Iran vs. Costa Rica: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly!

The Good

Iran played a heck of a first half and won the game.
• A couple of the younger players got a chance to play.
• Ali Karimi, Vahid Hashemian, and Freydoon Zandi showed that they were in great form.
• The team showed some hunger (at least in the first half).

The Bad

• Backup goalkeeper Hasan Roudbarian made a few mistakes. Perhaps it was his nerves that got the best of him. But his performance left more to be desired.
• Midfielder Javad Nekounam was far below his peak form.
• Midfielder Moharam Navidkia is not ready. His seemed to be physically out of shape.
• Anderanik Teymourian’s performance suggested that he may not be comfortable playing wide right. When he moved to the center in the second half, his performance improved significantly. But he is not the first choice there unless Karimi or Nekounam are out.

The Ugly

• Thirty seven year old Ali Daei played 90 minutes. This at the expense of younger strikers like Arash Borhani or Siavash Akbarpour. It is mind boggling as to why a thirty seven year old over the hill striker should be a part of the national team, let alone play 90 minutes in every official and friendly match there is!