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Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan in Iran’s World Cup 2026 qualifiers group

The draw for FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying rounds has been carried out. Iran, the second-highest seed in Asia, will be playing in the second round of the competition. The draw of the second round pitted Team Melli with Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the winner of Hong Kong/Bhutan match which will be played in the first round of the qualifiers.

in the ceremony held today (Thursday) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the AFC announced that these matches are also the qualifiers for the AFC Asian Cup 2027 which is to be held in Saudi Arabia.

Team Melli will start its campaign this winter with a match against Round One qualifiers, which is most probably be Hong Kong. It is not clear if the match will be played in Azadi Stadium which is going through some heavy renovation and maintenance. Hong Kong is also in Iran’s group in the AFC Asian Cup 2023 in Qatar.

FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers Matches :

Nov 16th, 2023 vs. Hong Kong Home: World Cup Qualifier

Nov 21st, 2023 vs. Uzbekistan Away: World Cup Qualifiers

Mar 21st, 2024 vs. Turkmenistan Home: World Cup Qualifier

Mar 26th, 2024 vs. Turkmenistan Away: World Cup Qualifier

Jun 6th, 2024 vs. Hong Kong Away: World Cup Qualifier

Jun 11th, 2024 vs. Uzbekistan Away: World Cup Qualifier

Team Melli is to play Bulgaria in a friendly international.

For the upcoming FIFA Day, the FFIRI has agreed terms with its Bulgarian counterpart to arrange a friendly game between Iran and Bulgaria in Sofia.

According to Mehdi Mohammad Nabi. the secretary general of the FFIRI who is also the Team Melli manager, the game will be held in Bulgaria and the federation is actively seeking another opponent in that period in order for Team Melli to fully benefit from FIFA Day international break.

Bulgaria is ranked 71 in the FIFA World ranking while Iran is second in Asia and 22nd in the world, 49 rank ahead of its rival.

The two teams met once in Tehran as part of Team Melli’s preparation for its first FIFA World Cup appearance in Argentine. That match ended in a 1-1 draw in front of 65,000 fans with Ali Parvin equalizing through a spot kick after Bulgaria took the lead in the first half.

IRAN LINEUP:

Nasser HEJAZI : Hasan NAYEBAGHA (46′ Behtash FARIBA), Andranik ESKANDARIAN, Hassan NAZARI,
Ali SHOJAEI, Nassrollah ABDOLLAHIE (66′ Javad ALLAHVARDI);Ebrahim GHASEMPOUR, Ali PARVIN ( 62′ Mahmoud HAGHIGHIAN),
Mohammadreza ADELKHANI (75′ Iraj DANAEIFARD); Hassan ROWSHAN (56′ Hossein FARAKI),Ghafour JAHANI

From that team, Mohammad Reza Adelkhani failed to make the squad to Argentina after suffering an injury at home.

Milan ready new offer for Porto striker Taremi

By Oliver Fisher – 

AC Milan have agreed personal terms with Porto forward Mehdi Taremi and are now working on a deal with the club, according to reports.

The Rossoneri are on the hunt for a new center-forward to complement Olivier Giroud and fill the void left behind by Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s departure.

Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri is reporting that Taremi has an agreement in principle with Milan over a four-year contract that would therefore run until June 2027.

Talks are now ‘concretely ongoing’ with FC Porto in order to find the right deal for the Iranian striker, with an official offer expected soon and more news to follow in due course.

Meanwhile, Claudio Raimondi has reported to SportMediaset (via MilanNews) that Milan has indeed agreed terms with Taremi, who is the Rossoneri’s first-choice target for the attack.

They say a three-year contract worth €3m net per year is ready, which is a pay rise compared to what he gets at Porto (€1.8m). However, there is still no agreement with the Portuguese club who are asking for €25m.

The club already made an offer for Taremi, proposing a deal worth around €13m, but this was swiftly rejected by Porto, who made it clear that they wanted around €20-25m for the Iranian striker.

The Milan management is willing to offer €20m maximum, while Jorge Mendes – who is the striker’s agent and also an intermediary in the operation – is working to try to find a meeting point.

The move could be the difference maker in securing the 30-year-old’s signature, considering that he’s entered the last year of his contract with the Portuguese side.

Last season, Taremi scored 31 goals and provided 14 assists in 51 appearances across all competitions.

Mohebbi joins FC Rostov

Mohammad Mohebbi, is seeking a new adventure in Russia.

The Team Melli forward who played last season on loan from Portugal’s Santa Clara team in Iran’s Esteghlal, has signed a three-year contract with Russian side FC Rostov club. The club is based in Rostov-on-DonRostov Oblast, and is coached by Valery Karpin.

After signing Mohebi’s contract, his agent made a bold statement and claimed that Mohebbi could be the next Cristiano Ronaldo of world football! In this regard, Saadati told the Russian RB Sport website: I can write a book about Mohammad. First, he is the complete professional player and a person with an incredible character.

He added: “Mohebi was one of the best young talents that Iranian football has produced in recent years, and with all his football and physical characteristics, he can play in the top European clubs.”

Saadati emphasized: ” I am sure that if this player is used wisely, Mohebbi can be the next Cristiano Ronaldo! He added: “If the coach gives Mohebbi enough time to adapt to the Russian league, the club can get incredible benefits.”

Notwithstanding the promotion and the hype that the agent is creating, Mohebbi will find life quite tough in the Russian league that is dominated by Zenit St. Petersburg for many years. Of course, Sardar Azmoun also played in Rostov and contributed to the success of the club and his eventual transfer to Zenit.

Rostov was 2nd in the 2022–23 Russian Premier League with 5 games left, but lost 4 out of 5 games and dropped to 4th place at the final table. Russian clubs are suspended from European competitions.

Gholizadeh to the Polish Leauge

Ali Gholizadeh has been officially transferred from his Belgian club to Lech Poznan in Poland.

Last night Sporting Charleroi Club of Belgium officially confirmed the departure of Iranian player Ali Golizadeh and his joining Ekstraklasa club Lech Poznań, of Poland. Golizadeh joined the Belgian club from Iran’s Saipa team in 2018, and in his five seasons in this team, he scored a total of 23 goals and 26 assists in 143 games (9656 minutes).

The 27-year-old Iranian winger was on loan in the second half of the last season to the Turkish team Kasımpaşa.

Gholizadeh, born in Ardabil, started his senior career at Saipa. He has represented Iran in all age levels until being picked by Carlos Queiroz for Team Melli in which he has now made 30 appearances scoring 4 goals and providing one assist.

This is the first time an Iranian footballer plays at the senior level in Poland. The transfer fee is rumored to be in the region of 1.8 million euros, which makes this Iranian player, the most expensive transfer in the history of the Polish league.

Lech has won the Polish league a total of eight times, most recently in 2022, and is the most popular football club in the Greater Poland region. The Stadion Poznań is the home ground of Lech Poznań, and was one of the venues for the group phase of Euro 2012. It has a league capacity of 43,269 (all seated). The stadium was originally built between 1968 and 1980. 

Manchester United checking on Taremi

According to Portuguese outlet Jornal de Noticias, the Red Devils are believed to be keen on signing the 30-year-old this summer having been tracking his progress for an extended period of time, with the United boss said to appreciate the striker’s ‘qualities’.

The report adds that the 66-cap Iranian international could be available for as little as €20m (£17m) if he is to leave the Primeira Liga outfit over the coming weeks, with the experienced marksman having just a year left to run on his existing deal.

This comes amid the news that the Old Trafford outfit have also agreed a £60m fee with Chelsea for the signing of England playmaker, Mason Mount, with the club now turning their attention towards the acquisition of a new number nine – as well as a new goalkeeper.

Mehdi Taremi

The former Rio Ave machine may well be something of an unknown quantity to some European sides, although he has certainly proven his goalscoring credentials during his time in Portugal in recent years, scoring 80 goals in just 147 games for his current side.

That includes a standout haul of 31 goals and 14 assists in just 51 games in all competitions during the 2022/23 campaign, with that a better record than even United’s top scorer, Marcus Rashford achieved last season, with the Englishman bagging 30 goals and nine assists across all fronts.

The 6 foot 1 hotshot has also previously made his presence felt against English opposition after scoring a “ridiculous” overhead kick against Chelsea in the Champions League back in 2021 – as hailed by ex-Red Devils star, Rio Ferdinand – having also netted twice for his country against the Three Lions at the World Cup in Qatar.

While there may be concerns over the striker’s age – as he is set to turn 31 in just a few weeks’ time – that could make Taremi an ideal alternative to another potential short-term fix in the form of Harry Kane, with the Tottenham Hotspur talisman set to turn 30 at the end of the month.

The latter man has been heavily linked with a move to the Theatre of Dreams in recent times, although thus far there appears to be no sign that Ten Hag and co will be able to pull off a deal, amid Spurs’ apparent reluctance to sell.

With Lilywhites chairman Daniel Levy also likely to demand £100m for the Englishman – despite having just 12 months left on his existing deal in north London – United could bring in a figure like Taremi for a fraction of that price tag instead.

It was in fact the Porto ace who enjoyed a more profitable 2022/23 season also, with Kane ‘only’ managing to register 37 goal involvements across all fronts, in contrast to the Iranian’s stellar tally of 45 goals and assists.

That would suggest that while the signing of Taremi would be an undoubted wildcard move for the Red Devils, it could well allow Ten Hag to find an ideal, bargain Kane alternative.

FIFA Ranking – June 2023, Iran 22nd and Japan top of Asia.

Iran gained two places in the FIFA Ranking to climb to 22nd place in the World ahead of Ukraine and Sweden.

Japan’s National football team remained firmly at the top of the FIFA Asian ranking increasing the gap from Iran, which is in second place in the latest ranking published by FIFA today.

three wins for Iran in the CAFA Nations Cup 2023 which was hosted by Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan helped the Team Melly tally, however, Japan has done slightly better with 7.37 points increase to Iran’s 3.36. Australia and South Korea swapped places with the latter going down one place to fourth.

raw on FIFA Day in March, Iran closed the gap very slightly with Japan which solidly occupies the top place despite losing 4.5 points. South Korea, Australia, and Saudi Arabia follow next.

RK
Team
Total Points
Previous Points
+/-

Positions
20
Japan
Japan
1595.96
1588.59 7.37
22
IR Iran
Iran
1556.59
1553.23 3.36
27
Australia
Australia
1530.45
1532.79 -2.34
28
Korea Republic
Korea Rep.
1529.3
1536.01 -6.71
53
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
1421.46
1421.46 0
58
Qatar
Qatar
1393.52
1388.61 4.91
70
Iraq
Iraq
1345.21
1347.84 -2.63
72
United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
1336.28
1336.28 0
73
Oman
Oman
1332.45
1333.54 -1.09
74
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
1327.58
1318.36 9.22

AFC qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 2026

The seeding for FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers in Asia have been determined.

After winning the title of CAFA Nations Cup 2023, Team Melli would be busy preparing for the AFC Asian Cup and the next round of World Cup qualifiers. Iran will not be involved in Round 1 of the qualifiers but will start its games in Round 2.

The qualifiers starting in 2023 will be a marathon of matches in a similar pattern to the previous edition of the World Cup in Qatar.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers will start in the Asian continent on Thursday, October 12. In the first round, 22 AFC teams from the lowest FIFA ranking will take part, with 11 of them will advance to the group round.

The second round of the qualifiers will see Iran’s presence. Team Melli is currently ranked second in Asia after Japan. The AFC second round of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, which also serves as the second round of 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification, is expected to be played from 16 November 2023 to 11 June 2024

A total of thirty-six teams will be drawn into nine groups of four to play home-and-away round-robin matches. They include the twenty-five teams (teams ranked 1–25 in the AFC entrant list) which received byes to this round and the eleven winners from the first round.

Eighteen group winners and runners-up advance to the third round and qualify for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The third and fourth-place teams will advance to the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualification.

SEEDING

The 11 teams that advanced from Round 1, along with the top 25 teams in Asia, form a total of 36 teams that must be placed in 9 four-team groups. The classification of this round of competitions is as follows:

Seed 1: Japan – Iran – Australia – South Korea – Saudi Arabia – Qatar – Emirates – Iraq – Oman

Seed 2: Uzbekistan – China – Jordan – Bahrain – Syria – Vietnam – Palestine – Kyrgyzstan – India

Seed 3: Lebanon – Tajikistan – Thailand – North Korea – Philippines – Malaysia – Turkmenistan – Kuwait – Hong Kong

The top two teams from each group will advance to the third round of the World Cup qualifiers in the Asian continent and the third and fourth teams of the group are also eliminated.

Schedule

The schedule is expected to be as follows, according to the FIFA International Match Calendar.

MatchdayDate(s)
Matchday 116 November 2023
Matchday 221 November 2023
Matchday 321 March 2024
Matchday 426 March 2024
Matchday 56 June 2024
Matchday 611 June 2024

Iran U17 qualifies for the FIFA U17 Work Cup

Pathum Thani: Iran U17 team defeated Yemen in a penalty shoot-out to qualify for the semi-finals of the AFC U17 Asian Cup and book a place in the FIFA U17 World Cup in Indonesia. The dour match ended goalless in humid and wet conditions. Iran won the penalties 4-2 with Foolad Khouzestan FC defender and Iran U17 captain confidently putting Iran in the lead.

Since winning the AFC U-16 Championship title in 2008, Iran has only reached the final once – in 2016 when they finished runners-up to Iraq.

Although Iran U 17 played brilliant football against South Korea one of the strongest teams in Asia in the last group match and won 2-0, this match was marred by mistakes, lack of composure, and at times total loss of concentration.

It was clear that the Iranians were under immense pressure while the Yemenis. with nothing to lose, played confidently and courageously against the better opponent. Yemen in fact had more ball possession than Iran but was let down by their finishing.

Hossein Abdi’s hesitancy in substitution resulted in two bookings that have cost the team as these two players will be suspended for the semi-finals. Iran’s number 9, Yaqoub Barajeh, looked and acted nervously. In fact, he was lucky to be on the field for his wild tackles and a few arguments with the referee. He was given a yellow card, which means he will miss the next game.  Zoleikhaei is the other player who received a yellow and will miss the semi-final.

Overall, it was not a pretty game to watch although Iran suddenly came alive in the last minutes with a barrage of attacks that threatened Yemen’s goal until it was breached by a header that the lineman called offside.

The match went into penalty kicks without playing extra time.

91′ Erfan Darvish Aali , Hesam Nafari , Esmaeil Gholizadeh, and Nima Andarz scored for Iran, while the U17 keeper Shakouri saved two kicks from the Yemeni side.

What is behind KananiZadegan’s childish act?

Mohammad Hossein Kanani-Zadegan in his own right, is perhaps not brilliant but a good defender who has shown that he can compete with the best if he puts his mind to it. He represented his country at youth levels in the U17 in 2008, U20 in 2011, and U23 in 2014 teams before getting a call for Team Melli in 2015. However, it is quite clear that his brain and attitude have not grown since he was on the U17 team.

Long known for his indiscipline and indiscretion, Kananizadegan nearly ruined the final of the CAFA Nations Cup 2023 in the final minute of the match in which Team Melli was winning and in no danger of losing it, by the defender’s unprofessional and childish behavior.

Referring to such an attitude, a former Team Melli player said “It is a pity that such a player with such ethics and immature behavior is a member Of team Melli.” Said Mehdi Fonoonizadeh. “ You won’t observe such behavior from kids playing in back alleys of our cities, yet this guy does it at the international level! “

Fonoonozadeh who strongly criticized Kanaizadegan continued “ He sits on the ground like a child and doesn’t want to leave the field after being sent off. The clash that happened after that between the two sets of players which also sent the bench of both teams into the field, was all due to Kananizadegan’s childlike behavior threatening the continuation of the match and fights between players.”

“ This controversy by the amateurish Kanaizadegan put the game in disrepute and the reputation of our national football was called into question because of one ugly conduct. I hope the management and coaching staff, especially Amir Ghalenoei, will deal with this issue with full force, and not allow these ill-manners to creep into Team Melli”.

Fonoonizadeh concluded by saying “ If we intend to claim the AFC Asian Cup against professional opponents, fully prepared physically and mentally, by such indiscretions and indiscipline, it will definitely cause the Asian Football Confederation to have a different view towards our country’s football.”

The last time Kanaizadegan was in hot water was when he was caught during the Covid curfew trying to sneak a girl into the Team Melli camp during Dragan Skocic’s reign. The Croat coach was criticized by many for failing to discipline the player, however, and under much pressure from the media, the FFIRI suspended Kanainzadegan for a meaningless friendly months after the incident.

Without blowing this incident to a bigger proportion, the fear is that indiscipline amongst Team Melli is growing quite alarmingly and so with it is the players’ power. Generally speaking, Iranian coaches have not been proven efficient in controlling players’ misbehavior. Amir Ghalenoei is more inclined to praise his team and ignore their shortcomings and behavioral indiscretion. He is also excellent at diverting blame after defeats. So, expecting a strong reaction from Iranian coaches is like expecting a midnight sun. Mehdi Taj and his entourage are even less inclined to sanction players.

Fonoonizadeh was not the only football personality who criticized Kananizadegan, many others did so too, but the deadly silence of the federation and the coaching staff, up to now, towards Kananizadegan case, might expose a much bigger problem within the camp. The repeated messages about how the players are working together and being cordial to each other make one wonder why such news is filtered through by the media. Such unity between players should be a norm in any national team camp, why is it being constantly highlighted here?

Does it take the case of Kananizadegan to find out who is really running Team Melli?