Team Melli retained their position in 29th spot, with Australia, Japan, Korea Republic and Saudi Arabia’s positions also unchanged at 29th, 41st, 50th, 53rd, and 69th respectively to complete Asia’s top five.

All five teams will convene in the United Arab Emirates, where they will be joined by 19 other nations – including hosts UAE – for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.

Preparations for all teams have gathered pace with a series of friendly matches taking place over the next two weeks, before the Continental showpiece kicks off on January 5.

 

AFC Teams Top Ranking

Asia	World	Team	Total Points
1	29	Iran	1481
2	41	Australia	1436
3	50	Japan	1414
4	53	Korea Republic	1405
5	69	Saudi Arabia	1335
6	74	Syria	1322
7	76	China PR	1317
8	79	United Arab Emirates	1309
9	81	Lebanon	1296
10	82	Oman	1295
11	88	Iraq	1271
17	100	Vietnam	1229
26	135	Yemen	1106

Team Melli arrived in Doha on Monday evening for the start of the 10 days Training camp in preparation for the AFC Asian Cup 2019.

Soon after arriving in Doha, Team  Melli held its first training session in Doha’s Aspire Camp. The training on Monday evening started by light work and warming up with the ball, doing tensile strides, and after a mini game, the squad continued on the ground with mini goals duels. The session eventually ended with stretching. One of the interesting points in the training today was the lack of adequate security for the tactical exercises of the team, so that the children practiced with the players at the training site!

Meanwhile, various sports teams, as well as different groups of people at the training site, were able to watch the training exercises, which surprised the players and members of the team’s coaching staff.

Queiroz talked about the injury list of players and his hope of preparing them for the Asian tournament: “In the first stage of the camp, which will be in Doha Qatar, from December 17 to December 25, we will have 21 players in the camp. The official date of the final list of the national team is December 26th. We will announce December 25th the final list. We currently have 21 players in the camp, and 9 players are on the list of players in Europe. Thirty-five players are competing to the best of their ability to  make the final list of Team Melli. I believe these players have the chance to be present at the final squad. I hope that with the work that my staff will do in the next few days and with the grace  of God, we will have the best performance in the Asian Cup.”

Interestingly, Queiroz refuses to talk about challenging for the Asian Cup title.

Before the squad left Tehran’s Imam Khomeini’s airport, Carlos Queiroz went on another rant and criticism. This time he accused even the Minister of Sport for not paying due respect to the team!!

Many critics feel that Queiroz has a pre-package of justifications and excuses in case of failure. Apparently, NOT respecting the team is another major factor for possible failure.

 

The football federation IRIFF announced the initial list of players invited to Team Melli for training in preparation for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019

The list will be trimmed to 24 players for the AFC competition.

Three new players were invited for the first time, Niazmand , Alipour and Ahmadzadeh.

 

THE SQUAD

#	Player	Post	Club	Country
GOALKEEPERS
1	ABEDZADEH, Amir	GK	C.S. Marítimo
2	BIRANVAND, Alireza	GK	Persepolis
3	HOSSEINI, Hossein	GK	Esteghlal
4	MAZAHERI, Mohammad Rashid		Zob Ahan
5	NIAZMAND, Payam		Sepahan
DEFENDERS
6	AGHAEI, Saeed	DF	Sepahan
7	CHESHMI, Rouzbeh	DF	Esteghlal
8	GHAFOORI, Vourya	DF	Esteghlal
9	HOSSEINI, Majeed	DF	Trabzonspor
10	KANANI-ZADEGAN, Hossein	DF	Machine Sazi
11	KHANZADEH, Mohammadreza	DF	Al Ahli
12	MOHAMMADI, Milad	DF	Akhmat Grozny
13	MOHARRAMI, Sadegh	DF	Dinamo Zagreb
14	MONTAZERI, Pejman		Esteghlal
15	POURALIGANJI, Morteza	DF	Eupen
16	REZAEIAN, Ramin	DF	Al Shahaniya
MIDFIELD
17	ABDOLLAHZADEH, Ahmad		Nasaji Ghaemshahr
18	AMIRI, Vahid	MF	Trabzonspor
19	DEJAGAH, Ashkan	MF	Tractorsazi
20	EBRAHIMI, Omid	MF	Al Ahli
21	EZZATOLLAHI, Saeid		Reading
22	GHODDOS, Saman	MF	Aimes
23	HAJSAFY, Ehsan	MF	Tractorsazi
24	KARIMI, Ali	MF	Esteghlal
25	NOORALLAHIE, Ahmad	MF	Persepolis
26	SHOJAEI, Masoud	MF	Tractorsazi
27	TORABI, Mehdi	MF	Saipa Alborz
FORWARDS
28	ALIPOUR, Ali	FW	Persepolis
29	AHMADZADEH, Farshad	FW	Śląsk Wrocław
30	ANSARIFARD, Karim	FW	Nottingham Forest
31	AZMOUN, Sardar	FW	Rubin Kazan
32	GHOLIZADEH, Ali	FW	Charleroi
33	JAHANBAKHSH, AliReza	FW	Brighton & Hove Albion
34	REZAEI, Kaveh	FW	FC Brugge
36	TAREMI, Mehdi	FW	Al Gharrafah

 

In preparations for the upcoming friendly international match against Uzbekistan in Tashkent, FFIRI has announced a list of 29 players invited by Carlos Queiroz to join the squad for training.

As usual, there are always question marks on the selections for one reason or another. Two players have announced their retirement after the world cup 2018, Azmoun and Ghochannejad. However, although Azmoun is included,  the latter is not!

Also, Vouriya Ghafoori is recalled after the World Cup snub by Queiroz. However, Jalal Hosseini, The Persepolis Captain and the most capped Team Melli player in not included. Jalal Hossein , 36 years  old with 114 caps  career as Team Melli player is as good as over.

Carlos Queiroz himself, is another enigma, one day leaving, the other staying drama continues.

The objective of the preparation is towards the best possible team for the AFC Asian Cup 2019, a trophy that Iran has failed to lift since 1976 . The tournament that will be held in the UAE forms a major challenge to Iran. Not only it has to face 4 powerful contenders in Japan, South Korea, Australia and Uzbekistan , it is held in a hostile government & territory of Emirates where the officials will do their utmost to poke and make life miserable for the Iranians, a trait that the Arabs excel in.

 

The Squad

 

#	Player	Age	Club	Country
GOALKEEPERS
1	ABEDZADEH, Amir	25	C.S. Marítimo
2	BIRANVAND, Alireza	25	Persepolis
3	HOSSEINI, Hossein	26	Esteghlal
4	MAZAHERI, Mohammad Rashid	29	Zob Ahan
DEFENDERS
5	CHESHMI, Rouzbeh	25	Esteghlal
6	GHAFOORI, Vourya	30	Esteghlal
7	HOSSEINI, Majeed	22	Trabzonspor
8	KHANZADEH, Mohammadreza	26	Al Ahli
9	MOHAMMADI, Milad	24	Akhmat Grozny
10	MOHARRAMI, Sadegh	22	Dinamo Zagreb
11	MONTAZERI, Pejman	34	Esteghlal
12	POURALIGANJI, Morteza	26	Eupen
13	REZAEIAN, Ramin	28	K.V. Oostende
14	SOHRABIAN, Armin	23	Esteghlal
MIDFIELD
15	AMIRI, Vahid	30	Trabzonspor
16	DEJAGAH, Ashkan	32	Tractorsazi
17	EBRAHIMI, Omid	30	A Ahli
18	EZZATOLLAHI, Saeid	21	Reading
19	GHODDOS, Saman	24	Amiens
20	HAJSAFY, Ehsan	28	Tractorsazi
21	KARIMI, Ali	24	Esteghlal
22	SHOJAEI, Masoud	34	Tractorsazi
23	TORABI, Mehdi	24	Persepolis
FORWARDS
24	ANSARIFARD, Karim	28	Olympiacos F.C.
25	AZMOUN, Sardar	23	Rubin Kazan
26	GHOLIZADEH, Ali	22	Charleoi
27	REZAEI, Kaveh	26	Brugge
28	JAHANBAKHSH, AliReza	24	Brighton
29	TAREMI, Mehdi	26	Al Gharrafah