Shojaei's goal is proof of his football intelligence and in creation and execution a masterpiece and testament to a very smart player. Shojaei leads the ball in the counter attack and it's a 4 against 5 situation, as we have 4 Iranian players in attack but 5 Saudi players, although bad positioned, in defense. Shojaei sees the open space in front of Khalatbari and plays the ball exactly there, not to his feet but into open space.
This leaves Khalatbari, a right footed player against a right footed defender on the left side, where he can beat the opponent easily cut in and find empty space where he could dribble inside or square the ball. Overall, with 1 pass, Shojaei has taken 2 defenders out of the game and it's numerical advantage for Iran.
Now one Saudi player has to move to Khalatbari in order to prevent him from moving towards goal, which leaves Hashemian and Kia in the box marked but Shojaei on the edge unmarked. Shojaei stays outside and brings himself in excellent shooting position to score from Khalatbari's pass.
That goal was the essence of football: simple passing, good movement, beating one opponent, goal. Needless to say, we didn't see much from this again.
Saudi Arabia's goals
Unfortunately, the 2 goals we conceeded are also living testament on how not to do it. Here, we see 2 defenders(Aghili, Hosseini) playing offside and the 2 fullbacks moving back, which is utter nonsense.
And on the corner we have around 3 players at the near post, none at the far post and bad marking(small Ashjari against tall Al-Harbi, Nekounam losing him), which again, is just nonsense.
Football proves to be a very easy game where if you get the basics right, you have a good chance of winning.
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