TEHRAN - After watching the skill of Iranian players Vahid Amiri and Ali Gholizade against Syria, I was convinced that as long as these players are active, we will enjoy football.

Gholizadeh scored Iran's last goal single-handedly, a clever player on the ball used his sudden acceleration changes that wrongfooted three Syrian defenders and converted a low drive in the  89th  minute.

Iran, with impressive match stats throughout the game, defeated Syria 3-0. The result confirmed Iran as the top team in Group A of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualification.

Iran adopted a 1-4-2-3-1 formation, dominating the match with 459 passes and 60% of ball possession. Their game model was a logical positional play with effective off-the-ball movement and passing combination in attack and early pressing and aggressive tackling in defense. The attacking block consisted of Sardar Azmoun, Ehsan Hajisafi, Gholizade, and Vahid Amiri were spectacular, always on the move and creating space in and around the Syrian penalty area. The out-and-out striker Azmoun opened the scoring after receiving a pinpoint long pass from Amiri in the 33rd minute in the first half.

Syria employed a 1-4-4-1-1 system of play. They formed a Low-Block defending style and played counterattack. They had two experienced and talented forwards namely, Omar Al Somah and Mohamad Al Mawas.

With Dragan Skocic's philosophy of using versatile players and giving players freedom of movement and expression, Amiri is now what Italian called a new "Trequartista "in Iranian football.

In his new role as the attacking midfielder, Amiri was instrumental in the first two goals and a reliable link between defending and attacking movements. He was mobile, a quick-thinker, and the focal point of counterattacks.

The 3-0 result against Syria proved the conclusion to a successful campaign of Skocic and his side. Iran rattled, harassed, and outplayed the opposition throughout the game.