Five days later, and Team Melli fans are still breathing sighs of relief. Thanks to Javad Nekounam’s unlikely header on an 81st minute corner, Iran was able to shrug off a mainly poor performance and escape Riyadh with a 1-1 tie with the Saudis.

The first half was especially problematic for Team Melli. Its defense was shabby, its passes lazy, and its scoring opportunities limited, to say the least. For all of Iran’s undeniable footballing talent on the field, there was little team chemistry, in spite of Ali Daei’s unbridled confidence just a few days before.

Saudi Arabia had numerous chances to score besides Saad al-Haarthi’s 29th minute goal. Their possessions were more coordinated, and their passing was much crisper. Team Melli caught a huge break when Faisal al-Sultan fell in the box after what looked like more than a legal tackle, but thankfully the whistle was not blown.

There admittedly were a few positives for Team Melli to take away after the match. The Iranians came out of the locker room with more energy in the second half, and eventually displayed the aggressive midfield play that helped them qualify for Germany in 2006. Seyed Rahmati made a couple of crucial saves and was in overall good form. And Masoud Shojaei showed why he is one of La Liga’s most promising new players with some fine ball control and good runs through the Saudi defense.

But nevertheless, Ali Daei would do well to go back to the drawing board, and more importantly, work on organizing an effective training camp that includes all of Team Melli’s participants (European-based players included). Iran’s next match is an “Axis of Evil” derby against a strong North Korea side, on October 15 in Tehran. Hopefully we won’t have to pin our hopes, yet again, on some late-game magic from Javad Nekounam.

-Kevin