was directly aimed at the upper right corner of the goal, and the ball was also pressed very well.
But at the critical moment, Iran's goalkeeper Beiranvand flew over and lifted the ball over the crossbar with one hand, like a divine help, once again resolving a scoring crisis.
All Iranian fans in the audience were in an uproar.
The two counterattacks of the Dragon Kingdom team were quite threatening!
If his goalkeeper hadn't played well, he would have been scored!
Queiroz was startled and quickly shouted to his players to pay attention to the support of the ribs, but also to pay attention to the first point of competition and the second point of protection!
Two consecutive counterattacks were basically the same routine, and they were both used so skillfully!
After Queiroz finished shouting, he couldn't help but glance towards the visiting team's coaching bench.
I saw Lippi and Pan Yi sitting in their seats chatting, not seeming to be in a hurry.
Quiros felt helpless and admired in his heart.
He is helpless because his team has not been able to find an effective way to defeat the Dragon Kingdom team so far, but what he admires is that these two guys are truly world-famous coaches.
Although Iran also failed to penetrate the Dragon Kingdom's defense in the first round, the Dragon Kingdom was closer to retreating at that time, and there was no chance to threaten Iran's goal.
Today, the Dragon State team not only has a rigorous steel defense line, but the speed and efficiency of counterattacks have also increased many times, and this is obviously the credit of the coaching staff.
"What a pity, the goal didn't go in again." He Wei sighed in the commentary box.
"Yes." Xu Yang rarely went off topic and said, "Iranian goalkeeper Beiranvand looked in very good condition today and saved two of our most threatening shots."
"We can only continue to create opportunities." He Wei shook his head. "But the Iranian team should be alert now and have obviously strengthened their control over Zhang Yuning to prevent him from taking the first header so comfortably."
Xu Yang responded: "Yes, this is what is difficult for the Iranian team to deal with. They have a very strong ability to adapt to the environment."
He Wei: "Oh? Did Xu Yang guide you to know a lot about Iranian football?"
Xu Yang smiled and said: "I still know a little bit about Iranian football because I have been to Iran and played with this local friend who likes football."
"Well, they play very well, and their football is very pure. If our fans have the opportunity to go to Iran, to Tehran, you will find that wherever there are street lights, there will be children playing football."
"On this road and in this parking lot, there are all children playing football. So I don't think it's surprising that Iranian football can reach the World Cup every time."
"Including their football skills, they were all trained on this kind of road since childhood, so... uh, what I just said, yes, they have a very strong ability to adapt to the environment."
He Wei: "...Okay, I understand it very well. Now...let's look at the field again, we are attacking again!"
At this time, it was Iran goalkeeper Beiranvand who took the goal kick with his big kick, and Mei Fang grabbed the ball before Taremi and headed the ball back to the midfield. Huang Bowen immediately passed the ball to the right, and Zhang Linpeng led along the right. The ball advanced and the attack began to be planned.
At this time, Zheng Zhi is positioned closer to the two central defenders, while the two full-backs Jiang Zhipeng and Zhang Linpeng are positioned further forward.
"This looks a bit like a variation of the 4-3-3 that Pan Yi liked to use during his time in Milan, which is to drag the defensive midfielder down to the back line, and then the two full-backs move forward, forming a 3-4-3 position. Does this mean that the Dragon Kingdom team is really going to start attacking?”
"Judging from the two shots just now, the Dragon State team's defensive counterattack becomes more and more threatening. It is understandable to invest more troops in the offense at this time, but we still need to pay attention to the defense behind us."
"After all, Iran's counterattack is also quite sharp, and each of these three forwards is very threatening. While we are strengthening our offense, we still have to watch them."
And now the Dragon Kingdom's formation change, as He Wei said, is exactly Pan Yi's early trump card, 4-3-3 to 3-4-3!
This strategy is also very clear, which is to push the original wings forward and increase the width when attacking, but when defending, the defensive force in the middle remains unchanged. The purpose is to continue to block the Iranian team's strong attack in the middle.
And if the opponent presses higher, the two full-backs can still be recovered to form a five-back formation, which will make the defense more solid.
Of course, such a change of formation is relatively demanding for the two full-backs Jiang Zhipeng and Zhang Linpeng.
They are obviously not up to the level of defenders like Robertson or Carvajal who can move up and down, so Pan Yi has also lowered his requirements for them. You don't need to go too far forward, as long as you can Just stand from the center line to the penalty area.
Although this does not help the offense as much as the original 3-4-3, it at least allows our counterattack to find the full-backs on both wings in addition to the big-footed center forward. It also adds offensive routines.
Moreover, the fact that the two full-backs do not advance forward also has a positive significance for the defense of the wings, and it also restrains Iran's two wing attacks to a certain extent.
Such adjustments gradually took effect.
The Iranian team, which had just adapted to the Dragon Kingdom's long-passing-from-the-backfield and center-forward tactics, suddenly found that the Dragon Kingdom's offensive routine had changed again.
When the game reached the 40th minute, Lin Liangming passed back to Huang Bowen from the right, who quickly passed it across to Wu Xi.
Wu Xi quickly passed the ball to the left and found Jiang Zhipeng.
After Jiang Zhipeng caught up with the ball along the left wing, he quickly dribbled the ball forward. Just after he passed the center line, he stopped dribbling the ball and instead sent the ball into the Iranian team's penalty area with a 45-degree pass to the ground. .
At this time, Zhang Yuning ran from the center to the left to receive the ball and caught the ball at his feet.
Iran's central defender Praliganji was well prepared and immediately went over to lean on Zhang Yuning, trying to steal the ball.
But Zhang Yuning used his strong body to block the opponent, and then took the lead and poked the ball to the edge of the penalty area.
Lin Liangming, who had already run over from the right to receive the ball, had not yet received the ball. Wu Lei, who had been ambushing on the outside of the penalty area, also saw the opportunity and crossed into the penalty area from the left.
Lin Liangming understood this and used his body to block Iranian midfielder Ezzatolahi. He didn't let the ball stop at his feet and pushed it behind him.
The ball followed a straight diagonal line from behind Praliganji and slid towards Wu Lei's sprint line.
At this time, Iran's goalkeeper Beiranvand and another central defender Montazeri were aware of the danger. One decisively abandoned the goal and attacked, and the other quickly moved towards Wu Lei.
But Lin Liangming's kick was very comfortable, and Wu Lei caught up with him and stabbed him directly!
The ball passed under the open arms of the Iranian team's goalkeeper and went directly into the Iranian team's goal!
"The ball is scored!!!!" He Wei shouted loudly.
"In the 40th minute, the Dragon Country team took the lead in knocking on the Iranian team's goal!"
"The goal from forward Wu Lei, this is a very wonderful teamwork! Beautiful, really beautiful!"
The Azadi Stadium, where hundreds of thousands of Iranian fans were seated, suddenly fell silent. They could only watch as Wu Lei excitedly rushed to the corner flagpole to celebrate his goal.
And all the Dragon Kingdom players rushed towards him.
This goal is so crucial! ——
"fodas!"
Queiroz on the sidelines even shouted the Portuguese curse.
Of course he was depressed.
Not only because of this goal, but also because this is not the first time that the Dragon Country team has seized on the Iranian team's loopholes.
It is clear that Iran has absolute possession of the ball, and it is clear that Iran has more attacking time, but why is the Dragon Country's counterattack more threatening?
On several counterattacks, the Long Guo team directly passed the ball to the frontcourt to find the center, and then used the center to plan the attack, making full use of the gap between the double midfielder of Iran and the defense line, as well as the gap between the two ribs of the defense line. Make a fuss.
Then, Queiroz asked his midfielder to pay more attention to filling these gaps and reducing loopholes, but it was obvious that Long Guo made changes immediately.
This sudden change to 3-4-3, allowing the full-back to pass the ball directly into the penalty area, really surprised Queiroz.
And it was precisely this kind of unexpectedness that allowed the Dragon Kingdom team to succeed in a direct sneak attack and score first!
This is also difficult for Queiroz to accept.
Everyone knows that whether it is the overall strength, players' personal abilities, physical confrontation capabilities, or the team's technical and tactical level, Iran is above the Dragon Country team.
Coupled with the favorable factors of playing at home, the Iranian team will definitely get three points - as for the remarks before the game that a tie would be enough, it is just a smoke bomb.
According to Queiroz's original plan, the Dragon Kingdom traveled a long distance, and the expedition was 6,000 kilometers long, and it was definitely not in its best condition.
Therefore, Iran will take the opportunity to launch a fierce attack in the first half, strive to score first, and then make tactical changes depending on the situation.
But he underestimated the Dragons' defense.
He has carefully studied the match between the Dragons and the South Korean team, and he is confident that with the level of defense of the Dragons when playing against the South Korean team, Iran can break through and score goals.
What I didn't expect was that in the first half of this game, the Dragon State team's defense was even better than when they played the South Korean team.
Obviously, after this team got rid of Korean phobia, not only the team morale increased greatly, but the players' confidence also improved. Pan Yi's tactics were executed meticulously, which made the Long Guo team in this game. The defense became impregnable in the first half.
Moreover, not only is the defense solid, the Dragon Country team's counterattacks are also sharper every time, and this time they even scored directly!
Losing this goal was definitely a painful blow to Iran and disrupted Queiroz's original plan.
Now Queiroz has a headache and is in a mess.
He glanced at Lippi and Pan Yi who were celebrating next door and could only sigh:
"It's really awesome! factos!"
