Category: AFC Asian Cup 2015

19/01/2015

Queiroz is fined by AFC

Two of the AFC Cup more prominent names have managed to make a few waves outside the big white rectangle — waves that got the Asian confederation’s attention.

Japanese star Keisuke Honda and Iran head coach Carlos Queiroz have each been fined for criticizing officials. Honda’s wallet is $5,000 lighter after claiming Japan’s opening match victory over Palestine was so rough, it was “like playing basketball.” To the extent that’s rough.

Queiroz’s fine comes after he complained officials during last Sunday’s Iran-Qatar match were unwilling to communicate.

“After 32 years of my work in football I was never told I cannot give an opinion about the game,” Queiroz explained. “Maybe it’s only because of the sponsors.”

Critiques of the officiating continued on Sunday, with many focusing on Australian official Ben Williams. The Australian referee , has infuriated many fans, player and TV commentators by his shoddy calls and inconsistent decisions. Though Williams gave out six yellow cards (three to each team) in Uzbekistan’s win over Saudi Arabia, Qosimov derided Williams’ reluctance to curtail diving. Williams whistle for the penalty for Saudi Arabia looked more than suspicious. If there was any foul on the slight contact , it was in fact the Saudi forward who clipped Denisov’s legs and the call should have been in favor of the Uzbek defender.

The fine on Carlos Queiroz was a flagrant declaration of obsession by the AFC that fears the slightest of criticism, not very different from the political systems that is prominent in Asia, especially the western parts.

19/01/201519/01/2015

Iran take on UAE for top spot in Group C

Sydney (AFP) – Three-time Asian Cup winners Iran will go for a win against surprise package the United Arab Emirates on Monday as they try to avoid a likely quarter-final against holders Japan.

A draw would be good enough for the UAE to top Group C, owing to their goal difference, but Team Melli need all the points to move up from second spot.

While Iran are favourites in Brisbane, UAE’s attack inspired by star playmaker Omar Abdulrahman has netted six goals in two games and attracted admiring glances.

“In my opinion we will be playing the best team in West Asia,” said Iran’s coach Carlos Queiroz, formerly of Real Madrid, Portugal and Manchester United.

“They have played together for many years, been together since 17 (years old). They are a beautiful team to see,” he added.

Whichever team finishes second is likely to play either Jordan or Iraq in the quarter-finals. The game starts at 7:00 pm (0900 GMT).

“It’s good to finish first (top) because it gives motivation to the players for the second round,” said UAE coach Mahdi Ali. “(But) it doesn’t matter which team we have to play.

“We have no problem with Japan.”

The statistics aren’t in UAE’s favour — in 15 full internationals, the Emiratis have beaten the Iranians just once and there have been three draws.

In Sydney, Qatar and Bahrain are playing only for pride and their world ranking at 8:00 pm (0900 GMT), with both teams already out after two defeats.

16/01/2015

Team Melli prospects.

What have we learned from the 2 victories?

Team Melli has completed its initial task with full mark. Qualification to the quarter finals of the AFC Asian Cup, the 6^th in a row since 1996, was achieved with the 1-0 win against Qatar in a match that will always be remembered for the wonder goal scored by young Sardar Azmoun.

With the place in quarter finals assured, Queiroz must be re-thinking some of his plans to prepare for the next round. His solid defenses are intact and the least of his worries despite the new look line up with Pouraliganji and Ghafoori replacing the old hands and doing a very admirable job so far. Haghighi at goal, despite one or two scares was not really tested in the two matches, however in the few occasions that he had to act; he was well positioned to protect his goal. Haghighi’s agility and prowess on aerial balls gives the defense so much confidence that it lacked in the last few years. So, with the back line as is, Queiroz needs to shift his focus elsewhere. The predicaments start after passing the back line.

The midfield is still the most worrying of the 3 lines and found wanting time and again. It has no quality playmaker and more often than not, it lacked leadership. For Teymourian and Nekounam despite their gallant attempts to put up a decent performance, both are clearly lacking match fitness and suffering from a dip in forms. On the flanks, much was expected from Dejagah on the right and Hajsafy on the left , but the Qatar match , showed their limitations when the opposition’s coach decides to deploy a tight man to man marking at them. Both performed well below expectations. Dejagah who was one of the stars of the match against Bahrain tormenting their left back, was a different man altogether with young Qatari Defender AbdulKarim leaving him helpless while breathing down his neck all the time. Hajsafy , seems to be still under the influence of his wonder goal against Bahrain and has not shown much industry on the left hand side. Shojae, remains the biggest liability for the team. His contribution is marginal. He is a player who is Short of breath, easily beaten on the ball, unable to dribble or run when it is really required and lacks stamina. Such act cannot be of the big matches standard and quality.

With such a midfield, Sardar Azmoun was isolated up front and really lacked quality service to show his worth. On the one occasion that he was served well, ironically from Dejagah, the whole world saw what this young man is capable of. Smart, swift and clever striker who finished in style. Unfortunately, that was the only occasion he was provided well, then got himself injured.

What options is left for Queiroz? To start with, give Shojaei a much needed rest and introduce some fresh legs and quality player in the shape of Alireza Jahanbakhsh. We dared Queiroz to do it in the forward line and use Azamoun, and he did it successfully. Now, Jahanbakhsh is ready for his turn and rearing to go. In fact, he has more advantage over Azmoun in the form of more playing time in the Dutch league. Khosrow Heydari is another option to replace Shojaei.

Apart from that, there is not too much riches available to Queiroz.

One thing that clearly disturbed the Portuguese coach of Team Melli in Qatar match and the TV cameras caught his frustration quite well, was the failure of the team to keep the possession of ball in the last part of the match. The Team Melli players kept losing the ball. The haste at which the players were clearing the ball, the aimless passes with Ghoochannejad and Dejgah being the main culprits, and failure to play short passes resulted in Qatar taking advantage and the full control of the match in the dying minutes. This is a very risky situation with a one goal margin.

Queiroz was so frustrated and nervous that he had to introduce a fifth defender to kill the game in the final minutes and protect his slim lead. This is one shortcoming of Iranians that have marred their play for several generations now. Keep the ball and protect a tight result.

The final match against UAE would be yet another interesting test for Queiroz. In reality, it does not make any difference if they end up playing Japan, the defending champions or Iraq. Both are difficult opponents and at some stage, Iran has to beat these teams if they have any aspiration to lift the trophy after 40 years.

So far, none of the contenders has shown to be a class above the rest. Australia, South Korea, China, Japan and Iran are quite close and matches between them can go anywhere.

One advantage that Team Melli has, is the outstanding and the superb crowds that have been adding so much color, and life to this tournament. Team Melli fans might even outnumber the host if Iran makes it to the final match with Australia. Simply a great act by the Australian Iranians and a symphony in motion.

16/01/2015

“Iran’s Messi” a class above Qatar in the AFC Asian Cup

by Luke Costin

MELBOURNE, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) — Any scout in the world not aware of Sardar Azmoun should be now after “Iran‘s Messi” delicately scored the winner over Qatar in Sydney on Thursday.

Sardar cleverly drew a defender before dragging a low cross under himself and sealing Iran’s 1-0 win and qualification for the knockout stage.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran’s next opponent, scored a goal within 15 seconds on their way to sealing their quarter-final berth over Bahrain in Canberra.

Sardar, having run just past the low cross from the right field, stuck out his right leg to flick the ball under himself. He made no mistake with his second touch sending the mostly-Iranian crowd wild.

The 20-year-old has been linked with English powerhouses Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham in the current January transfer window, and based on this form, his Russian club, Rubin Kazan, may get another few pounds from a transfer of their young star.

Three minutes in, Sardar had already shown Asia why he has been compared to the three-time World Player of the Year with a delightful header that narrowly missed its target.

The only blemish in Sardar’s performance was something partially out of his control.

Acute cramp struck Sardar down on the hour and forced an early substitution.

It showed that, perhaps, playing in Russia had left him under- conditioned for the Australian warmth.

Qatar’s goalkeeper Qasem Burhan, coming off a 4-1 loss to UAE, was clearly low on confidence and often found himself lucky not to concede earlier than the 52nd minute.

Not 60 seconds after the break, an Irani corner drew Qasem into “no-man’s land,” but resulting strike missing an open goal.

Desperate defending from the Maroons was necessary throughout as Iran peppered the goal with plenty of near chances.

Morteza Pouraliganji flew in over the top to meet a corner kick sweetly in the first half, only to beat the unguarded right post.

Minutes later, Ashkan Dejagah had a speculative crack from wide in the area that zipped past the goal, barely missing the far post.

Those in the stadium commended Iran’s frenetic fans for making the 22,672 crowd feel closer to 100,000.

Earlier in nation’s capital, the Emirates took just 14 seconds to puncture the Bahraini defenses and kick-start their 2-1 win.

A shocking defensive error from the kick-off led to Omar Abdulrahman delivering a pinpoint ball to Ali Mabkhout, who put away his third goal of the tournament.

Jaycee John Okwunwanne equalized in the 26th minute but it was his captain Mohamed Hussain’s own-goal header that was the decider.

UAE produced their best chances from free kicks including the pieces and, through some luck, scored in the 73rd.

From a free kick in left field, Hussain rose highest, only for his errant clearance to find the top corner of his own net.

Straight after the kick-off, right back Abdulla Omar took on the Emirati midfielders only to give the ball up to his Emirati namesake.

A sublime lofted through ball from Omar to Mabkhout allowed the tournament’s leading goal scorer the time to run around the goalkeeper.

Nigerian-born Okwunwanne’s one goal, from a perfect corner kick by Faouzi Aaish, so easily could have been a brace just three minutes later.

But it was not to be, his powerful header denied by an aware keeper.

Bahraini center-back Mohamed Duraj may miss the dead rubber against Qatar after painfully pulling a groin and being stretchered off midway through the second half.

UAE’s superior goal difference means Iran needs a win in Brisbane on Monday to steal top spot and potentially avoid the reigning champions, Japan, in the quarter-finals.

15/01/201515/01/2015

Javad Nekounam breaks the record of Team Melli all time appearnces

Finally , the current Captain of Team Melli, Javad Nekounam , broke Ali Daei’s record for the most number of matches while playing his 150th match against Qatar in Sydney.

Javad Nekounam , who started his international career in 2000 while a midfield player at Pas Tehran , has been consistently playing for Team Melli in the last 14 years in which he played in 2 World Cups (2006 , 2014) and 5 AFC Asian Cup ( 2000, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2015).

Nekounam is also the 4th highest scorer in Team Melli history , behind Ali Daei, Karim Bagheri and Ali Karimi , the 3 legendary stars of Iranian football. Nekounam has accumulated 37 goals , one less than Ali Karimi who is the third on the list.

Our sincere congratulation to Nekounam on this achievement.

Season	Openin.	Subst.	Goals	Yellows	Reds
2000	1	5	0	0	0
2001	6	4	0	1	0
2002	11	1	0	1	0
2003	13	0	1	2	0
2004	18	0	7	3	0
2005	11	0	4	2	0
2006	11	0	2	2	0
2007	8	0	4	3	0
2008	8	0	4	1	0
2009	8	0	2	3	0
2010	6	0	1	1	1
2011	10	0	5	0	0
2012	8	1	1	1	0
2013	8	0	6	0	0
2014	8	1	0	3	0
2015	2	1	0	0	0
Total	137	13	37	23	1
By season \| In opening squad \| Substituted in \| Goals \| Yellow cards \| Red cards

15/01/201515/01/2015

Team Melli through to AFC Asian Cup quarter finals

Team Melli have clinched a berth in the AFC Asian Cup quarter finals after beating Qatar 1-0 in ANZ Stadium ,Sydney.

The only goal of the match was scored by Sardar Azmoun in the 52nd minute after brilliantly turning his marker and beating Burhan Qassim in Qatar goal.

With UAE beating Bahrain 2-1 earlier , Iran and UAE will be competing for the table lead in the final match on Monday. UAE have a 1 goal better goal difference and need only a draw to top the group.

#	Team	MP	W	D	L	F	A	D	P	Last 5 matches
1	UAE	2	2	0	0	6	2	+4	6	W W
2	Iran	2	2	0	0	3	0	+3	6	W W
3	Bahrain	2	0	0	2	1	4	-3	0	L L
4	Qatar	2	0	0	2	1	5	-4	0	L L

15/01/2015

Sardar Azmoun starts against Qatar.

Carlos Queiroz has opted to start with the young Team Melli striker Sardar Azmoun instead of Reza Ghoochannejad up front against Qatar in otherwise unchanged team.

this will be the first official match for the 20 years old Rubin Kazan player. Azmoun has already opened his scoring account with Team Melli scoring lately against Iraq in the final friendly game before the Asian Cup.

15/01/2015

Sardar Azmoun waiting for his chance.

Barely 20 years old , but with a confidence of a veteran.

Sardar Azmoun, the young Team Melli players stunned the football circles all over Iran by being recruited by the Russian Club Rubin Kazan while he was 18 years old. The Russian were tipped by their scouts about this brilliant young Iranian playing for Iran’s national youth team and decided to take him aboard from such early age hoping to produce a quality striker and a big investment.

Azmoun soon found himself in the city of Kazan and way far from home. Unlike countless Iranian footballers who could not truly settle outside their domiciles, Azmoun soon became familiar with the surroundings and liked what he has seen.

Playing for the youth team for almost two seasons, Azmoun was slowly introduced to the full team. The young man did not disappoint either, scoring goals and assisting for his team.

Azmoun was picked by Queiroz in the preparations for the World Cup; however he did not make the final list of 23 players to Brazil. Quite disappointed by this, Azmoun however, did not show any disrespect or contempt for that decision. He said, with confidence that his turn will be coming one day.

No sooner than the next big tournament for Iran, the Asian Cup. Once again Queiroz picked Azmoun for the Asian Cup campaign. Celebrating his 20^th birthday in the South African training camp, Azmoun was one of the most hard working player in the camp. Under the professional environment of the Russian league, Azmoun has picked up quite a few things that is giving him a world of good towards his future career and the most important of it is confidence, diligence, professionalism and dedication.

All those attributes are not much good without the talent and skills. Fortunately, Sardar Azmoun has plenty of both. A strong physique, skillful carrier of the ball who has a elusive skills in turning defender, quick thinker, good header of the ball and lethal finisher are some of the skill that Azmoun has and developing. Although Azmoun has not had enough opportunities to display such skills at top level for Iran, it was evident during his earlier years while playing for Iran national youth teams, that he is an exceptional talent and a star in the making.

Azmoun had one opportunity to stake a claim with a big exposure, when he played for Team Melli in their last Friendly against Iraq in Australia. The solitary goal that he scored had the combination of many of his inherit skills and the finishing was simply marvelous for the 20 years old striker.

Carlos Queiroz has already shown that is brave enough to introduce young players at top level, being himself an old hand in training young players and winning 2 world titles for his country’s youth team. Whether he will give Azmoun his real chance in Australia is dependent on several circumstances one of which is the match results. Azmoun accepts the realities “As a young player that with low experience, I and my younger teammates must really work hard to gain the trust of the coach for a place in the lineup.” His expectations are low in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 in Australia but ambitions quite high. He is also known to be a enduring character.

14/01/201514/01/2015

Iran vs. Qatar : “keep it tight at the back”

14th January 2015

In addition to being the match that could decide Team Melli qualification, the match against Qatar on Thursday, will also be another test of Carlos Queiroz’s defensive game plan. A win by Team Melli will take it to the sixth consecutive quarter finals appearance of the Asian Cup. Iran’s proud record started in 1996 edition , in which Team Melli played in 5 consecutive tournament and never losing a match in regulation time.

Iran will be facing a wounded Qatar, and that could be a two edged sword. The multi-National team of Qatar could have already conceded although publically they are putting up a brave face and a defiant attitude. On the other hand, they still believe that there is nothing to lose, they still stand a chance for qualifying and end up playing their best football, the one that we have seen they can excel in, in front of Team Melli.

Ismaeel Abdulatif batteling with Morteza Pouraliganji

Djamal Belmadhi has assembled a decent team including many new faces. He dispensed with the Latin American contingents as they were failing to deliver and instead he picked a few North Africans and players from his native Algeria to replace the likes of Fabio Cesar, Andrés Sebastián Soria. Neutralizing foreign players is a fundamental standard procedure in Qatar sport including the National Football team.

The result against UAE was hardly an indication of Qatar weakness neither was it in any way and sign of the might of the UAE team. The difference between these two Gulf nation teams are minimal hence a 4-1 result was a freak result that should not be read too much into.

The reality remains that Qatar is strong opponent for any team and still stands a chance in the tournament. The Qataris will be hoping that Thursday’s match will be the turnaround point in their fortunes.

On the other hand, Iran is placed comfortably in the table. A win will be a perfect result, but a draw is not going to be a disaster either. No Team Melli fan should hold his breath hoping that Team Melli will be going to the jugular either. Carlos Queiroz will stick, and religiously so , to his strong defensive ideology regardless to the opposition.

Since the World Cup and the term parking the bus was associated with Team Melli , even the offensive minded Iranians are becoming convinced with the Queiroz ideology in a classic bandwagon effect. The reality is that Team Melli does not have the ingredients of an lethal offensive team , so why play some tactics that the coach does not have the right resources for it? It makes sense to everyone even with a stronger position and a few field advantages over Qatar, for Team Melli to play the same old game plan hoping for a low margin win.

If you do not have the players like Khalatbary to run havoc on defenders , or a schemer such as Mojtaba Jabbari or Ali Karimi to masterfully orchestrate the midfield and feed your forwards, then offensive plans have to be shelved and Queiroz stick to “keep it tight at the back” approach.

Carlos Queiroz has to be credited with introducing the new players in the defense line, hopefully he would give more playing time to Azmoun and Jahanbakhsh instead of the inert Shojae, whose selection remains an enigma with his pathetic and lethargic performances.

also It will be a tight match but surprises in football can be expected. We hope those would be in the shape of a handsome victory for Team Melli.

Reza Ghoochannejad chased by Hussain Ali Baba of Bahrain

[divider]

Head 2 Head

This will be only the second time that Iran and Qatar meet in the Asian Cup. The first was in Doha in 1988 edition when Team Melli beat the host nation Qatar 2-0 with goals from Karim Bavi and Farshad Peyous. That match was also the first official game between the two teams.

H / A / N	Matches	W	D	L	Goals	+ / –
Home	6	4	2	0	16 – 4	+12
Away	13	7	3	3	15 – 11	+4
Neutral	0	0	0	0	0 – 0	+0
Total	19	11	5	3	31 – 15	+16

Date	Comp.	H / A / N	Final score	Stadium	Attendance
04.06.2013	World Cup Qualifier	A	1 – 0	AlSadd Stadium , Doha	11872
12.06.2012	World Cup Qualifier / Round 4	H	0 – 0	Azadi Stadium , Tehran	80000
29.02.2012	World Cup Qualifier / Round 3 – Group E	H	2 – 2	Azadi Stadium , Tehran	55000
06.09.2011	World Cup Qualifier / Round 3 – Group E	A	1 – 1	Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium , Doha	8125
28.12.2010	Friendly	A	0 – 0	Khalifa Stadium , Doha	3000
28.12.2009	Friendly / Qatar Intl. Friendly Tournament	A	2 – 3	Suhaim Bin Hamad-Doha Qatar Stadium	3000
09.11.2008	Friendly	A	1 – 0	Al Saad Stadium , Doha	5000
11.08.2008	WAFF	H	6 – 1	Takhti Stadium , Tehran	5000
10.01.2008	Friendly	A	0 – 0	Al Saad Stadium , Doha	2000
24.03.2007	Friendly / Friendly	A	1 – 0	AlGharafah Stadium , Doha	7000
13.10.2004	World Cup Qualifier / WCQ	A	3 – 2	Doha	3000
18.02.2004	World Cup Qualifier / WCQ	H	3 – 1	Azadi – Tehran	0
01.08.2001	Friendly / Friendly	A	1 – 2	Doha	0
27.09.2000	Friendly	A	2 – 1	Al Sadd Stadium , Doha	5000
07.11.1997	World Cup Qualifier / WCQ	A	0 – 2	Doha	20000
03.10.1997	World Cup Qualifier / WCQ	H	3 – 0	Azadi – Tehran	70000
01.06.1996	Friendly / Friendly	A	1 – 0	Khalifa Stadium , Doha	10000
17.05.1996	Friendly	H	2 – 0	Takhti Stadium , Tabriz	30000
02.12.1988	Asian Cup / Group 1	A	2 – 0	AlAhli FC Stadium , Doha	20000

14/01/2015

QATAR DETERMINED TO BOUNCE BACK

www.afcasiancup.com

14 January 2015 Michael Church

Sydney: Djamel Belmadi is hoping his Qatar team can put their disappointing 4-1 loss at the hands of the United Arab Emirates behind them as they prepare to take on three-time AFC Asian Cup winners Iran at Stadium Australia on Thursday evening.

The Algerian coach was still at a loss to explain the Group C defeat in Canberra on Sunday as the Gulf Cup champions prepared for the crucial meeting with Team Melli off the back of their first defeat in 11 games.

“We lost the opening game because we played (it) like a friendly game,” said Belmadi. “It was not our day or our real level, especially after the good competition in the Gulf Cup.

“We expected something different. But now it’s the past and we have to make a reaction. Of course we are all disappointed. They have got the ambition to make a different game tomorrow.

“My main job was to work more psychologically than something else. Of course, we had to analyse what happened in this game and to correct it.

“But I know this group that I have. I have chosen them and I know that we are able to change things and we can do much, much better even when things look difficult, even for some people impossible. But for us, it’s not impossible and we’ll try to show it tomorrow.”

The Qataris face an Iran side that won their first game 2-0 against Bahrain and for whom victory in Sydney on Thursday evening would mean securing a place in the quarter-finals.

With Carlos Queiroz’s side having impressed at the FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil in June, Belmadi knows his team face a tough challenge to pick up their first win of the tournament.

“It will be a decisive game against a big team that qualified for the World Cup and who played against strong teams at the World Cup. We are prepared and we know it’s going to be a tough game,” he said.

“But we’re also used to playing against teams that are stronger on paper than us, like Morocco and Australia. The team is relatively young and the average age is 23 years old and even though we’re here for the competition we’re here to learn and to learn fast. The same team played at the Gulf Cup and we ended up winning the competition.

“We have a plan and like always we will try to find the solution because it’s a good team, well organised, really aggressive and they don’t give you too much space, so we will have to find a solution. Every team has some weakness, like the others. We will try to find this weakness and try to find the way to score and to win this game.”