Iran 26 World Cup Preview

This is a great Iranian generation that will feel due for a Men's World Cup where they finally make noise. They've spent years in the shadows of AFC: on the world stage they're not making knockouts like Japan, Korea Republic, & Australia. On the continent, they're watching a Qatar-Jordan final. And that's all before the, you know, waves-at-everything moment. They are playing a World Cup in a nation actively bombing them.

Seek out stories around the team from professional writers. I'll leave it to them & just say that the moment has been made a whole lot bigger under awful circumstances.

On the field, Iran play a very "Dychey" 4-4-2. They don't want that ball. If they have the ball, their instinct is to play direct in the immediacy & there's a very linear correlation with the level of their opponent & how often they go Route 1. They love flick-on to flick-on to flick-on. No, seriously. Every goal would be scored like this if they could:

If Iran find themselves without space to knock into, they'll move the ball side to side across their deep players under they see an enticing big ball to play. If they find themselves doing that in the final third, they look to eventually get the ball on a fullback's feet with time to hit the box.

Taremi leads the line, dropping as an effective 10 when the match calls for it. He's great in the role as The Man for this national team, at the center of everything good. Jahanbaksh lines up as the right mid but lives in the halfspace in possession, never touching that sideline. For years, Taremi had a partner in Sardar Azmoun who was a little less consistent, but the 2 worked well together. I've just had to erase my words on how Azmoun fits into the team after learning political pressure has kept him out of this World Cup squad, a massive loss for Iran.

Quite underrated in the team is Saman Ghoddos, a reliable 8 capable of real on-ball quality in this team where most players don't particularly bring that. He's able to facilitate the movement of it when going straight for the jugular isn't on. Very important player in their midfield. Shoja Khalilzadeh is the true back line leader, for me, but everybody around him is dependable too. Beirenvand is a great international keeper behind them. The winger depth is decent too, with Ghayedi as a skillful dribbler & Mohebbi adding to their vertical threat.

Iran aren't great at chasing games against opponents who sit back. I mentioned their pattern of crosses from fullbacks: those crosses are never dangerous from either side. It's a shame because the targets in the middle are strong, too, but my goodness they could use one creative fullback.

This group might be the most athletic team in the world, especially that back line. They are very good at punting the ball up & winning the resulting 50-50s in the spine - every player in the squad is extremely good at this. It's a safety feature that can keep them in any game.

I'm going full-on vibes here that this version of Iran are due to finally make noise. I truly believe they would be reigning Asian Cup champions if not for the appalling decision to start Taremi at left mid in the semifinal. The coach had to have learned his lesson there.

Iran have repeatedly been grouped in the Men's World Cup, but came oh-so-close in both 2014 & 2022. Add the forgiving format & I really like them to finally take that step, maybe even win a huge Round of 32 game afterwards.

I've invested a lot in them over the years. Holding my shares.