Category: World Cup 2018

Team Melli line up vs. Turkmenistan

Carlos Queiroz announced the lineup against Turkmenistan for today’s match in Azadi.

Injury and absenteeism has forced into many changes. The new inexperienced line up is expected to have a tough time against the determined Turkmenistan side that has already declared they are playing for all the 3 points in Tehran.  

Iran needs a win today to go to the top of the table. Oman has a rest day in this round while India meets Guam later in the day.

 

 

HAGHIGHI, Alireza

HAJSAFY, Ehsan      POURALIGANJI, Morteza      POURGHAZ, Ezzatollah           REZAEIAN, Ramin

TORABI, Mehdi     EZZATOLLAHI, Saeid    EBRAHIMI, Omid

AMIRI, Vahid     DEJAGAH, Ashkan

REZAEI, Kaveh

Iran vs. Turkmenistan : Statistical Preview

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IRAN is looking to improve their standing in the group by beating their stubborn and resolute northern neighbors in the FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers match to be held in Azadi on Thursday.

IRN-vs.-TKM-Capture

After their disappointing draw at the start of the competition against Turkmenistan, Team Melli is determined to make amends and grab all the 3 points at home. Turkmenistan itself is still in the running with a chance to qualify and genuinely believe that their team has as good chance as both Oman and Iran to book a ticket to the next round. A win in Tehran, although not a guarantee for qualification, will ensure Turkmenistan stands firm in the table and look forward to get the maximum points of the home games in order to qualify.

Ando vs Guam azadi 1

Iran, surprisingly, never found it easy to beat Turkmenistan. Despite the huge difference in the status of the two countries football, with Iran being champion at all levels with historic achievements, Turkmenistan has not reached anywhere near what Iran has achieved. Yet , all that aside, the Turkmen have always put up a good fight against the Persians as if it is a matter of national pride. The last time the two teams met in Turkmenistan, the host could have come out as winners after starting poorly and conceding an early goal by Sardar Azmoun.

Although Team Melli played well that day and started very strongly, the performance faded away as the match went on. As a result of that , the defence line were caught napping right at the stroke of half time as Ruslan Mingazov punished Iran when he scored passed the hapless Haghighi. The goal was due to poor marking and feeble goalkeeping. It was a disappointing draw for Team Melli. This time Queiroz is determined to change the game plan and take advantage of the home crowd support to go forward with sustain offensive pressure while limiting the guest team’s  infiltration into the Iranian box. The game plan is dependent on a strong showing by the midfield feeding the front line while the flanks causing disturbances through those crosses for the forwards.iran guam

The absence of Sardar Azmoun is disappointing, however, Reza Ghoochannejad and Karim Ansarifard are back in the squad and should be more than capable to fill the gap left by Azamoun’s absence. Despite Ansarifard’s disappointing season and lack of playing time in Spain,  he is a capable forward who can easily bounce back. Ansarifard is enjoying playing football in the Greek league and could turn out to be a game changer given a chance against Turkmenistan.

Team Melli must get it right this time against the tough Turkmen team, a slip up will be costly.

No major changes in the team is expected apart from the non-availability of the 3 injured players.

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[tab title=”Ranking”]

FIFA Rankings

Iran: 43

ranking 1

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Turkmenistan: 121

ranking 2

 

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[tab title=”Form Guide”]

 

Form Guide

FIFA World Cup 2018

Asian Zone Qualifiers

table1

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Iran: W-D-W-D-W

16 JUN 2015 – 18:00 Local time
Sport Toplumy Stadium
Dashoguz
Turkmenistan    TURKMENISTAN    –       IRAN       Iran
1-1
03 SEP 2015 – 19:00 Local time
Azadi Stadium
Tehran
Iran    IRAN         –      GUAM          Guam
6-0
08 SEP 2015 – 19:00 Local time
Sree Kanteerawa
Bangalore
India    INDIA    –    IRAN              Iran
0-3
08 OCT 2015 – 18:30 Local time
Boshar – Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex
Muscat
Oman     OMAN   –   IRAN              Iran
1-1
12 NOV 2015 – 15:00 Local time
Azadi Stadium
Tehran
Iran      IRAN      –        JAPAN        japan flag
   
1-1

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Turkmenistan: W–W–L-D-L

11 JUN 2015 – 16:15 Local time
GROUP D
GFA National Training Center
Harmon
Guam   GUAM     –     TURKMENISTAN  Turkmenistan
1-0
16 JUN 2015 – 18:00 Local time
GROUP D
Sport Toplumy Stadium
Dashoguz
Turkmenistan    TURKMENISTAN    –     IRAN  Iran
1-1
03 SEP 2015 – 19:00 Local time
GROUP D
Seeb Stadium
Seeb
Oman   OMAN       –    TURKMENISTAN   Turkmenistan
3-1
08 OCT 2015 – 18:00 Local time
GROUP D
Kopetdag
Ashgabat
Turkmenistan         TURKMENISTAN   –  INDIA           India
2-1
13 OCT 2015 – 18:00 Local time
GROUP D
Kopetdag
Ashgabat
Turkmenistan        TURKMENISTAN  —     GUAM   Guam
1-0

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Head-to-head record

Dead Even between the two teams.

 

Date Comp. H / A / N Final score Stadium Attendance
16.06.2015 World Cup Qualifier A 1 – 1 Garaşsyzlyk Stadium , Dashoguz 10000
25.11.1996 Friendly H 0 – 1 Azadi – Tehran 15000
28.04.1996 Friendly A 0 – 1 Ishq Abad 30000
26.04.1996 Friendly A 1 – 1 Ishq Abad 10000
05.10.1994 Asian Games N 1 – 1 Hiroshima 7000
14.06.1993 ACO Cup H 2 – 1 Azadi – Tehran 15000
08.06.1993 ACO Cup H 2 – 1 Azadi – Tehran 15000

 

 

IRAN TURKMENISTAN
P 7 7
W 2 2
D 3 3
L 2 2
GF 7 7
GA 7 7
GD 0 0

 

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[tab title=”Players”]

IRAN

THE SQUAD

GOALKEEPERS
1 HAGHIGHI, Alireza
AKHBARI, Mohammadreza
2 BIRANVAND, Alireza
3 MAKANI, Sousha
DEFENDERS
4 MOHAMMADI, Milad
5 HAJSAFY, Ehsan
6 HEYDARI, Khosrow
7 POURALIGANJI, Morteza
KAMYABINIA, Kamal
8 KANANI, Mohammad Hossein
9 MONTAZERI, Pejman
MIDFIELD
10 EBRAHIMI, Omid
11 TEYMOURIAN, Andranik
12 EZZATOLLAHI, Saeid
13 TORABI, Mehdi
14 REZAEIAN, Ramin
15 JAHANBAKHSH, AliReza
16 DEJAGAH, Ashkan
17 SHOJAEI, Masoud
FORWARDS
18 TAREMI, Mehdi
19 AMIRI, Vahid
20 REZAEI, Kaveh
21 GHOOCHANNEJAD, Reza
22 ANSARIFARD, Karim

 

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TURKMENSITAN

 

Goalkeepers:

  1. Mämmet Orazmuhammedow – «Altyn Asyr»
  2. Sergeý Kuznesow – «Aşgabat»

    • Defense

  3. Serdar Annaorazow – «Altyn Asyr»
  4. Bahtiýar Hojaahmedow – «Altyn Asyr»
  5. Şöhrat Söyünow – «Altyn Asyr»
  6. Mekan Saparow – «Balkan»
  7. Ýagmyrmyrat Annamyradow – «Balkan»
  8. Zafar Babajanow – «Ahal»
  9. Akmyrat Jumanazarow – HTTU

    • Midfielders:

  10. Ahmet Ataýew – «Altyn Asyr»
  11. Umidjan Astanow – «Altyn Asyr»
  12. Guwanç Abylow – «Hazyna»
  13. Suleýman Orazow – «Ahal»
  14. Amir Gurbani – «Balkan»
  15. Serdar Geldiýew – «Altyn Asyr»
  16. Arslanmyrat Amanow – «Almalyk» (Uzbekistan)
  17. Suleýman Muhadow – «Altyn Asyr»

    • Forwards

  18. Serdarali Ataýew – «Balkan»
  19. Didar Durdyýew – «Hazyna»
  20. Berdi Şamyradow – «Aşgabat»

 

 

 

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 Coaches

Iran: Carlos QUEIROZ

Despite his almost regular battles with everyone around, Queiroz remains focused on Team Melli and has enjoyed the support of his players. The fan’s support seems to be fluctuating and if the attendances at Azadi is a thermometer for the team and the coach ,then it is disappointing. Queiroz has taken Iran to the World Cup finals in 2014 and the Asian Cup 2015 but did not manage to guide the team beyond the first round in Brazil while loosing in a penalty shootout against Iraq in the Asian Cup quarter finals.

Queiroz seems to be well versed with his player’s abilities and has given the team a boost in selecting young and aspiring players after the Asian Cup 2014. Queiroz has  a tendency to stick to names rather than performance.  The two major shortcomings in this capable coach is, technically where he seems to be unable of turning a bad team performance around as witnessed in the Turkmenistan and Oman matches, while behavior wise, his outbursts and demeanour could be unsettling to the players on the pitch.

In all, Carlos Queiroz has what it takes to win this match.

Queiroz in Bunyodkar stadium

 

 

 

Turkmenistan: Amangylych KOCHUMOV 

This local coach has enjoyed success at juniors level. He was the coach of the U-16 team to nearly 10 years. Under the coaching of Koçumow in the International Youth Games of the CIS and Baltic States in 2002 in Moscow, he guided Turkmenistan, into the quarter finals. It was considered as an achievement and Koçumow was appointed as head coach of Turkmenistan national team.

He does not lack any confidence and is tactically an astute coach. He believes in solid defense from the days of his Soviet playing years. He has built Turkmenistan around that philosophy and thus it has worked for him as the opponents find penetrating that Turkmen defence to be hard.

Koumachov TKM coach

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Officials

Referee: KIM Dong Jin (KOR)Referee-KIM Dong Jin (KOR)
Assistant Referee 1: CHOI Min Byoung (KOR)
Assistant Referee 2: BANG Gi Yeol (KOR)
Fourth Official: Aziz ASIMOV (UZB)

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Iran and Oman draw in Muscat.

Iran maintained its top of the table position after grinding out a hard-fought 1-1 draw against its main rival Oman  in 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup joint-qualifying clash on Thursday. The match was played in difficult weather condition with high humidity restricting the players of both teams from giving their best.

The host created a host of chances at Sultan Qaboos stadium in the first half but the closest they came to breaking the deadlock was when Qasim Saeed shot wide from close range.

Team Melli also had opportunities of their own but none to seriously bother Ali Al Habsi who had a comfortable half commanding his area quite well.

Signs of defensive vulnerability in Team Melli came in the first half as Omani forwards outpaced their opponents. Jalal Hosseini and Pejman Montazeri were both caught out in several situations by the fast attacks and especially in transitions.

In the 52nd minute, this vulnerability soon translated into a goal for Oman as a blunder by Hosseini, Alireza Haghighi in the middle and a complete absence of covering by left back Ehsan Hajsafy, for Saad Suhaill to score an easy goal.

However , both the guilty parties in this goal conceded by Iran combined a few minutes later for Team Melli’s goal.

Hajsafy on the left flank ran with the ball all the way into the Oman box before sending a diagonal ball which Al Habsi could only fumble into Hosseini’s legs. The Center back had the easiest of the chances to slot it in for Iran’s equalizer.

.

Both teams exchanged control of the match through the midfield. Iran suffered badly due to the weak performance of the trio Ebrahimi, Teymourian and Dejagah. The latter has one of his worst performances since he played for Team Melli. Teymourian defensive duties prevented him from being a force while Iran was on attack.

Up front Taremi and Azmoun did not click and found wanting in front of a strong and compact Omani defense.

However, the middle of the defense was perhaps the most worrying of all the three lines in which Queiroz needs to do some serious patching work.

Team Melli will have a chance to keep the lead when they meet Turkmenistan next. Before that, the Japan friendly will give Queiroz a perfect opportunity to try to solve some urgent issues with the tactics and personnel.

Team Melli young guns put on the style in a 6-0 victory.

Guam topping the group ahead of Iran and oozing with confidence with dreams of upsetting the powerful Team Melli, was suddenly put down to earth with a 6-0 drubbing in Azadi today. This was Guam first drop of points of their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Team Melli jumped on the Matao almost immediately with a goal in the opening 10 minutes off a penalty kick from Ashkan Dejagah. The hosts went into halftime up by three goals as Mehdi Taremi and Sardar Azmoun scored before halftime. Taremi and Azmoun found the back of the net again in the second half before Mehdi Torabi rounded the scoring with a tally in the dying minutes of the match.  

Despite the result, Guam remain atop Group D with six points while Iran are in second with four but holding a match in hand.

Queiroz put his confidence in his youngsters’, who put a wide smile on his face after the emphatic win against the group leaders.

Although Sardar Azmoun continued his prolific scoring records with Team Melli , it was Mehdi Taremi , the player from Bushehr , currently starring for Persepolis , who attracted most of the attentions. Azmoun run on the flank was stopped by a foul from keeper Doug Herrick. The referee had no hesitation to blow for a penalty which Ashakan Dejagah slotted comfortably into the net in the 10th minute.

iran guam ashkan goal celebration

The early goal opened Team Melli appetite as both Ando Teymourian and Taremi came close to adding to the tally. The latter then scored when Azmoun sent a neat pass for Taremi to slot in the goal with a side touch for his first goal and Iran’s second in the 31st minute. Azmoun added one more before half time from a slide rule cross by Ashkan Dejagah for the young forward who plays for the Russian club Rostov to outjump the Guam defenders and head into the net. Azmoun has scored several goals in such style and beginning to acquire a reputation for splendid heading goals.

Azmoun scored again on the 41st from a neat cross by Vahid Amiri to finish the half with 4-0 margin for Team Melli.

The second half was much the same as what the fans witnessed in the first. Guam hardly venturing into Iranian territory while Team Melli players putting a siege round the Guam box.

Further goals came from Taremi who headed home Ramin Rezaeian’s cross and then a late goal by Torabi, his second for Team Melli in as many matches.

The second half was not more than a damage limitation exercise by Guam who defended in numbers and managed to limit the scoring to no more than two.

Team Melli will now face India next while Guam will play Oman who beat Turkmenistan 3-1 in Muscat.

iran guam taremi azmoun goal celebration

Stephen Constantine: Iran are the giants of Asia

With just more than a month left for the Indian National Team to play Iran, the ‘Giants of Asia’, in the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup Preliminary Joint Qualifier in Bengaluru, AIFF Media caught up with National Coach Stephen Constantine on a number of issues pertaining to Indian football.

 

INTERVIEW

How much is the road ahead tough?
The road for us is as tough as I had expected it to be. Many may have thought that this was going to be a quick transition given that we beat Nepal and qualified. Many may have also severely underestimated Guam, and possibly overestimated the level that we are at the moment, which I personally feel cannot change within a short time.

Have there been changes to the squad?
I have made many changes to the philosophy of the team to the type of training that we do including introducing many bright new prospects into the squad.
But at the same time, they also need time to adjust to the pace and the level of international football. There is a huge difference between the standard of the domestic leagues to international football.

How is our team shaping up prior to the Iran match?
It’s Iran, the 41st ranked team in the world, the Giants of Asia. I feel that says it all.
The International Friendly against Nepal is the sole competitive match that our boys would have played before taking on the Asian superpowers. You need to remember that prior to the match against Nepal, most of the National Team players have not played a competitive game since June 2015 (against Guam) while the others have not played since May 31, 2015, i.e., the completion of the Hero I-League. So for some players, its more than two months while for the rest, it’s almost or even more than three months. The National Team is at a huge disadvantage.

We are playing Nepal on August 31st in an International Friendly? Is there any specific reason to play Nepal?
There were options playing against higher ranked teams but seeing that we are playing a home game, we wanted to play at home while those teams wanted to play at their home. So it didn’t materialize. Under such circumstance, it’s good we played some close to our ranking.
I know the sentiment of people wanting us to play more but none wants to play more than me.

(Interview & Photo courtesy AIFF Media)

Team Melli unable to use players under Military Service.

The Armed Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran has written to the concerned departments declaring that all those players who have found to be guilty of fraud by the courts for holding fake military release certificates , will not be allowed to join Team Melli or Omid teams. The ban is valid until the completion of their service.

Team Melli will be playing against Guam at home then India away. Carlos Queiroz will be unable to select those players although in real terms , none are fixed players in the team. The players are Arash Afshin , Bakhtiyar Rahmani , Shoja’a Khalilzadeh , Hossein Mahini and Soroush Rafei. In addition , Mehrdad Pooladi who is currently out of the country , is also put on the black list and cannot play for Team Melli.

The communique from the armed forces did not specifically mention those other  players who have not cheated and are currently serving their mandatory military service as required by the law. Such players are normally banned from leaving the country while serving but dispensation has been issued before on request from the FFIRI and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

 Team Melli will start a short training camp next Thursday in Azadi Sports Complex in preparation for the match on 3rd September against Guam in Azadi and on the 8th in Mumbai against India.

nd

Team Melli is further depleted !

A depleted Team Melli will be flying to Tashkent on Tuesday 11:00 am missing 7 players. The latest additions,  is one of the most experienced players, Seyed Jalal Hosseini and Foolad young starlet , Soroush Rafei. The pair is facing administration issues preventing them from leaving Iran.

As reported earlier in teammelli.com , Hosseini is facing tax evasion charges due to the non-payment of taxes while he was playing with Persepolis. Hosseini learned of his dilemma when he returned to Iran after the end of the QSL season where he was playing with Al Ahli in Qatar.  Hosseini is adamant that according to his contract , Persepolis was supposed to pay for his income taxes , something they never did.

Soroush Rafei is faced with the military service which in Iran means the person is not allowed to leave the country until the completion of his duty. However, there are exemptions based on admissible evidences. Queiroz personally took Rafei’s issue to task but it appears that his efforts were fruitless.

Although the decision on both are not final with another 30 odd hours remaining to the flight , it is hardly unlikely that the matter will be resolved. Hosseini’s absence will be a real blow to Team Melli already missing Amir Hossein Sadeghi in the central defense and Mehrdad Pooladi. Montazeri will most probably be paired with young Pouraliganji in the central defense while Ghafoori , Heydari or Beikzadeh will be occupying the defensive flanks.

The list of the absentees on the trip to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan is as follows:

  1. Ashkan Dejagah (Injury)
  2. Alireza Jahanbakhsh (injury)
  3. Ghassim Haddadifar (Fatigue)
  4. Jalal Hosseini (Taxation)
  5. Karim Ansarifard (Form)
  6. Mehrdad Pooladi (Military Service)
  7. Soroush Rafei (Military Service)

FIFA World Cup 2018 Asian Zone qualifiers; Iran in Group D.

Kuala Lumpur: Asia’s 2018 FIFA World Cup hopefuls learned their fate on Tuesday when the draw for the second round draw of continental qualifiers was held in the Malaysian capital.

Some 40 sides were placed in eight groups of five teams each for the FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.

Team Melli was drawn in group “D” along with Oman, Turkmenistan and Guam

The Draw:

Group A: 1. UAE 2. Saudi Arabia 3. Palestine 4. Timor-Leste 5. Malaysia 

Group B: 1. Australia 2. Jordan 3. Tajikistan 4. Kyrgyzstan 5. Bangladesh

Group C: 1. China 2. Qatar 3. Maldives 4. Bhutan 5. Hong Kong

Group D: 1. Iran 2. Oman 3. India 4. Turkmenistan 5. Guam

Group E: 1. Japan 2. Syria 3. Afghanistan 4. Singapore 5. Cambodia

Group F: 1. Iraq 2. Vietnam 3. Thailand 4. Indonesia 5. Chinese Taipei

Group G: 1. Korea Republic 2. Kuwait 3. Lebanon 4. Myanmar 5. Laos

Group H: 1. Uzbekistan 2. Bahrain 3. Philippines 4. DPR Korea 5. Yemen

What Next:

The teams will compete according to a double round robin format, and the Round 2 qualification matches will be held from June 11, 2015 to March 29, 2016.

The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the final round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

Fixture Schedule:

GROUP ‘D’

Matchday 1 – June 11, 2015 India vs. Oman
Guam vs. Turkmenistan
Matchday 2 – June 16, 2015 Turkmenistan vs. Iran
Guam vs. India
Matchday 3 – September 3, 2015 Iran vs. Guam
Oman vs. Turkmenistan
Matchday 4 – September 8, 2015  Guam vs. Oman
India vs. Iran
Matchday 5 – October 8, 2015  Turkmenistan vs. India
Oman vs. Iran
Matchday 6 – October 13, 2015 Oman vs. India
Turkmenistan vs. Guam
Matchday 7 – November 12, 2015 Iran vs. Turkmenistan
India vs. Guam
Matchday 8 – November 17, 2015 Guam vs. Iran
Turkmenistan vs. Oman
Matchday 9 – March 24, 2016 Oman vs. Guam
Iran vs. India
Matchday 10 – March 29, 2016 India vs. Turkmenistan
Iran vs. Oman