TEHRAN – I was leading an AFC coaching course in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in June 2019 when Mongolian captain Tsedenbal Norjmoo scored from a direct free kick against Brunei, which was the first goal of the qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup for lower ranked players. national teams. In the end, Mongolia beat Brunei 2-0.

Since then, we have seen many twists and turns and unexpected results. We are now in the last rounds of the qualifying phase, with all regular qualifying matches to be completed by the end of March and we know the 30 of the 32 teams, and the last two places will be decided in the intercontinental showdown. in June.

Under the tutelage of Dragan Skocic, Iran qualified with an impressive record of six clean sheets and with an average of 55% possession, only once were held 1-1 by a South Korean side tactically shrewd in Tehran. So far, the Iranians have shown skill, discipline, proper flow and good balance when transitioning. Skocic adopted a 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1 variation, leading player Mehdi Taremi proved imposing and a world-class finisher.

Skocic has remained confident in a back-four consisting of two centre-backs and two attacking outside backs. They bring width in attack and create numerical superiority on the flanks.

Research on success factors in World Cup competitions and the study by the Institute of Sport and Sports Science in Karlsruhe, Germany, show that the success factors of the previous two World Cups of FIFA in Russia and Brazil suggest that defensive errors, 1v1 confrontations, tackle success, shots from counterattacks, effective delivery of crosses and set pieces have a significant influence on the victory of the matches, but possession of the ball and the distance covered and the market value of the teams’ players did not affect the result.

Overall, most critical hits were tied to a strong and compact defensive organization and defensive structure.

Finally, the direct style of football and pressing was more effective than the ball possession game.

We need to consider rethinking the way we think.