Qatari Experts Criticize Al-Gharafa; Esteghlal Won with Better Tactics

Qatari football experts believe Esteghlal defeated Al-Gharafa thanks to tactical superiority and better organization on the pitch.

Qatari football experts believe that Esteghlal managed to defeat Al Gharafa with tactical superiority and better organization on the field.

According to Mehr reporter, Esteghlal of Iran and Al Gharafa of Qatar played against each other in the second week of the group stage of the Asian Elite League on Monday evening, October 20, at the Thani Bin Jassim Stadium in Doha. The match ended with a score of 2-1 in favor of our country's representative, so that Esteghlal along with Al Ain of the Emirates will be the two teams that will leave the field victorious for two weeks in a row.

Majid Al-Khalifi, a Qatari football expert, said in the Elkas network program about this game: Al-Gharafa should have played with four defenders, not five defenders, from the beginning of the game. Because the presence of an additional defender was not necessary.

He added: "Using this system was not the right decision, especially at the beginning of the season and in a situation where the team has not yet reached full technical preparation." Even on Esteghlal's first goal, it could have been done better and the Al-Gharafa player could have cut the ball on the left side of the field so that Yasir Asi would not have an opportunity to score.

Khalid Salman, another expert of this program, referring to the defeat of Al-Gharafa against Esteghlal of Tehran, stated: This was the second defeat of Al-Gharafa with a similar result. Esteghlal had previously defeated Al-Sad with three goals and now defeated Al-Gharafa with two goals.

He added: In terms of technical level, Esteghlal was not necessarily better than its previous games, but in terms of organization on the field, understanding of match conditions and implementation of tactical tasks, it performed better. The duties of the players of this team are clear on the field and this helps Esteghlal to win technically. Also, this team has players who can increase the quality of its game.

Criticizing Al Gharafa's tactical performance, the Qatari football expert said: This team still relies on the individual abilities of its players, especially Adam Onas and Yassin Brahimi, and continued to play with the same approach in the second half. Perhaps, if Frank Megri and Yassin Brahimi had been on the field until the end, Gharafa could have created a different situation in the final minutes, because this team had a significant difference with the opponent in the offensive phase.

Khalid Salman continued: Despite the defeat, Al-Gharafa did not perform badly in the second half, even relying on individual games, but in terms of tactical work on the field, they faced deficiencies. Both in the defensive structure and in the organization of attacks. These weaknesses were clearly evident during the match.

In the end, he emphasized the wrongness of Al-Gharafa's initial system and noted: I agree with the opinion of the experts who criticized the choice of the five-defender system from the beginning of the game. Considering the type of game and the quality of its defensive players, especially the three central defenders, Al-Gharafa could not perform properly in this system. Finally, this failure should be condoled with Gharafa.