- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Group leaders Iran and fellow Middle Eastern nation Qatar meet in the 2015 Asian Cup group stages tonight. Join The Roar from 8.00pm (AEDT) for live scores and a call of all the action from Sydney.
Iran kicked off the tournament with a good 2-0 win over Bahrain in Melbourne on Saturday, while Qatar disappointingly went down 4-1 to the UAE.
Tonight’s encounter is potentially a must-win game for Qatar if they want to progress any further in the Asian Cup. They shipped four goals against the UAE and were horrendous at the back.
They’ll need to improve their defensive shape greatly to have any chance against a lively and speedy Iranian team. Qatar also needs to lift its attacking output.
Qatar and Iran met in qualifying for last year’s World Cup and played out two draws. The two teams have been pretty even in the past and this will give the Qataris some hope.
But they desperately need a striker to step up and produce some goals.
For Iran, a win will confirm their place in the next round and they could go top of their group.
It wasn’t all plain sailing against Bahrain, who enjoyed good spells in Melbourne, but Iran showed enough to suggest they can go deep in this tournament.
In Dejagah and Reza they have some brilliant attacking talent, which will be a handful for Qatar to contain.
Qatar are likely to make some changes to shore up their side. Coach Djamel Belmadi will be under pressure, as many had tipped Qatar to be one of the two teams from this group to reach the quarter-finals.
They have the money, but I just can’t see the Qataris upsetting a talented Team Melli, especially with the phenomenal crowd support they receive.
Prediction: Iran 3-1
Follow John Davidson on Twitter @johnnyddavidson
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.