Category: News

Iran 1 – 1 Senegal: Team Melli remains unbeaten.

Team Melli played its last preparatory match against Senegal in Austria which ended in a 1-1 draw. Senegal scored first from an own goal by Morteza Pouraliganji (55′) while Sardar Azmoun (64′) headed Iran’s equalizer from an assist by Hajsafi.

Queiroz opted to change the starting lineup in this match from the one that played Uruguay bringing in  Taremi, Majid Hosseini, Hossein Hosseini, Sarlak, Gholizadeh, and Ansarifard in the starting lineup.

The first half ended in a dull goalless draw in a half that was consistently interrupted by fouls.

Iran failed to register any shot on Senegal’s goal in this half, while on the opposite side Hossein Hosseini managed a couple of good saves.  as Senegal threatened Iran’s side sometime by the virtue of much better physicality. The African side was pressing on every ball relentlessly as if they are playing in the final of the cup, however, their final balls were sometimes comical hitting the roof of the stadium more often than Hosseini’s goal. The Central defense of Team Melli, Kanani, and Hosseini combined well to thwart the dangerous Saido Mane who was the initiator of most of his team’s offensive moves near and inside the box.

Team Melli was truly offensively shy. This comes as no surprise because the Queiroz ideology is on tight defense and in numbers, the offense is a bonus. There were four defensive midfield players in the lineup and that was just a taste of things to come and what the fans will experience in the World Cup.

The second half was much livelier with Senegal continuing their offensive and being the team that was hungrier for a win. A few minutes after the start, Hajsafi made a brilliant save preventing the ball from crossing the line in an open goal.  The consistent Senegalese offensive eventually paid off in the 55th minute as Pouralganji deflected a cross into his own net wrongfooting Hosseini in the goal.

Queiroz. feeling yet another defeat by Senegal, sent his top gun Azmoun, instead of Taremi. In one of the rare Team Melli offensives and from a clever ball by Jahanbaksh in the Senegal box to the on-rushing Hajsafi on his left, the Team Melli left back sent a sumptuous cross inside the box, where Azmoun majestically rose to head the ball in the met while Senegal goalkeeper was stranded. It was a great goal by Team Melli’s third-highest scorer.

Senegal continued to test Team Melli defenses and Hosseini, however, their efforts were going nowhere despite some close calls and a total of 11 corners won. Mane was a pest for the defenders and indeed he was once again the player who created for his teammates but to no avail.

At the final whistle, Alliou Cissé and Carlos Queiroz held each other in a friendly hug and exchanged what could be as friendly taunts. This time Cissé failed to beat Mr. Carlos.

At the end of Iran’s camp, the domestic league players will be back in Tehran on Friday, while the legionnaires will head back to their clubs direct from Vienna. It was a successful experience for Team Mell with more than satisfactory results registered against two top teams in FIFA Ranking.  However, there was nothing exciting about Team Melli in terms of performance, tactics, or game plan. Queiroz will not change his preferred style, not at this age anyway, and will stick to the things that he believes in and knows best. Team Melli will remain offensively shy under Queiroz. Players like Taremi and Azmoun will get very little service comes the World Cup matches.

Iran hope to spin chaos into gold at World Cup with Queiroz’s comeback

John Duerden
Sun 25 Sep 2022 08.00 BST

Iran’s government is more involved than most in football – clubs are owned directly or indirectly by the state – but it keeps a closer eye than usual on the beloved national team at times of public unrest.

After the famous World Cup playoff win over Australia in 1997, the players were told to take their time coming home lest their presence pushes nationwide celebrations into something else.

The 2009 ‘Green Movement’ that sprang up to demonstrate against what was seen as a rigged presidential election led to a number of players wearing green armbands in a vital qualifier in Seoul. Within hours their pictures were being held up on the streets thousands of miles to the west.

Protestors are back on Iran’s streets after the death of Mahsa Amini in custody after she was arrested by the morality police on 13 September for “unsuitable attire”. If unrest continues, then any success at the World Cup, which is eight weeks away, may be viewed as a double-edged sword by authorities; and, if the latest international matches are anything to go by, then Iran are going to Qatar to be competitive against England, the USA and Wales who all lost.

In the first game since Carlos Queiroz returned as head coach this month, Team Melli beat Uruguay 1-0 in Austria. Thanks to international isolation and sanctions, it is rare that Iran play such opposition in friendlies, but this only highlights that this is one of the country’s best results in years. It is all the more impressive as it comes after months of chaos, infighting, and interference.

It started with being drawn with England and the USA. From Iran’s point of view, there could not have been two bigger and more symbolic opponents.

These are two nations with deep involvement in the modern history of one of the world’s oldest civilizations and which are held responsible for the 1953 coup that overthrew the democratically elected prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh.

They are two nations that are still seen as being behind many of the problems that the country, beset by sanctions internationally and unrest at home, is facing and two national teams that present formidable opposition for one that had never progressed from the group stage in five World Cup appearances.

After the draw, however, with the group rivals all having homegrown managers, there were whispers that Iran should, for such symbolic games, have an Iranian coach.

Yet it was a Croatian, Dragan Skocic who took over in February 2020 and led the team through qualification with 15 wins in 18 games. On 9 July Iran’s volleyball team defeated Serbia in the Men’s Nations League. The following day a social media account of Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, reposted an old entry with a new title saying it was good to have success with an Iranian coach.

While it was later denied that this was expressing any opinion about what should happen with Team Melli, on 11 July Skocic was fired even though it seemed there were not enough board members around to sign the official document confirming his release. Reaction to the decision was mixed and even those not enamored of Skocic felt he had been treated poorly. Ali Daei was the frontrunner but quickly ruled himself out and other candidates did not set pulses racing.

Skocic was back on the job within a week but it was impossible to pretend that nothing had happened. The team was as split as public opinion. The striker Mehdi Taremi had an earlier falling out with the coach and led the contingent who wanted a change. It was even claimed that the Porto star and some teammates had met Iran’s minister of sports. Bayer Leverkusen’s Sardar Azmoun was the highest-profile backer of Skocic.

It was always going to be decided one way or the other at the end of August with the election of a new federation president. Mehdi Taj, who had been the president from 2016-19 and had worked with Queiroz, said openly he would consider bringing the former Real Madrid head coach back if he won.

Due to a lack of domestic options, Queiroz was seen as the next best thing; available and cheap, high-profile, familiar with the players and the politics, and more than capable of setting a team up to ensure there would be no World Cup embarrassments.

Skocic had earlier blamed “various interests” for trying to create tensions in the team but this time stayed quiet and focused on staying and securing his payout (sources have suggested that he allowed this to be set too low, making his dismissal fairly cheap). His supporters suggest there is some irony in a coach who successfully steered his team through qualification for the World Cup being replaced by one who failed with both Colombia and Egypt.

That will not bother Queiroz, a coach not averse to conflict and controversy. It was as if he had never left against Uruguay. Whatever the divisions in recent weeks, there did not seem to be a problem with team spirit, and Iran worked hard to frustrate the South Americans, snatching a late win. Taremi’s goal was a fine finish to a flowing move.

There are bigger issues at play right now in this football-loving country but after months of chaos, it could be that Team Melli have stumbled upon the right formula, even if it is a short-term one. At the very least Iran sent a message to the rest of Group B, not least to their first opponents, England.

Sun reporter told to wear hijab to interview Iran’s football team… in Austria

Stunned Isabelle Barker was told she could only speak to the international squad players and manager Carlos Queiroz if her hair was covered.

Stunned Isabelle Barker was told she could only speak to the international squad players and manager Carlos Queiroz if her hair was covered

Furious Isabelle considered staging a one-woman protest outside the team’s hotel in Vienna but, like a true professional, got on with her job. The hijab demand came from the squad’s security staff ahead of a press conference at the hotel yesterday, the day after Iran beat Uruguay 1-0 in a friendly.

Public protests have been taking place in Iran after police allegedly beat a woman to death for wearing a headscarf the wrong way.

Isabelle said she tried to buy a hijab after the order but the shops had shut so she made one from a T-shirt. She said of the ultimatum: “I couldn’t believe what was being asked of me and I even thought about staging my own protest. But I had a job to do so my only real option was to comply.”

England play Iran in their World Cup opener in Qatar on November 21.

Isabelle stressed that the hijab order had not come from the team’s press officer, former Man United coach Queiroz or any of the players, who include Omid Ebrahimi, “all of whom were friendly and cooperative”.

The Iranian Football Federation had earlier barred all media from reporting on ­Friday’s game before making a U-turn. Tensions ignited during the match when two fans were ejected from the NV Arena for unveiling an anti-Iran sign.

Daily Mail : SPECIAL REPORT: Iran are in chaos

SPECIAL REPORT: Iran are in chaos ahead of the World Cup as unrest grows in the country… protestors ejected from Uruguay friendly by police, our reporter was banned from attending and players were ‘forced to delete’ their support online

  • Iran having struggles with protests in the country ahead of World Cup in Qatar
  • Protesters were ejected from their friendly match against Uruguay by police
  • Players appear to have been ‘forced to delete their support on social media  

 

By IAN HERBERT FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED: 

It really should not happen to a former Real Madrid manager and one-time assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson but Carlos Queiroz was laying out the cones for an Iran training session in an obscure Vienna suburb last Thursday afternoon, having played a part in heading off a diplomatic incident.

The session, for a team who beat Uruguay 1-0 in a World Cup warm-up the following night, seemed to bring pleasure to a 69-year-old who has been re-hired to stop the rot in the Iran national side — even though he is being paid a mere £50,000 for a four-month contract which expires after the World Cup. His six coaches are on less than £30,000 between them.

The diplomatic role is trickier, given that Iran is in the midst of huge and escalating public protest after the death in custody of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the state’s morality police for allegedly improperly wearing a hijab and headscarf. Football worries the Iranian state because the nation’s football players have a habit of speaking their minds.

Against this backdrop, The Mail on Sunday arrived here last Wednesday to find we were among several western media organizations to have had our accreditation for the game withdrawn — on the orders of the Iranian state, according to several sources. The game was all ready to be played behind closed doors at the insistence of the Iranians, who were technically the hosts.

Our subsequent approach to the Iranian FC vice-president Mahdi Mohammadnabi, at the team hotel, revealed just how terrified officials are about taking any step that the state apparatus might disapprove of. Mohammadnabi, a shambling figure in a shabby coat and cheap training gear, said nothing to us or Persian-speaking colleagues, apart from refusing us access to Queiroz.

  • Iranians have been protesting after Mahsa Amini was arrested by the state morality police

The manager then emerged from a hotel dining area to say he would speak beside the training pitch to the few reporters present. This appeared to be a test of whether there were enemies in Iran’s midst. Within 18 hours our accreditation was mysteriously restored. Threats of having to surrender mobile phones never materialized.

Queiroz appears to have the power to act as a de-facto independent foreign envoy for Iran and maintain a semblance of credibility for its hapless FA. He is not afraid to speak because he does not live in fear of the state, as the FA officials do. He does not have a family in Iran to worry about. The Iranian state badly needs him, too, though as yet Queiroz has gone nowhere towards commenting on the treatment of women such as Amini.

Iran seem to have thought that protest would never follow them to St Polten, a sleepy town 50 miles west of Vienna where this surreal match took place.

But dissent stalked the place. Around 150 supporters of each side who were given entry, supposedly as VIPs, included two men who held up an image of Amini during the second half. They were immediately apprehended by Austrian police officers and frog-marched out of the stadium through a VIP lounge.

  • The Mail on Sunday’s press passes were restored allowing them to speak to Queiroz

Austrian police spokesman Raimund Schwaigerlehner told The Mail on Sunday yesterday that the protesters had left the stadium ‘voluntarily.’ Once removed, they insisted they had had every right to protest peacefully. It was an extraordinary scene to observe in a democratic European country. The Austrians, tied up in knots by the Iranian state, also made the bizarre claim that any protest must ‘be registered with the competent authority’ up to 48 hours before it takes place. This was merely two men with an A4-size poster.

On the field of play, some degree of sanity has been preserved after the implosion of the team under Croatian manager Dragan Skocic, Queiroz’s predecessor — who some players viewed with contempt. There were stories of training sessions involving little more than a ‘crossbar challenge’. One source felt the Iranians were particularly keen to get the proven Queiroz back because of the politically charged nature of Group B. ‘The thought of losing both to the USA and England is unthinkable for the Iranian state,’ the source said.

Queiroz certainly has his work cut out, having been re-installed just two months before the tournament. He hinted on Thursday that the team will still be playing friendlies in the week before they take on England. There has been talk of a friendly against Russia in Doha that week, though Tehran seems a more likely venue.

 

  • Queiroz insists that Iran are going to compete at the World Cup and are not ‘no-hopers’

The manager dismissed Iran’s tag as the no-hopers of their group. ‘I don’t care about what others think. I care about us,’ said Queiroz. ‘I can’t control other people’s opinions. We have our strengths and qualities, but we have weaknesses like all teams. The time comes to speak on the pitch.’

The re-appointment of Queiroz has created a huge sudden sense of expectation and a first-ever advance to the knockout stages is now expected at home. The impressive 1-0 win over a strong Uruguay, with Porto forward Mehdi Taremi scoring, will heighten expectation. Iran are a technically effective side who press hard and, on the basis of Friday night, can whip the ball around rapidly. They are also up for a battle, as defender Hossein Kanaani, a big influence, proved by going nose to nose with Luis Suarez after a disagreement.

But the political controversy will stalk Iran and the world cannot be shut out in Doha, where protest groups are likely to gather. Queiroz will field a battery of questions.

  • One player that has given support is former Bayern Munich midfielder Ali Karimi

Some of those Iranian players who have found their voice — such as former Bayern Munich midfielder Ali Karimi, with 11.4million Instagram followers — are now retired. But Zobeir Niknafs, who plays for Tehran side Esteghlal, shaved his head in an Instagram post which was a vivid display of solidarity with the protests.

The core of Queiroz’s squad have also made it clear they will not be silenced. No fewer than seven, including the stars of the win over Uruguay, have changed Twitter profile pictures to black markers, in their own gesture of support. When the team return to the St Polten stadium on Wednesday for another friendly behind closed doors, against Senegal, protests about Amini’s death are expected outside. Austrian Police will be reluctant to be drawn into arrests in a nation where the right to protest is sacrosanct. This is how it will be from now on. Iran, a side of great promise, will take fireworks wherever they go.

Controversy follows Iran’s Futsal team as it arrives in Kuwait for the AFC Asian Futsal Cup.

Iran’s national futsal team left for Kuwait, the venue of the 16th AFC Futsal Asian Cup Kuwait 2022™. The sending-off occurred after the end of the training camp on Friday but the event was not without contention in Tehran.

Mohammad Reza Sangsafidi’s and Mostafa Nazari, the goalkeepers’ coach were forced to drop out of the squad indicateing the existence of internal disparities before departure to Kuwait. The uncertainty of Sangsafidi’s exclusion from the squad is still not completely clear. There are conflicting views between the player and the coach. Mehr reporter’s follow-ups show that this player has been left out by Vahid Shamsaei based on medical reports and due to a long-term injury. Of course, the player claimed in an interview that he is not injured. The FFIRI has not provided an explanation for the exclusion of a key team player from the squad.

There was more controversy to follow after the omission of Mostafa Nazari, the former Team Melli Goalkeeper and current coach from the team. The Football Federation announced in a one liner that Nazari’s absence in Kuwait was a decision by Vahid Shamsai, but provided no further details on the circumstances and how is it that the defending champion will be playing without a Goalkeepers coach in the competition. Privately it is said that the reason for these decisions was the conflict between the two parties with Nazari accusing and Shamsaei of leaving him out of technical decisions and ignoring his views.

After being excluded from the national team, Nazari, who already has been issued a Kuwaiti visa, reacted to his exclusion by publishing a message on his Instagram and writing a sarcastic message aimed at Shamsaei.

Once again, the FFIRI finds itself in a turmoil and war of attritions. It is not expected that Taj will add quality or anything of value to this administration. After the drama of Team Melli, now it is the turn of the Futsal’s Team Melli. It not because there is a curse, nor it is bad lack or the enemies of the regieme at work, these are also self-inflicted and the end result of one fundementl issue in Iran. Poor management and inefficient leadership leading to the induction of shaky and dodgy characters in the Iranian football system.

Iran Senegal Match Preview

Team Melli and Senegal continue their preparations for the upcoming World Cup when they go head to head in a warm-up friendly at the BSFZ-Arena on Tuesday.

Team Melli has been drawn into Group B of the World Cup, alongside England, USA and Wales, while the African champions will face Ecuador, Netherlands, and host nation Qatar in Group A.

Senegal showed they remain on the right track ahead of the FIFA World Cup as they cruised to a 2-0 victory over Bolivia when the sides squared off at the Stade de la Source last Saturday.

After taking a two-goal lead into half-time courtesy of strikes from Boulaye Dia and Bayern Munich man Sadio Mane, the Lions of Teranga turned in a solid defensive performance in the second half to repel the South Americans and see out the win.

Although both Iran and Senegal are coming out of two satisfying wins against Latin American teams, both sides still like to continue on the winning track. Senegal is probably the slight favorite especially if you consider their players’ Europen clubs profile versus Iran’s and the FIFA Ranking, Senegal is 18th while Iran is 22nd.

As witnessed by the last match, Team Melii has been working quite effectively on compressed defense not allowing the opponent’s stars to come close to their keeper. This worked well against Uruguay frustrating their players and forcing them to try their luck from a distance.

Senegal’s style is different and is a mix of power, energy, running, and individual skills. The players have no fear of trying anything from dribbling inside the box to shooting from distance.  The pace of the game is fast, pushing forward and hard tackling for every ball. Unlike Queiroz’s whose style is of a slower pace of energy conservation and hitting the opponents when they sap all their energies.

With Taremi expecting to start the match, it will be an interesting confrontation with Koulibaly, the big Chelsea defender whose late form has not been as expected. Taremi has proven that he is a stylish finisher and needs half chance to score. He will not get many against a tough Senagaluses defense, so he needs to take half chances.

Saido Mane is expected to be the main threat for Senegal. A mixture of pace, agility, and clever moves, will test Iran’s defenders to the full. It will be another interesting duel to watch.

For Aliou Cisse this is a tricky challenge as he is taking on an unfamiliar Iran side. Queiroz on the other hand has read Cisse’s side and game plan. He will surely be looking for an act of revenge after the Senegalese deprived him of the World Cup 2022 and the African Cup title.

 

FIFA RANKING

IRAN (22)

SENEGAL (18)

FFIRI again in trouble with payments, this time it is Skocic.

Skocic’s financial burden is on the shoulders of the Football Federation

The president of the Football Federation has not yet managed to settle the severance pay that is due for the sacked Croat ex-Team Melli coach Dragan Skocic, Mehdi Taj promised Skocic that FFIRI will pay all his dues before he leaves Iran, but there were no settlements nor any payments.

Mehdi Taj decided to terminate Dragan Skocic’s contract after returning to the position of President of the Football Federation so that Carlos Queiroz can be recruited for Team Melli’s bench in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Taj is guilty of creating a catastrophic contract with Marc Wilmots, which caused Iranian football to be fined 3,325,000 euros plus a 5% per year delay fine, the heaviest case in FFIRI history .

When he was faced with demands of the Belgian coach to terminate his contract, Taj could not agree on terms with Wilmots. He even took two million euros in cash to Istanbul to pay off the Belgian who was by far the weakest foreign coach that Team Melli has had for decades but failed to satisfy the Belgian’s lawyers.

 After Taj’s proposals to settle with Wilmott failed, he returned to Tehran empty-handed. Conveniently, Taj resigned his post claiming ill health, thus avoiding the consequences of the FIFA fine and passing the torch to the next leader of FFIRI.

Now Taj is in another project that seems to be completely similar to what he had played with Wilmott, this time it is Skocic. Last Thursday, Dragan Skocic decided to leave Iran, even though he has not yet received his salary and other compensations, in order to partially satisfy the Croat who intended to return to Croatia in peace, Taj made some promises. The agreement reached shows that the former head coach of the Iranian national team is going to receive all his demands from the football federation before the start of the 2022 World Cup, but if this issue is not fulfilled, he will file a case against FFIRI with FIFA which will obviously include damages, delays, and other claims on top. FIFA also has an option to fine FFIRI for breaches of contract.

Queiroz meeting Sengal again, looking for revenge.

Carlos Queiroz is once again meeting his nemesis, Aliou Cissé, and the national football team of Senegal, the team that deprived him of lifting the African Nations Cup and the qualification for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, while he was the head coach of Egypt.

After the confidence-boosting win by Team Melli, Queiroz’s men are looking for another good result against the African champion on Tuesday to complete what is the ideal preparation schedule for the World Cup under difficult conditions. Queiroz knows Senegal quite well by now and must be desperate to beat them this time as coach of Iran. Senegal is looking to score a hat trick against the Portuguese coach to add insult to his injury.

Both those defeats by penalty kicks were bitter for the Egyptians fans and even worst for Queiroz himself. Undoubtedly, if these two defeats against Senegal did not occur, Queiroz would still be the head coach of the Egyptian national team and cruising the Nile on his days off. That’s why the game against Senegal has a different flavor and color for Queiroz, and unlike the game against Uruguay, it is a complete revenge game for the coach. However, for Team Melli, it is considered yet another preparatory game against strong opposition where a win really means nothing except for alerting the likes of England and its media, not to underestimate Team Melli. A good performance and a win would surely jolt the other two teams in the group USA and Wales.

Senegal under the capable coach Aliou Cissé and stars such as Saido Mane,  Kalidou Koulibaly (captain,), Idrissa Gueye and Cheikhou Kouyaté will be looking to win against Iran to consolidate its claim for qualifying out of the group in the FIFA World Cup. It will not be a simple practice match as Aliou Cissé will field his strongest team.

All Senegal players play outside the country with no local domestic league player expected to make the final roster for the World Cup.

Iran and Senegal met only once before in Azadi Stadium in April 2009. The match ended 1-1 .
Mehrzad MADANCHI scored Iran’s goal.

Date Comp. H / A / N Final score Stadium Attendance
01.04.2009 Friendly H 1 – 1 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 5000

Why it was so hard to see Iran vs. Uruguay, a World Cup warm-up game in Austria

Mark Ogden
Senior Writer, ESPN FC

ST. POLTEN, Austria — It was supposed to be just a game, nothing more than a World Cup warm-up friendly between Iran and Uruguay in a sleepy town in rural Austria. Perhaps it’d be a perfect opportunity to scout an Iranian team that will face the United States and England in Group B at Qatar 2022 in two months’ time. But the reality turned out to be something different.

Instead of a regular international fixture, it became an event at the heart of the growing campaign of unrest in Iran surrounding women’s rights, and a focal point for a young population demanding change. The game was scheduled to be played behind closed doors — though fans from both teams were surprisingly allowed into the stadium shortly before kickoff — at the insistence of the Iranian government. They were reportedly fearful of domestic issues being given a public platform in Europe, to the extent that phone calls and WhatsApp messages to the Iranian Football Federation (IFF), simply seeking information on the team schedule and access to the coach, Carlos Queiroz, went unanswered.

The silence also extended to ESPN and other media outlets being told 24 hours before the game that the IFF, under pressure from the regime in Tehran, would not allow journalists into St. Polten’s NV Arena to report on the fixture. “To our greatest discomfort,” the match organizers said via email, “we have to inform you that the entrance to the match Iran vs Uruguay has been denied. This decision was made by the Iranian FA.”

It required the intervention of FIFA, and mediation by Europe-based Iranian journalists, to cause a U-turn on the day of the game. A suggestion that media could attend if they handed over mobile phones before entering the stadium did not materialize, but it was made clear that no interviews with players or Queiroz would be allowed before or after the game.

While the urbane Queiroz was welcoming and cooperative with media at the Pyramide Hotel on the outskirts of Vienna on the day before the game, there was a palpable sense of anxiety and paranoia among the Iranian officials who tried to persuade the former Real Madrid coach to cancel his briefing. Given that the football team is one of the few visible elements of a restricted society in Iran — they face England, the U.S., and Wales in the World Cup this winter — every element of team coverage, particularly during such volatile political times, is guaranteed to attract close scrutiny from the regime in Tehran.

One Austria-based Iran fan smiled and said, “Everything is fine and totally normal in Iran,” when asked about the possibility of protest from those who had turned out to cheer the arrival of the team bus. Moments later, he returned alone to say he had family in Iran and was too worried to speak to western media, but that “even in small cities, people are protesting right now.”

When fans were inexplicably allowed into the game, two spectators were marched out of the ground by police midway through the first half of Iran’s 1-0 win. They had a protest placard in support of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman who died in police custody in Iran last week after being charged with wearing a headscarf improperly.

In the end, a game intended to be about assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a team that will compete in Qatar this November turned out to be the very definition of a political football.

Team Melli defeats Uruguay in a friendly international

The Portugues head coach Carlos Queiroz made a winning start to his second term in charge of Team Melli as Mehdi Taremi’s second-half goal earned his side a 1-0 win over fellow World Cup qualifiers Uruguay in St. Pölten, Austria on Friday. 

Although the overall assessment of the team under the new cum old Portuguese coach can be graded as average, there were some good points that Iran can positively take to the World Cup.

In the first half, Team Melli’s priority was to shut shop and keep their defenses tight for most of the half. Uruguay, which included its household names such as Luis Suarez , Darwin Nunez and Valverde, had most of the possession in the first half and launched attacks on Iran’s goal, but the solid defense of Team Melli stood up well to whatever the Uruguayns forwards offered. Darwin Nunez prompted Alireza Beiranvand to take action after 15 minutes when the Liverpool striker let fly from distance, forcing the Iranian goalkeeper to tip the ball over the bar.

Luis Suarez sought to lob Beiranvand in the 38th minute but his attempt sailed over while a later effort from the former Barcelona forward curled wide.

In a wise and logical thinking, Queiroz stuck to the tried and trusted duo of Shoja’a Khalizadeh and Hossein Kananizadegan who did not allow Beiranvand to be seriously threatened. On the other hand, Team Melli managed to reach the opponent’s penalty area on several occasions, but could not seriously threaten the goal of their South American opponent.

Uruguay side lost Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo to injury after he hobbled off with barely a minute on the clock clutching his groin.

The first half ended in a goalless draw as both teams lacked the punch to score.

The second half started like the first 45 minutes, with the Uruguayan national team having the majority of ball possession and controlling the midfield creating many chances to score, but in several scenes, Alireza Beiranvand thwarted their attempts .

The best opportunity for Iran to score was in the 65th minute when Mehdi Torabi in good teamwork with Saman Ghoddos breached the Uruguay defense and was close to opening the scoresheet. The final shot by Torabi was parried by Sergio Rochet the Uruguayan goalkeeper and on the second attempt, Torabi’s shot went wide of the goal.
Sardar Azmoun could not create any significant threat to the Uruguay goal until he was substituted. Alireza Jahanbakhsh started an attack, but the final shot by Ehsan Haji Safi was easily handled by Uruguay’s goalkeeper. In the 66th minute, Uruguay was on the verge of scoring, as Abedzadeh missed a cross from an Uruguay corner kick but the header from this team’s striker was cleared off the line by Mehdi Torabi.

Late in the match, Queiroz decided wisely to change the lineup to give the team some needed energy.  , He sent several players including Taremi and Ansarifard to the field in the last 20 minutes. These substitutions improved the situation for Team Melli and the result was decided by Taremi in the 79th minute.
The forward started and finished the move, feeding Saman Ghoddos on the left, and his pass through to Karim Ansarifard was played back into the path of Taremi who side-footed home to score the winning goal of the match and to the delight of the bench.

In the final minutes, Uruguay was looking to compensate for the lost goal and its hope was Suarez in the attack line. In the 89th minute, this player was preparing to shoot at Abedzadeh’s goal behind the penalty area, when Ezatollahi gave away a free kick in a dangerous area with a foul on Suarez. The resulting free kick hit the body of the Iranian defense and an opportunity went missing for the South Americans.

In the end, Queiroz managed to outfox Uruguay’s coach Diego Alonso and achieve a promising victory in Team Melli’s first of the two friendly international matches. This win is valuable for Queiroz as he has precious little time to prepare the team until the first game in the FIFA World Cup.

With England (vs Italy 0-1), Wales (vs Belgium 1-2), and the USA (vs Japan 0-2) all losing their matches in the international break, Iran’s hope and confidence to qualify from this group is certainly not that impossible.

IRAN   1-  0 URUGUAY

Venue: NV ARENA (St. Pölten)
Referee: Walter Altmann (Austria)
Half time : 0 – 0

Scorer: Mehdi Taremi (79′)
Yelloe card : Uruguay R. Bentancur (81′)

IRAN – A. Beiranvand (63′ Abedzadeh): S. Moharrami , S. Khalilzadeh, H. Kanani, A. Jalali(69’Noorafkan), E. Hajsafi, S. Ezatolahi, M. Torabi( 69′ A. Gholizadeh), S. Azmoun (68′ K. Ansarifard), S. Ghoddos (85’V. Amiri), A. Jahanbakhsh (68’M. Taremi)

URUGUAY -S. Rochet, D. Suárez (72’G. Varela), M. Olivera (85’M. Viña), R. Araújo (5’A. Rogel), S. Cáceres,M. Vecino (72’G. De Arrascaeta), R. Bentancur (85′ L. Torreira), F. Valverde , F. Pellistri (46’N. De La Cruz), L. Suárez, D. Núñez