Iran’s 4-0 victory over Germany on October 10 at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Margao, Goa can be considered as one of the greatest results by an Asian team against a formidable European nation. Whether it is at the senior level or at the age group level, German teams have great mentality, fighting spirit and organisation, so such a comprehensive defeat is unprecedented. Iran’s 4-0 win can rank with North Korea’s 1-0 upset win over Italy in the 1966 World Cup and South Korea edging past Italy and Spain in the 2002 World Cup as great performances by Asian countries in international football.
Asian teams have fared well in the ongoing U-17 World Cup as Iran, Iraq and Japan have qualified for the last sixteen. Hosts India, playing their first FIFA tournament finished bottom of Group A with zero points. This was not unexpected. However North Korea’s disappointing show in Group D was a surprise. They lost all three matches, including a 0-1 defeat to debutants Niger and got eliminated without scoring a single goal.
Iran, expertly coached by Abbas Chamanian, is the only Asian country to have won all their three group matches. Iran’s three outstanding players are striker Allahyar Sayyad, winger Younes Delpi and goalkeeper Ali Gholamzadeh.
Dashing winger Younes Delpi was born on Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday on October 2, 2000 and has been developed by Esteghlal Khuzestan. He is greased lightening on the flanks and has the ability to dart into scoring positions. He scored twice against Germany in the first half and crossed for striker Sayyad to nod home the third goal. Another notable player from the same team in this squad is midfielder Vahid Namdari.
Delpi is from Khuzestan, an Iranian province with an ancient history. It is one of the 31 provinces of Iran and is in the southwest bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. The province is noted for its sugar production and sea food and excels in football development. All the clubs there have good youth development programmes. Another successful club in the region is Foolad. Three players from this club are in the Iranian squad for the World Cup. They include outstanding goalkeeper Ali Gholamzadeh and defenders Ali Satavi and Ahmed Jalali.
Striker Allahyar Sayyid, resembles Jurgen Klinsmann with his non-stop running and ability to drift into vacant positions. He plays as a roving forward. His spot jump is also very impressive and reminds you of Alan Shearer. The third goal he scored against Germany by drifting to the first post and out-jumping central defenders Alexander Nitzil and Domnik Becker and twisting his neck to score with a glancing header was word class. He is just 16-year-old and is arguably Asia’s best striker in his age group. He is a product of Saipa Alborz’s development programme.
Iraq’s Mohammed Dawood, who will miss their round of sixteen encounter with Mali, on October 17 due to two yellow cards, is also an outstanding front runner. Dawood was the top-scorer in the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship with six goals, two more than Takefusa Kubo of Japan. He scored a memorable hat-trick in the 4-2 win over Japan in the Asian U-16 championships in Goa last year.
Donning the same number seven jersey, Dawood is a die-hard fan of Cristiano Ronaldo. He said, "I admire him. He is the best No 7. I want to play in Real Madrid. I wish I could play in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.”
Dawood has turned out to be a ‘fox in the box’, thanks to his phenomenal goal-poaching ability. Given his exceptional ability to destroy the opposition defence, Dawood is already drawing comparisons to the original ‘Desert Fox’ Younis Mahmoud, whom the former claims to be his idol. Younis Mahmud was captain of the Iraq team that won the Asian Cup in 2007. Dawood has already shown big-match temperament, with his blistering pace, ability to drift into space and scoring goals with both powerful sots and deft placements.
Iraq’s coach Qahtan Al-Rubaye will now rely on their goalkeeper lanky Ali Ibadi, skipper and midfielders Mohammed Ridha and Moamel Kareeem to stem Mali’s rampaging attack. As Iraq are Asian champions, there are great expectations about this squad by the Iraqi media and people. As coach Qahtan said, “For us Iraqi people, football is like the air which we must breathe.”
Japan’s two outstanding players so far have been attacking midfielder Keito Nakamura, who scored the first hat-trick of this tournament when they trounced Honduras 6-1 in a group E match, and striker Takefusa Kubo, nicknamed the “baby Messi”. In the round of sixteen, Japan will play formidable England, which have won all their three group matches stylishly scoring 11 goals. So Japan’s chances of progressing to the last eight look slim.
Iran is the only Asian country likely to make the quarter finals as they take on Mexico, which is struggling to score goals. In the last eight they could meet the winners of the all-European clash, Spain vs France.
