If you say the biggest sufferer of a national football team in Asian football, it must be South Korea, after all, "Koreanophobia" is not called in vain.

But if you go one more ...... In second place must be Iran!

Although it is not as exaggerated as saying "Iranophobia", it is not difficult to see from the past history of the two sides that the Iranian team can definitely be called another major sufferer of the national football team.

In the past World Preliminary Tournament, the Dragon Team and the Iranian team have played each other 5 times before, and their Dragon National Football Team has 1 win, 1 draw and 3 losses, and the only victory was back on July 15, 1989, when the Dragon Team won 2-0 at home with goals from Liu Haiguang and Zhang Xiaowen.

However, in contrast, the most memorable game for the Chinese people was the home and away defeat by the Iranian team in the 1997 round of the top 10 match, especially the first leg at the Golden State Stadium with a two-goal lead and was reversed by the opponent 4-2.

In fact, looking at the entire history of the two teams, it is not difficult to find that the mutual records of the two sides in the world preliminaries can almost be regarded as a microcosm of the overall competition.

In the past 24 total encounters, the Dragon team has only achieved a disadvantaged record of 6 wins, 6 draws and 12 losses against the Iranian team in 24 times, which can be said to have a clear disadvantage.

In the official international competition, except for the 2004 Asian Cup held on their home turf and finally won by penalty kick, the Dragons have only won twice against Iran. The remaining three victories all came in friendlies.

To some extent, the beginning of the professionalization of Longguo football is more like a watershed in the records of the two teams between China and Iran.

If the two sides were basically in a position of balance of power before, then it would be difficult for the national football team to take advantage of the Iranian team after that.

The last time the Dragons won against them was in a friendly match on June 1, 2009, when Gao Lin scored the only goal of the game, and the Dragons men's team finally won 1-0 in QHD.

Speaking of the last time the two sides met, it was, of course, the second round of the Asian round of 12 in this World Preliminary Championship.

At that time, the Men's National Football Team of the Dragon Country, which was playing at home, and the visiting Iranian team drew 0-0.

Although the Dragons scored the first points in the round of 12 in that game, they also paid the price of the long-term absence of the main goalkeeper Zeng Cheng, and then the team lost to Syria and Uzbekistan one after another, and the prospect of the Dragons entering the World Cup in Russia also dimmed.

Now, with high morale after beating Qatar and South Korea 3-0 at home in two consecutive games, the Longguo men's football team led by Lippi and Pan Yi will take on strong opponents Iran away, and although it is difficult, this time it is full of hopes and dreams.

Compared with Japan and South Korea, although the Iranian team also has many players who play in the European league, there are no players from the top five leagues.

Among them, Ozmoun, a striker who plays for Rostov-on-Don, is the most eye-catching new star, and the 22-year-old has established himself in the Russian Premier League and has the reputation of "Iranian Messi".

And now the more famous is Jahanbakhsh, who is also Zhang Yuning's old rival, and now plays for AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie, and has scored 10 goals - in fact, he will also win the Eredivisie Golden Boot next season!

In addition, the Iranian team also has Ansari in Olympiacos, Guchanejad in Heerenveen, Haji Safi in Olympiacos, Shojay in AEK Athens, and Dejaga in Nottingham Forest...... And so on overseas players.

Domestic players should not be overlooked, such as Taremi, who is still playing in Iran, who moved to Porto to become a leading scorer in the future, helping the team win the Portuguese Super League.

Although they are not as famous as those stars in Japan and South Korea, they are all powerful, otherwise they would not have won 4 wins, 2 draws and not conceding a goal in this highly competitive Group A, leading the group.

In addition, the head coach of the Iranian national team, Queiroz, also has a stronger resume than South Korean coach Stillik.

He started his coaching career with Sporting de Portugal and later with the UAE and South Africa, before he began to gain worldwide attention when he accepted an offer from Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson to become an assistant coach in early July 2002.

In his first year at Manchester United, Queiroz led the Reds to victory over Arsenal, who had been leading Arsenal, to victory in the Premier League.

His success at Manchester United caught the eye of Real Madrid, who eventually made his way to the Galaxy as the manager of one of the world's top giants.

He then returned to Manchester United as an assistant coach, then to the Grape national team as head coach and finally to the Iranian national team, where he has remained for six years.

Four years ago, he also led the Iranian national team to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and this time, he still hopes to lead the team to the 2018 World Cup!

Although Queiroz's career as a giant was not particularly successful, his match with the Dragons still attracted the attention of FIFA.

After all, there are also world-class marshals like Lippi and Pan Yi on the Dragon Kingdom!

On its official website, FIFA gave a preview of the seventh round of the Asian qualifiers round of 12, highlighting the battle between Lippi and Queiroz.

FIFA said that in a high-profile match just past, the Dragons defeated South Korea with a historic score of 3-0 and played a perfect game.

This victory greatly boosted the morale and confidence of the players of the Dragon Kingdom, Lippi also showed the technical and tactical level of the world's top coaches, and Pan Yi's role is undoubted.

However, the Dragons should also be wary of Iran's strength.

"The Iranian team seems to be inferior to South Korea on paper, but it is superior to South Korea in actual combat. Against the Persian Knights, it will be difficult for any team in Asia to resist their attack. ”

FIFA also said that although Iran is stronger, the Dragons are not without opportunities.

"Iran have the best record in Group A, but they haven't shown complete dominance."

"They beat South Korea, Qatar and Uzbekistan 1-0 and drew 0-0 against Syria."

"Of course, more importantly, Iran also failed to take advantage of the head-to-head clash with the Dragons in the first leg, which ended in a 0-0 draw."

This shows that their efficiency is actually average, which is dominated by overseas players. On the contrary, the backline, which is dominated by domestic league players, is unusually solid, and has not conceded a goal in six games. ”

"After Lippi and Pan Yi entered the Dragon Country National Team, the Dragon Country team's defensive counterattack was also very sharp, not conceding goals in two consecutive games and scoring a total of six goals, which must be paid attention to by the Iranian team."

FIFA concluded by saying that this match will be a battle between several famous coaches.

"Queiroz has coached in giants like Real Madrid and Manchester United, and the achievements of Lippi and Pan Yi are not to mention, and the battle of wits between them will be the biggest attraction of this game."

"Looking at the last few rounds, the changes that world-class coaches have brought to the team are clear. In the hands of Lippi and Pan Yi, the Dragon Country team won both battles, and even South Korea, which had not been defeated much for decades, fell at the feet of the Dragon Country team. ”

"Queiroz has also made a huge change to Iran, and he has made Iran the best team in Asia at the moment, at least the strongest in Group A."

"This makes us all have to look forward to the next World Cup qualifier matchup, I wonder if the overwhelming Queiroz can lead his Persian army to defeat the combination of Lippi and Pan Yi?"

——

At the pre-match press conference, after the reporter mentioned the FIFA preview, Queiroz first jokingly said:

"It's not fair for me to have to face two world-class managers, Lippi and Pan Yi. There is no team in the world that can get any of them to be successful, and the Dragon Nation team has both, which is too enviable. ”

Then he said that whether it was Lippi or Pan Yi, he respected him very much.

"They are all world champions, Lippi has the World Cup, Pan Yi has the Club World Cup, these are heights that many people can't reach."

"And their combination has also brought about a sea change for the Dragon Country, especially in the one that beat South Korea three days ago, which surprised us all."

"We also focused on the footage of the Dragons, especially the two games they took over, and I think their work in the Dragons gave me a lot of thoughts."

"Lippi and his coaching team have proved themselves to be first-class in both the Italian national team and Changzhou Hengtai, and Pan Yilong's identity as a Chinese also gives him more room to play in this world-class teacher."

"From the broadcast footage, you can see that Pan Yi often conducts on-the-spot command on the sidelines, which is an advantage that foreign teachers like us don't have – yes, I don't speak Persian now."

"With such direct communication and command, the Dragons have become a very, very tenacious team, they are focused on the game, both offensive and defensive."

'They were able to beat South Korea 3-0 at home, which was quite a difficult thing. Don't forget, South Korea only lost by one goal in the last World Cup, even against a strong team like Belgium. ”

"I want to say that the current Dragon Country team is a team with excellent skills and tactics, and at the same time strong mental strength. Their rigorous overall football will make us feel the pressure in the game, especially their tenacious defending, which will make tomorrow's game very difficult. ”

In addition, the Dragon team also has a lot of talented players, Wu Lei has won the Champions League, and Zhang Yuning has also played very well in the Eredivisie, including 19-year-old Lin Liangming. Of course, their veteran captain Zheng Zhi is the heart of this team, and we must pay attention to it as well. ”

As for the expectation of the game, Queiroz did not give a direct answer, but tactfully said that in the current situation, the Iranian team can continue to lead the group as long as they remain unbeaten.

"I led the team to the last Asian Top 12 and I think every point counts. At the moment we have 14 points, while Uzbekistan is now in third place with 9 points, and we are five points ahead. ”

'It would be nice to get all three points, but if it was a draw, I wouldn't think it would be the end of the world because we would still be in charge of the group.

"Frankly, I think it's going to be difficult to beat this Dragons team right now and we've all seen how good they are on the pitch right now."

'Of course, as I say that, I hope that in tomorrow's game we can be the better side.'

Finally, Queiroz also said that he also hopes that in addition to Iran, the other team that can finally qualify for Group A will be the Dragons.

——

At the pre-match press conference of the Dragons held later in the game, head coach Lippi also reciprocated courtesy, constantly putting a high hat on Queiroz.

He believes that it is precisely because of the arrival of Queiroz that the Iranian team has become the most European Asian team now, and it is not lagging behind against world-class teams.

The most typical game was against Argentina in the final round of the group stage of the last World Cup, and in the face of an attacking group led by Messi, the Iranian team stubbornly resisted the whole game.

If it weren't for Messi's last-minute flash of inspiration, Iran would likely have been able to walk away in front of Argentina.

"Iran's style of play and physicality are close to those of European teams, and there is no doubt that we are not as good as our opponents at the moment."

'We have to face that up to the game, we need to avoid making mistakes, fight hard and be patient to find holes and mistakes in our opponents.

"Of course, football is round, so even if we are playing away, even if we have to face 100,000 Iranian fans, we will do our best to get a good result in Tehran!"

And Pan Yi also accepted an interview with reporters.

For the upcoming game, Pan Yi also said:

"No matter what the game is, no matter who the opponent is, we always have one goal, and that is to do our best to win. It's something we strive for, and we go into every game with the belief that we will win. ”

"Of course, Iran is the top team in Asia and it will be very difficult against such an opponent. That's what we need to do to control every detail of the game, and we have to be very focused and put our best foot and soul to the best of our ability. ”

Regarding Queiroz's remarks about hoping that the Dragons hope to enter the World Cup, Pan Yi said with a smile:

"Thank him for his blessings, and I certainly hope to be able to achieve such a goal."

'But as he said, every point in the group stage is very important and we are still a lot behind them.'

"If you want to qualify, you must fight one game after another, otherwise you won't be able to enter the World Cup just by shouting slogans."

"So I'm sorry, we have to win against Iran, otherwise the initiative will always be in someone else's hands."

"With our current level of strength, only by taking one step at a time, playing every game in a down-to-earth manner, and playing every game as a final, can we get valuable points in our hands, and then quietly wait for others to make mistakes."

"It's only when we do our best so that when the opportunity arises, we can really seize it and make it happen!"

Pan Yi is very realistic.

Now the Dragons are only in fifth place, the side behind them, while the top two are Iran and South Korea.

In the extreme case, if the Dragons can beat Iran and win all the next games, they can only reach 19 points in the end;

Assuming that Iran only needs to draw with South Korea after losing to the Dragons, and then beat the other two teams, they can still reach 21 points, and still have a solid advantage over the Dragons.

As for South Korea, Ping Iran, also beat the others, and the final points can also reach 20, still beating the Dragon Country!

In other words, if you follow this script, Dragon Kingdom will still be squeezed into the third place in the group to participate in the more uncertain, continuous play-offs.

So this is what Pan Yi said, you still need to wait for others to make mistakes, otherwise everything will be in vain.

Of course, football is not a mathematical calculation, otherwise you want to win the league championship, don't you have to win it all?

The problem is that the other teams are not decorations, they also take points and drop points, so the actual points don't need to be that much.

It's the same when it comes back to the top 12, Syria, Qatar, and Uzbekistan are not the targets of slaughter, they all have to rush out of the line, and they can still score points on South Korea and Iran.

Therefore, it is very difficult to stage this kind of imaginary script.

But the Dragon Nation team must first show their best side, and then when others lose points, they can take the opportunity to catch up in the rankings.

Otherwise, if you lose to Iran today and Syria tomorrow, even if others keep losing points, it will be useless.

You won't be able to use it if you get a chance!

Finally, Pan Yi said:

"Since the 2002 World Cup, we have been away from this big stage for a long time. So I still hope that a big country like ours can appear in the World Cup and bring real happiness to hundreds of millions of fans across the country! ”

——

March 28, 2017 afternoon, Tehran, Iran, Azadi Stadium.

The match between Iran and the Dragons is about to begin, and hundreds of thousands of Iranian fans are flocking to the stadium.

In order to create a better momentum to shock the Dragon team, the Iranian Football Association announced before the game that tickets for this game were free, which also made the super stadium with a capacity of 100,000 people full of seats.

And the Azadi Stadium is clearly the real devil's home stadium in Asian football.

In addition to the large number of people and the incredible momentum, the Iranian team's terrifying record here is an important key to making its devil's name famous all over the world.

Since 2010, the Iranian team has played a total of 25 matches at the Azadi Stadium, with 19 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses, scoring 69 goals and conceding 9 goals.

And if it were only an official match, Uzbekistan was the only one to take three points from the 2014 World Cup qualifiers in Brazil.

If you want to be specific to the Dragon Country......

They have been here five times in the last five times, and all five of them have been defeated!

It is precisely because of this that Iran is full of confidence in the Sino-Iranian match at the Azadi Stadium, and even more so for their fans.

With a few hours to go, the Azadi Stadium was already crowded.

Considering that not only the seats and aisles of the stadium stands are crowded with people, but even the walls are crawling with Iranian fans, and there are definitely more than 100,000 fans in them......

And in the evening, the stadium is even more crowded!

By this time, the warring parties had also entered their respective locker rooms to begin their final pre-war mobilization.

In the locker room of the Dragon Country team, Pan Yi didn't say much this time.

He first played a video of the last game against South Korea.

Mainly some steals during defense, goals after cooperation, as well as video clips such as post-game celebrations and interactions with fans.

After the players finished reading, Pan Yi said:

"I don't have anything else to say, but by watching these videos, I hope you can think back to your performance and your mentality against South Korea and carry that spirit forward to today's game."

"Just like the last game, the pressure on the Iranian team is actually higher than ours. What pressures do we have? Our lovely fans actually have very little demand from us, just give it their all on the pitch. ”

"Do you know why fans used to scold the national football team? Not because we lost, but because we didn't feel hopeful on the pitch. ”

"But why don't you scold again? Is it because all of a sudden, you have become one of the best teams in Asia? No, it's because you fought and they saw it. ”

"Don't feel like I'm an afterthought or just because we won. Most of you in the 2-3 defeat to the Korean team participated, did the fans scold you at that time? No. ”

"So it's very simple, don't think too much, just play and you're done! As long as we let go of our hands and feet, perform to the fullest, and fight to the end, we will not regret it when we look back on today, and the fans will not blame you! ”

In the dressing room, the internationals nodded silently.

Pan Yi's words spoke to their hearts.

They can win Qatar, especially South Korea, it really depends on a hard work that will never give up!

Stubbornly stunned the Koreans, who are known for their tough-willed qualities!

And the video they just watched reminded them of their memories a few days ago, and reminded them of their enthusiasm and hard work on the field at that time!

"Everyone!"

At this time, the captain Zheng Zhi stood up.

Before he could say hello, all the internationals had already stood up and formed a circle.

Zheng Zhi said loudly:

"We're still far from the World Cup, but it's not that far."

"Every time we win a game, we get one step closer to it!"

'It's a big game and I want each and every one of you to give it your all and don't give up any hope, even if it's until the last minute, we're going to do everything we can to get the three points away from home!'

"Tell me, can we do it?"

With the captain's last question mark, all the national football players echoed loudly:

"Yes!" (End of chapter)