(WATCH<<<) Iran vs. Montenegro live match 12 August 2023
Montenegro vs Iran Live Score and Match Stats
With a strong midfield and a relatively experienced defence, Iran enjoyed a smooth qualification campaign—finishing first in their third-round group that also featured Qatar. More impressive was their showing in the fourth qualification round, however, as they finished top in a challenging group with South Korea, Uzbekistan, Qatar and Lebanon. There were glimpses of Iran's quality and experience on Monday. They found themselves close to breaking the deadlock and even extending it against Montenegro—but they have lots to do before they can convince critics and doubters that they can make their presence felt in Brazil.
Benchmarking Their Montenegrin Opponents5 of 6Scott Heavey/Getty ImagesIran's opponents, Montenegro, finished third in their World Cup qualification group behind England and Ukraine, and thus missed out on a place in this summer's tournament. Montenegro are a side not short in quality themselves, and it may be damning to know that head coach Branko Brnovic put out a team far short of their regular first team on Monday. But how do they measure up against Iran's opponents in their World Cup group this June? Ranked 54th in the most recent FIFA World Rankings, Montenegro find themselves behind all of Iran's group-stage rivals: Nigeria are the lowest ranked in 44th, while Bosnia and Herzegovina are 25th and Argentina seventh.
Iran @ Montenegro Basketball Betting Odds & Lines
UD Las Palmas' Masoud Shojaei adds a threat from long distance, while we saw the effectiveness of Dejagah's direct running as he was one of Fulham's few bright spots in their doomed Premier League campaign last season. A solid combination of starting midfielders whose quality and experience were apparent against Montenegro. A Lack of a Cutting Edge Let Iran Down3 of 6Osama Faisal/Associated PressThe problem that Queiroz must solve, however, is their lack of a consistent goalscorer up front. Ghoochannejhad is not that man. He might have nine goals in just 12 appearances for his national team, but among them, just one came against opposition of note (South Korea in 2013) and he failed to light up the Championship with Charlton since joining the Addicks this January.
Montenegro vs Iran: LiveScore, Live Stream + Prediction
Regular starter Karim Ansarifard, with eight goals in 40 caps and frequently named as the successor to Iranian legend Ali Daei, found himself on the bench—but will presumably feature more prominently as Queiroz continues to tinker in his upcoming friendlies. Besides Ghoochannejhad and Ansarifard, Iran's three other options up front have between them eight caps and no international goals. First in Asia, but Much to Improve4 of 6Amin M. Jamali/Getty ImagesAccording to the FIFA World Rankings, as of May 8, 2014, Iran are the highest-ranked team in Asia—ahead of traditional powerhouses like Japan and South Korea—a strong endorsement for their strength and recent performances.
Iran - Montenegro 12.08.2023 - Livescore