Iran routs Germany by four to seal round of 16 place
Iran booked its place in the Round of 16 at the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 with a convincing 4-0 victory over Germany in Goa on Tuesday evening.
The Group C match-up belonged to Iran, which dominated a German side that looked out of sorts during the opening 45 minutes, fifa.com reported.
Younes Delfi opened the scoring for Iran on six minutes before striking the crossbar with an audacious free-kick effort on 15 minutes.
If it was not for Germany goalkeeper Luca Plogmann making several important saves, Iran may have been out of sight before halftime at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, as Delfi and Allayahr Sayyadmanesh caused the European side numerous problems.
The Iranians would not be denied a second goal, and it was Delfi that converted a free-kick in the Germany six-yard box for a deserved two-goal lead on 42 minutes.
Any hopes that Germany had of a comeback were ended four minutes after the break, as Sayyadmanesh’s diving header to Delfi’s excellent cross put the Asian outfit three goals to the good. Substitute Vahid Namdari then finished off a fine counterattacking move with a quarter of an hour remaining to complete an emphatic result for Iran.
Deadly duo
Sayyadmanesh and Delfi appeared to be inseparable on Tuesday evening, choosing to stand beside each other to answer questions from journalists in the mixed zone after the game. On the pitch, they were working so well together that Germany’s defenders could well have had nightmares about them in their sleep.
“We didn’t have a good game today, and our limitations were exposed in many situations,” said Germany coach Christian Wuck after the match.
Having spent the past two years playing alongside each other for the Iranian national youth team, Delfi and Sayyadmanesh get on just as well off the pitch as they do on it, communicating regularly and conscientiously preparing for the task ahead.
“We spend a long time talking to each other before each match and work out a game plan,” said Sayyadmanesh, who along with Delfi have now got two goals to their name in the tournament.
“We always go through the details one more time and don’t like to leave anything to chance,” he added, providing a vital insight into their successful collaboration.
“Allahyar is a warrior in attack. He never gives up, is always hungry to score goals and is very quick,” said Delfi in praise of his likeable strike partner, before adding: “Knowing each other’s strengths helps us to work well together.”
This was particularly apparent when Sayyadmanesh met Delfi’s cross with a powerful header for the third goal.
Tactical awareness
“Germany have defensive problems,” said Iran coach Chamanian Abbas after the match.
“They have a very good team and are strong going forward, but we knew that if we could contain their attack, we would get our chances and could hurt them at the back.”
Of course, having two players in your ranks capable of implementing your plans so effectively is a gift for any coach.
“The boss said we had to use the space between their central defenders and between midfield and defense – and I think we did that very well,” said Sayyadmanesh with a grin. Indeed they did. The pair repeatedly pushed on into these gaps and made smart runs through the backline, forcing Germany’s defenders into too many mistakes and creating an array of goalscoring opportunities.