Bengaluru: Iran lived up to their billing as Asia’s best as they thoroughly outplayed India by a 3-0 margin in a World Cup preliminary qualifier at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Tuesday.
Sardar Azmoun, Andranik Teymourian and Mehdi Taremi found the net for the Asian giants as they climbed to the top of Group ‘D’ with seven points, edging out Oman and Guam on goal difference.
In front of a raucous crowd, India coach Stephen Constantine opted for a 4-4-2 formation that saw Robin Singh play as an unorthodox left winger, perhaps for his physical presence in defence, while captain Sunil Chhetri played in a free role with Jeje Lalpekhlua up front. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was handed his debut in goal.
Azmoun’s movements caused all sorts of problems for the hosts’ defence while Taremi frequently found pockets of space in between the lines to dictate play throughout the one-sided encounter.
