Iran has an historical opportunity here.

After a good game against Wales, where they deservedly won 0:2, they just need one point to qualify to ⅛ finals for the first time in their history. The team is very solid in defense, like all Quieroz’ teams.

More and more of Iran’s players now earning a buck in some of Europe’s top leagues, there is a greater pool of talent to pick from than four years ago when the Iranians beat Morocco, lost narrowly to Spain and then drew with Portugal, earning plaudits galore but not that sought-after last-16 berth.

To make the next step Queiroz will need Iran’s famed defence, which is manned in numbers, to continue its good work. In the final round of qualifying, Iran conceded just four goals in ten matches and in September friendlies against Uruguay and Senegal they shipped a solitary goal, and that was an own goal. Seven clean sheets in ten qualifiers illustrates how well organised they are.

Sadegh Moharrami, Shoja Khalilzadeh and Hossein Kanaanizadegan are bedrocks of a solid defence which the meticulous Queiroz will have drilled impeccably. In midfield they look light, hence the preference for playing on the counter and launching the ball quickly to Porto’s Mehdi Taremi, Bayer Leverkusen’s Sardar Azmoun and Alireza Jahanbakhsh of Feyenoord. Success in front of goal is limited – 15 goals scored in those ten qualifiers is revealing – and that, ultimately, could be their undoing once again.

On the other hand, the USA has a good squad but their real target is the next World Cup. They are not fully ready for this one, with many young players lacking experience at this level. They achieved two draws so far, both with good performances but lacking the ‘punch’ needed to win games. We must remember that on the qualifiers ended below Canada and Mexico, and with the same points as Costa Rica. And Mexico and Costa Rica are having terrible performances in this World Cup.

They need a victory here to have chances to qualify so I’m sure that they will play offensive (as usual), but this doesn't mean that they can score goals. As I saw, they have the same problem as they had before the World Cup: lack of goal. Are struggling to create danger and chances, as we saw in the friendlies against Japan and Saudi Arabia just before the tournament, where they only managed to make two shots on target in 180 minutes. It’s logical - they dont have a clear candidate for the central striker role.

I’m expecting a match controlled by Iran. They should be able perfectly to leave the USA far from their area, although they could be outplayed, I dont see USA (with their problems upfront) able to create too much danger to a very solid and well organised team like Iran. The fact that the draw also could suit them it’s another plus for this double chance.

本译文使用有道机器翻译，仅供参考：

伊朗在这方面有一个历史性的机遇。

在对阵威尔士的比赛中，他们0:2完胜，这是他们历史上第一次只需要一分就能进入⅛级决赛。这支球队的防守非常稳固，就像奎罗兹的所有球队一样。

现在，越来越多的伊朗球员在欧洲顶级联赛中挣到钱，与四年前相比，现在有更多的人才可以挑选，当时伊朗击败摩洛哥，险胜西班牙，然后战平葡萄牙，赢得了大量喝彩，但没有那么抢手的16强席位。

为了取得下一步进展，奎罗斯将需要伊朗著名的、人数众多的防御系统继续其出色的工作。在预选赛的最后一轮，伊朗在10场比赛中只丢了4球，在9月与乌拉圭和塞内加尔的友谊赛中，他们只丢了一个球，那是一个乌龙球。十场预选赛七场零封，说明他们组织得多么好。

莫哈拉米、哈利勒扎德和卡那阿尼扎德甘是坚固防线的基石，细致的奎罗斯将把他们训练得无懈可击。在中场他们看起来很轻，因此他们更喜欢打反击，把球快速传给波尔图的塔雷米、勒沃库森的阿兹蒙和费耶诺德的贾汉巴克什。在门前的成功是有限的——这十场预选赛打进的15球说明了这一点——最终，这可能会再次成为他们的毁灭。

另一方面，美国有一个很好的阵容，但他们真正的目标是下一届世界杯。他们还没有完全准备好，许多年轻球员缺乏这个级别的经验。到目前为止，他们取得了两场平局，两场比赛都表现出色，但缺乏赢得比赛所需的“冲击力”。我们必须记住，在预选赛中我们落后于加拿大和墨西哥，并与哥斯达黎加积同样的分。墨西哥和哥斯达黎加在本届世界杯上的表现非常糟糕。

他们需要一场胜利才能有机会出线，所以我相信他们会像往常一样进攻，但这并不意味着他们可以进球。在我看来，他们面临着和世界杯前一样的问题:缺少进球。他们努力制造危险和机会，就像我们在赛前对阵日本和沙特阿拉伯的友谊赛中看到的那样，他们在180分钟内只射正了2次。这是合乎逻辑的——他们没有一个明确的中锋人选。

我期待一场由伊朗控制的比赛。他们应该可以把美国踢得远离他们的区域，尽管他们可能会被击败，我不认为美国(他们的问题在前面)能够给伊朗这样一个非常坚实和组织良好的球队带来太多的危险。事实上，抽签也适合他们，这是另一个增加了这个双重机会。