India vs Iran Player Ratings: Nikhil Prabhu, Uvais impress, Rahul Bheke disappoints

The match ended in Iran’s favour 0-3.

The Indian Football Team fell short 0-3 against the Asian powerhouse Iran National Football Team, in the CAFA Nations Cup 2025 held on the 1st September at Hisor Central Stadium, Tajikistan.

The Blue Tigers displayed an impressive tactical brilliance till the sixty-minute mark against the world number twenty in the heavyweight encounter as the Indian defensive unit remained composed and strong, neutralising almost all the initiatives made by Iran. However, since then, the resilience and the composure that the Blue Tigers displayed faded, and this was capitalised on by the Iranian Players.

Iran found the opener with the services of Amirhossein in the 59th minute, and in the dying minutes of the game, Ali Aliopour and Mehdi Taremi found the back of the net, putting the game to bed and almost ensuring a place in the finals of the tournament.

Khalid Jamil's India succumb to a 3-0 loss against 20th-ranked Iran despite a spirited performance! #IndianFootball #IndianFootballTeam #BlueTigers pic.twitter.com/hJudupS88Z

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) September 1, 2025

Khalid Jamil would have a mixed bag of emotions, and the gaffer would have to take the positives and negatives from this clash to prepare for the final match of the group stage against Afghanistan, which could potentially decide India’s chances of progressing further in the CAFA Nations Cup. Here are the India vs Iran Player Ratings.

India Player Ratings – by Niranjan R Prabhu

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu – 6

Gurpreet was very vocal and excellently directed his players in the midfield and the defence to build a strong defensive structure. The keeper held his hands and did remarkably well whenever the opponents bolstered shots at goal in the match, guarding the goal with back-to-back saves. In the second half, the defensive unit of India became weak, and Gurpreet was just a spectator when the opponent scored thrice.

Rahul Bheke – 5

Rahul was proactive and did exceptionally well in shadowing Naderi in the initial minutes. Later, the full-back had some issues in positioning and was seen overlapping Jhingan and Anwar during multiple instances. Did his best to prevent the opener, but was unable to react to the second ball.

Failed to mark Ali in the 90th minute, and this paved the way for the opponent’s second goal. Bheke was questionable in the right back position throughout the match.

Sandesh Jhingan – 6.5

Jhingan, alongside Anwar, was defensively compact and was always up to the challenge whenever the opponents challenged the backline from the set-pieces. Stayed awake and blocked a significant number of shots fired by Iranian strikers and midfielders. But later, as the game progressed, his pace declined, and he was unable to prevent the last-minute goals.

Anwar Ali – 6

Anwar maintained discipline and defensive shape efficiently and was seen making interceptions during the through balls delivered by the opponents from the midfield. Closed down the Irani attackers and made a good number of clearances. Anwar was, however, off in the second half as he lost concentration and composure in the defensive third, which was punished by the opponents.

Muhammed Uvais – 6

In the first half, Uvais made some good blocks and silenced the attacks made by the opponents on the left flank. Got an opportunity to fire up a counterattack in the first half, but the player, rather than playing the ball forward to the attacking half, kept the ball. Attempted some crosses, but almost every one of them either went to no-man’s land or to the opponents. Lacked the intensity that was seen in his debut match.

Nikhil Prabhu – 7

Nikhil Prabhu was the backbone of the midfield and made some excellent rotations with the ball. Put his body in front of the ball when the ball whenever the Irani players took their chances at goal from distance. Dispossessed the opponents multiple times in the midfield and demonstrated a brilliant individual performance. Had a good game-reading and positioning, provided some key passes

Suresh Singh Wangjam – 6

The 25-year-old had a decent performance and did pretty well in winning duels and making a few quick dribbles. Controlled the ball well and did not commit many mistakes in the match. Took some set-pieces, but most of them ended disappointingly. Could have done better in his on-the-ball movements.

Danish Farooq – 6

Danish had a topsy-turvy day at the office as was seen winning duels and linking well with his fellow teammates in the middle third. However, to his dismay the midfielder lost the ball a large number of times and gifted possession back to Iran which added up to the trouble for India.

Vikram Partap Singh – 7

Vikram played his heart out and consistently led the pressing, which slowed down the opponent’s attacking initiatives to a large extent. Tracked back and supported Rahul Bheke whenever the Irani wingers attacked from the wings. Made a few accelerated runs, forced a few errors from the opponents, and was a potent threat for the Asian giants.

Ashique Kuruniyan – 6

Was surprisingly struggling for a large part of the match and was unable to make a significant contribution for the Blue Tigers. Lacked decision-making and was seen dribbling solo even though the player had options to pass and create trouble for Iran. Though Ashique displayed a better performance than he did against Tajikistan, he could have done better in multiple aspects.

Irfan Yadwad – 5

Irfan worked really hard, and alongside Vikram, the player piled pressure on the opponent’s backline. Won the ball in the midfield with some really good tackles. But offensively, Irfan was seen struggling in the final third, losing the ball multiple times during his moves. In some instances, when he made some good runs in the wings, he lacked finishing. Though he put in the work, he was unable to produce desirable output, leading to a frustrating performance.

Substitutes

Chinglensana – N/A

Sana did not have much minutes on the pitch as he was brought in as a substitute in the second half. However, as soon as Iran scored their goal he was subbed off by Khalid Jamil.

Jeakson Singh – 4.5

Was optimistic and went for a long-range shot in the injury time of the second half. Jeakson was snail-paced and probably had one of the worst hours on the pitch.

Mahesh Singh Naorem – 6

Set up the ball very nicely and crafted some chances for the Blue Tigers. Delivered some teasing crosses from the right and challenged Iran in the final minutes of the game.

Jithin MS – 6

Was a bright spark as he had pace and gave some crosses in the limited minutes played.

Lallianzuala Chhangte – N/A

Iran Player Ratings – by

Payam Niazmand – 7.5/10

The 30-year-old Iranian custodian plays for Persepolis FC had a fairly easy game as Indian strikers hardly troubled him much. He looked stable between the sticks and was successful in keeping his first clean sheet of the campaign.

Ramin Rezaeiansemeskandi – 7.5/10

The veteran Iranian right back from Esteghlal FC was a big menace in the right flank as he constantly kept making those accelerated runs from the right side of the pitch.

Mohammad Naderi – 8/10

Tractor FC centre back was aware of the threats posed by the Indian defenders. He stopped everything that came along his way and was a rock solid presence in the defence.

Mohammad Amin Hazbavi – 7/10

Sepahan FC centre back Hazbavi also looked composed in the back and did a good job to deny Indian strikers any real chance to score tonight.

Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh- 9/10

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The Tractor FC centre forward beautifully converted the long ball and put it behind the net to hand over the lead to Iran in the hour mark.

Mohammadhossein Kanani Zadegan – 8/10

Kanani ensured that India’s wingers couldn’t make late entries into the box from the left flank. His sliding tackle in the last quarter was amazing.

Roozbeh Cheshmi – 6.5/10

Cheshmi had a decent game tonight and was a solid defensive support in the middle of the field.

Mahdi Hashemnezhad Rahimabadi – 7/10

Mahdi was just brilliant tonight and shocked everyone with his creative dribbles and even got the better of Uvais.

Mehran Ahmadi – 6/10

The Sepahan striker was beaten a lot of times by Suresh Wangjam and couldn’t make the most of the runs made by the left winger.

Majid Aliyari – 6/10

Majid was subbed off after a decent outing tonight. He couldn’t make much of the opportunities and had a fairly average outing.

Omid Nor Afkan – 7/10

Omid was controlling the possession throughout the game and was the heart of Iran’s midfield tonight.

Substitutes

Ali Alipour – 8.5/10

The newly subbed-on player didn’t miss an easy chance to score the second goal of the game and seal the fate of the match.

Alireza Jahanbaksh – 8/10

Alireza brought a renewed sense of purpose and determination and injected fresh energy into the pitch since his inception.

Mehdi Taremi – 8.5/10

Taremi in the second half was literally stunning and made all those brilliant runs into the opposition box. He also scored a goal at last.

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