Iran recorded their first win at a World Cup finals since 1998 at the expense of Morocco as substitute Aziz Bouhaddouz scored an own goal in injury time.

Here are five things we learned 

HERVE RENARD HAS A LOT OF GAME CARDS UP HIS SLEEVES

Renard, the master tactician really caught us by surprise as his team lined up in a 3-4-3 formation rather than the normal 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1 formation. His point is clear; he is going to set up his team according to the strengths and weaknesses of his opponents. Noureddine Amrabbat posed a lot of threat on the left wing and if his fellow attackers were on the same page with him, Morocco would have won comfortably.

AMINE HARIT, A LEASE OF LIFE

Amine Harit has shown that he has what it takes to drive this Moroccan team forward. In the first half, he was very impressive as he surged forward several times. In a first half where key men Younes Belhanda, Mbark Boussoufa and Hakim Ziyach failed to find their spark, Harit lit up the game with some really impressive runs. Harit didn’t look back in the second half as he played a crucial part in almost all of Morocco’s attacking surges.

IRAN DO HAVE A PLAN

Iran held their nerves as they withstood an opening ten minutes of massive attacking football from Morocco. That ten minute spell of attacking football saw Morocco emerge with 81% ball possession. As the game progressed in the first half, Iran gained more confidence and were able to create some chances of their own. In the best chance of the game, Iran’s danger man, Sardar Azmoun was put through on goal but failed to find the back of the net. Iran started the second half in a similar fashion as they maintained their defensive discipline and looked to catch Morocco on the break. Iran also had some good spells on the ball. If this performance by Iran is anything to go by, then it implies that Iran really mean business and are not here to imitate Saudi Arabia’s mammoth goal conceding habit.

MOROCCO RELIANT ON LONG BALLS AND WING PLAY

In a very excellent start, Morocco made their intentions known. They came to win!!!! Morocco utilized the use of the long balls as Benatia looked to find wide man Noureddine Amrabat on so many occasions. Noureddine was the focus of most of Morocco’s attack until his substitution. On some occasions, we also saw Ziyach try to spread play with some impressive long balls. Ziyach also served as the eye of the team as he tried several times to place the ball in behind the Iranian defence.  In totality, Herve Renard set up his team to cause havoc from the flanks which was not effective in breaking down Iran’s defensive set-up.

MOROCCO NEEDS A PLAN B

Most of Morocco’s attacks were initiated from the left flank and it was all too predictable. Iran’s defence was very tight and Morocco should have tried to be a bit more direct on some occasions. In as much as Morocco’s star men did not live up to their expectation, Morocco’s game plan should have changed at some point as it wasn’t working

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