9/6/2008
Afshin Dastafshan, PFC Editor-in-Chief

Iran’s preparations for their final round world cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia hardly went as planned with a string of friendly matches cancelled but a spirited Team Melli came from a goal down to draw with Saudi Arabia on their soil on September 6th.

Iran started the match without one of their best and most experienced players Hossein Kaebi due to suspension; the vacuum left on the right flank by the deadly little big man proved difficult to fill, Mahdavikia had earlier been dropped judged on his state of readiness and this further hurt Iran’s right flank.

Gholamnezhad did the best he could on the right and his overall performance was acceptable but Kaebi’s pace and experience was missed. Teymourian also struggled on the right in the first half; Ando playing on the right also left a large area for Nekunam to cover in midfield.

On the left Zandi and Rezaei did not have their best performance on the day but still contributed to tiring the Saudis, they were both substituted in the second half. Hashemian was not on top form either but he once again showed the dangerous player he is given half a chance, Vahid came close to scoring in the second half. Rahmati was comfortable in goal and made several crucial saves.

Playing at home Saudi Arabia started the match the better side and put Iran under pressure, Iran head coach Ali Daei had promised Iran would not play for a draw and he did not disappoint as Team Melli pushed forward and threatened to score, this match was not going to be a one way traffic, Iran have many quality and experienced players; they enjoyed the services of Nekunam and Shojaee both of whom play for the Spanish side Osasuna, Teymourian from English Premiership side Fulham and Hashemian who plays in Germany’s Bochum, full back Hadi Aghili has vast experience of playing in the Asian Champions League, Iran could not be under-estimated even when ill-prepared.

Saudi pressure finally exposed weaknesses in Iran’s defence when they cut through the right flank before passing the ball to the unmarked Al Harthi who fired the ball home with first attempt, an excellent goal from open play but questions must be asked about Jalal Hosseini’s positioning in the six yard box, he should have covered Al Harthi.

Iran made 3 substitutions in the second half, Madanchi and Jabbari’s arrival gave the initiative to Iran as they went on the attack, I am far from convinced about Khatibi’s inclusion in the team, he did not do well for Iran in WC2006 and was equally ineffective in Asia 2007, he was less than convincing in this match and missed a clear cut chance to score late in the match, at this level I expect a national team striker to at least hit the target when in a goal scoring position in the 18 yard box.

Iran were the better side in the second half and deserved their 81st minute equaliser, a corner kick taken by Jabbari was headed down in the direction of Nekunam by Shojaee, Nekunam made no mistake and headed the ball home as the Osasuna duo justified their place in the Spanish La Liga.

The 1-1 draw was a satisfactory result for Iran in the Persian Gulf derby, Saudi Arabia will be less than happy dropping points at home, but there is a long way to go in this campaign; this was a good start for Iran. In the other Group B match North Korea beat their host UAE 2-1 to go top of the table on 3 points followed by Iran and Saudi Arabia on 1 point. Iran’s next match is against North Korea in Tehran on October 15th.