Can Iran and Carlos Queiroz outclass USMNT to script World Cup history?
The Iran national team and Carlos Queiroz are largely polarising figures back home. But they can make history by reaching the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup for the very first time when they face the United States in their final Group B fixture on Tuesday.
Team Melli were drawn with the US, England and Wales in their sixth World Cup. After running Argentina, Spain and Portugal close in the past two editions, the spotlight has been firmly on Queiroz and his players recently for reasons on and off the field.
The protests against the government in Iran have rocked the national team too, and the lack of backing for the movement from the players was criticised in the build-up to Qatar 2022. However, the Iran players took a stand and risked reprisals by not singing the national anthem in their opener against England.
Iran then proved they are a force to reckon with on the field too by defeating Wales 2-0 in their second outing. They are now just a game away from history, as Queiroz looks to guide them to the Round of 16 in his third World Cup with Iran. So, we take a look at how nine years of Queiroz has changed Iranian football.
Building Iranian football from scratch
As Iranian football expert Sina Saemian says, while it was Queiroz who took Iran to the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, it is Iran who are taking Queiroz to Qatar this time around. It was under Dragan Skocic that the country qualified for the 2022 showpiece.
However, Queiroz made a stunning return with just 75 days to go for the World Cup, right after Mehdi Taj became the president of the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) in an election won on the promise of bringing back the Portuguese coach.
Queiroz’s first tryst with Iran came in 2011 after an unceremonious end to his stint with Portugal following a disastrous 2010 World Cup. Iranian football was also in one of its weakest points as the national team had chopped and changed managers after promising days under Branko Ivankovic in the early 2000s.
Even Iran great Ali Daei was not spared. Daei, until recently the all-time leading international goalscorer, explosively claimed his sacking after a defeat to Saudi Arabia in 2009 had come from the then Iran president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – showing politics and football are always intertwined in the country.
What Queiroz inherited was a team in transition, struggling with the gaping hole left by the retirements of Daei and Ali Karimi. “It might have been the weakest team I have ever seen,” said Saemian, host of Iranian football podcast Gol Bezan.
Queiroz brought stability to Iranian football with his pragmatic approach as Iran qualified for back-to-back World Cups in 2014 and 2018, but his impact was much more than the results on the pitch.
One of Queiroz’s main feats was making his team attractive for foreign-based stars like Ashkan Dejagah and Saman Ghoddos, thereby considerably strengthening Team Melli. He also fought with the country’s football administrators to improve the standards — not just within the senior team but across the board.
“I think Iran’s relationship with any of their coaches has a tendency to be complicated, and perhaps a lot of this is down to what is going on behind the scenes at the FFIRI,” said ESPN journalist Gabriel Tan who is in Qatar to cover the World Cup.
It wasn’t any different for the former Real Madrid boss either. His constant run-ins with the top honchos strained his relationship with FFIRI while a poor display at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup did not go down well with the fans either. “He was by then also getting paid a lot of money for managing an Asian team,” said Saemian.
Queiroz’s eight-year stint with Iran thus ended in 2019 as Team Melli moved on with Marc Wilmots and then Skocic. The former Manchester United assistant, meanwhile, went on to coach Colombia and then Egypt whom he failed to guide to the World Cup. But the opportunity to plot one final chapter with Iran at the World Cup then came knocking for Queiroz.
Overcautious or striking the right balance?
Many have criticised Queiroz for his defensive approach, but one could argue it is something that has worked really well for Iran. Not many gave them any chance in the 2014 and 2018 World Cups after being drawn into groups with Argentina, Spain and Portugal.
“In 2014 and 2018 when they were massive underdogs, it was only natural they played more defensively,” said Tan. It is worth noting it almost paid off for Iran on all three occasions against the big names. But in this World Cup, Queiroz’s side now have a big chance to progress from an ultra-competitive Group B featuring four teams listed in the top 20 of FIFA World Rankings.
Dear Jurgen;
You took the initiative to call me Carlos, so I believe it is proper to call you Jurgen. Right?
Even not knowing me personally, you question my character with a typical prejudiced judgment of superiority.
(…) pic.twitter.com/JAq0l7Yp6n— Carlos Queiroz (@Carlos_Queiroz) November 26, 2022
Queiroz loves a 4-1-4-1 and has played variations of his tried-and-tested formation at both World Cups with Iran. “In 2014, he had a centre-back at full-back position and in the defensive phase, Iran would switch to a back five. But in 2018, he played a striker on the wing who would join the attack effectively making it a 4-4-2,” said Alsop.
Under Queiroz, Iran tighten up spaces in the middle of the pitch forcing their opponents to resort to long balls. “He has never been afraid to play with two strikers. In transition, we’ve seen Iran hurt big teams on the counter and I think that part of Queiroz’s style can be exciting to watch,” he added.
“I believe this Iran team is not just enjoying its golden generation, but all of the players are in their prime now. In 2018, we saw how close they came to qualifying from an extremely difficult group with Portugal and Spain. This time around, the likes of Mehdi Taremi, Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Sardar Azmoun are all better and more mature,” Tan said.
What effect will the politics have on Team Melli?
With reports suggesting families of Iran players are being threatened with imprisonment and torture if the stars fail to ‘behave’, things won’t be easy for Iran as they take on USMNT.
“It would be naïve to think that the pressure will not affect the Iranian footballers. They are only humans. Queiroz will be making sure their concentration levels do not get affected and that they focus on the main thing which is the football,” Saemian said.
Tan also hopes Team Melli will deal with the pressure well. “The situation is complicated. But the players have constantly spoken about the fact that they have to respect the flag on their chest and will look to bring happiness to their people in the form of football,” he said.
Team Melli will know there is no better way for them to bring some joy to their compatriots than by booking a berth in World Cup knockout stages as they step out at the Al Thumama Stadium on Tuesday.
