Tag: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Third test for Dragan Skocic

Team Melli and will face Syria in an international friendly today (Tuesday) at 17:30 in Azadi Stadium as part of the preparation for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers.
In recent years, Iran and Syria have faced each other in various competitions. The matches between the two teams in the World Cup qualifier in Russia in both round-trip matches ended in a draw, but with the change of Iran’s training cadre and the arrival of Wilmots, Team Melli inflicted a heavy 5-0 defeat to the Syrians in a friendly match.
Since then, the coaches of both teams have changed and now Syria is in a much better position than Iran in the World Cup qualifiers.

Iranian national team
Dragan Skocic will have his third coaching experience with Team Melli against Syria. He has already managed to achieve a perfect record with two victories in two matches defeating Uzbekistan and Bosnia. The Croatian coach’s whole effort is to prepare a team of the best Iranian players to claim a place in the World Cup qualifiers next round and defeat both Iraq and Bahrain in order to clinch one of the places.
With the exception of a few players who were unable to accompany the national team due to injuries or travel restrictions during the spread of the Coronavirus, Skocic has invited most of the top players inside and outside Iran, although as always there have been criticisms in some posts.


However, the return of Taremi, Azmoun, Beiranvand, etc. to the national team in this camp compared to the earlier one is good news for the fans of Team Melli who always want to see a full-strength team in action. As in previous camps, the Croatian coach has invited several young and lesser-known players, and it remains to be seen what the consequences of their presence in the national team will be.

Given Bahrain hosting the third qualifying group for the World Cup in Asia, Skocic and his team are working very hard to advance to the next stage and must use the same friendly games to increase the quality and preparation of the national team.

Syrian national team
The Syrian national team recently played a friendly match against Bahrain, and lost 3-1, with some Syrian media and fans criticizing their coach. However, Nabil Maaloul, who has a track record of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup with the Tunisian national team, has achieved brilliant results in the first group of the World Cup together with Syria and is in first place above China.

Syria has almost reached the third round of the World Cup and is now preparing for the toughest stage of the tournament to complete the unfinished work of the previous round. They lost four years ago in their last World Cup qualifier against Uruguay and failed to qualify for the World Cup.
Omar Al-Suma (due to injury) and Omar Al-Kharbin (lifelong suspension from the national team) are not present in this match as two prominent strikers, but other main Syrian players have come to Tehran. This meeting is very important for Syria in terms of results and readiness.

Iran vs. Bosnia: Historic lookback

The “A” national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina will play a friendly match with Iran national team in Sarajevo on 12th November.

B&H and Iran have met 6 times so far. Five matches were friendly, while the only competitive match was played at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Iran is more successful in head-to-head matches, as it recorded 4 victories, while one match ended in a draw. The BH team achieved its only victory against Iran at the World Cup in Brazil.

These national teams met for the first time on 22nd July 2001 in Bihać, when they played a tie 2:2. Goals for Bosnia and Herzegovina were scored by Sead Seferović in the 7th, and Miroslav Dujmović in the 10th, while Sirous Dinmohammadi in the 16th and Iraj Fatemi in the 90th minute scored for Iran.

In the next 4 matches, Iran won. First at the Azadi Sports Stadium in Tehran on 10.08.2001 with the result 4:0 (Hasheminasab 5th and 90th, Karimi 65th, Daei 87th minute), then on 02.02.2005 at the same venue with 2:1 (Daei 38th, Borhani 74th – Elvir Bolić 18th minute).

The Azadi Sport Stadium hosted the fourth meeting between B&H and Iran on 31.05.2006. Iran won 5:2. The national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina had a 2:0 advantage in that match with goals scored by Zvjezdan Misimović in the 4th and Sergej Barbarez in the 17th minute, but the Iranians reversed the result through Mehrzad Madanchi (26th), Rahman Rezaei (45th), Vahid Hashemian 46th), Reza Enayatia (89th) and Rasoul Khatibi (90th minute).

The fifth match was played at the Asim Ferhatović-Hase Stadium in Sarajevo on 12.08.2009. And then Bosnia and Herzegovina took the lead with 2:0 with scored goals by Edin Džeko in the 52nd and 65th minute, but in the end, they were defeated with 2:3. Goals for Iran were scored by Masoud Shojaei in the 79th, Arash Borhani in the 86th, and  Andrenik ‘Ando’ Teymouriian in the 90th minute.

The last match of these teams was played on 25.06.2014 at the Fonte Nova Arena in El Salvador (Brazil) in the 3rd round of Group F of the World Cup. Bosnia and Herzegovina won 3:1, and the goals were scored by Edin Džeko in the 23rd, Miralem Pjanić in the 59th, and Avdija Vršajević in the 83rd minute. The only goal for Iran was scored by Reza Ghoochannejad in the 82nd minute.

The match will be played behind closed doors without the spectators at the Asim Ferhatović-Hase Stadium in Sarajevo on 12.11.2020.

 

Iran vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina Matches records

 

 

Venue Matches W D L Goals Goal Diff.
H 4 3 0 1 12 – 6 +6
A 2 1 1 0 5 – 4 +1
N 1 0 0 1 1 – 3 -2
Total 7 4 1 2 18 – 13 +5

 

Date Comp. H / A / N Final score Stadium Attendance
25.06.2014 FIFA World Cup / Group F N 1 – 3 Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador 48,011
12.08.2009 Friendly A 3 – 2 Asim Ferhatovic Hase Stadium – Sarajevo 20,000
31.05.2006 Friendly H 5 – 2 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 40,000
02.02.2005 Friendly H 2 – 1 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 10,000
10.08.2001 Others / LG CUP H 4 – 0 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 75,000
22.07.2001 Friendly A 2 – 2 Stadion NK Jedinstvo podno Boriæa , Bihac 5,000
12.09.1993 Friendly H 1 – 3 Azadi Stadium, Tehran

Skočić invites 23 player for the friendly vs Bosnia-Herzegovina

Iran will play Bosnia-Herzegovina on Nov. 12 at the Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium in Sarajevo as part of the preparation for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, where Iran are currently third behind Iraq and Bahrain.

The ‘Persian Leopards’ defeated Uzbekistan in the last friendly international 2-1 on Oct. 8 in Tashkent. The 2022 World Cup qualifiers scheduled this year were postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The major absentees from the list are Sardar Azmoun, Mehdi Taremi, Saman Ghoddos, and Ashkan Dejagah.

Meanwhile, the captain of Bosnia and Herzegovina Edin Dzeko will miss the friendly against Iran after he tested positive for the coronavirus.

The AS Roma forward will miss coming matches against Iran on November 12 and the Netherlands on November 15. The 34-year-old player opened Iran’s goal in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where the Dragons beat Iran 3-1.

Team Melli Squad

Goalkeepers:
Amir Abedzadeh (Maritimo), Payam Niazmand (Sepahan), Rashid Mazaheri (Esteghlal)

Defenders:
Majid Hosseini (Trabzonspor), Hossein Kanaani-zadegan (Persepolis), Shoja Khalilzadeh (Al Rayyan), Aref Gholami (Esteghlal), Sadegh Moharami (Dinamo Zagreb), Milad Mohammadi (Gent), Mojtaba Najarian (Foolad), Morteza Pouraliganji (Shenzhen)

Midfielders:
Ehsan Haji Safi (Tractor), Ahmad Nourollahi (Persepolis), Omid Noorafkan (Sepahan), Ali Gholizadeh (Charleroi), Vahid Amiri (Persepolis), Siamak Nemati (Persepolis), Akbar Imani (Tractor), Saeid Ezatolahi (Vejle Boldklub)

Forwards:
Kaveh Rezaei (Charleroi), Mehdi Ghaedi (Esteghlal), Karim Ansarifard (AEK Athens), Sasan Ansari (Foolad)

Rank 30 for Team Melli

Iran climbed 3 places to number 30 in the world in the latest ranking figures that was published by FIFA on the 25th October 2018.

While still maintaining the top title in the AFC Zone , Team Melli managed to add 3 extra points to its grand total.  All other Asian teams maintained the same place in the AFC zone ranking.

 

FIFA Ranking Oct 2018

Rank Team Points Previous  Change
28 SVKSlovakia 1483 1491 -2
29 VENVenezuela 1479 1476 3
30 IRNIR Iran 1478 1474 3
31 PARParaguay 1477 1477 0
32 BIHBosnia and Herzegovina 1476 1468 2

 

 

AFC Zone

 

Asia

Rank

 World Rank Positions Total Points Previous Points +/-
1 30 IRNIR Iran 1478 1474 3
2 42 AUSAustralia 1432 1431 1
3 50 JPNJapan 1409 1398 4
4 53 KORKorea Republic 1401 1395 2
5 72 KSASaudi Arabia 1334 1337 -1

 

 

 

Iran rules supreme at the top of FIFA Asian Ranking

Team Melli continued to rule the FIFA Asian Ranking for the month of May 2017.

Korea Rep, Japan and Australia follow Iran in the ranking

 

WORLD RANK

Rank Team Points
26 NIRNorthern Ireland 823
26 IRLRepublic of Ireland 823
28 IRNIran 820
29 BIHBosnia and Herzegovina 815
30 SENSenegal 805

 

 Asian Rank World Rank Team Previous Points
 1 28 IRNIran 820
 2 43 KORKorea Republic 700
 3 44 JPNJapan 685
 4 50 AUSAustralia 661
 5 52 KSASaudi Arabia 646
 6 60 UZBUzbekistan 586
 7 75 UAEUnited Arab Emirates 453
 8 80 SYRSyria 426
 9 81 CHNChina PR 425
 10 89 QATQatar 369
 11 100 INDIndia 331
 12 109 JORJordan 311
 13 115 OMAOman 290
 14 116 PRKKorea DPR 289
 15 120 IRQIraq 278

World Cup 2014 Group’F’: How can the teams qualify?

Ahead of the final round of fixtures in Group F, we look at the various permutations.

Argentina – Qualified

Lionel Messi’s late goal over Iran last week booked a place for the Argentinians in the last 16.  A draw over second place Nigeria will see them top Group F.

Nigeria – Must draw with Argentina

A draw between Nigeria and Argentina will work well for both teams as the South Americans will win the group with the Africans guaranteeing their place in the knock-out stages. A win for Nigeria over Argentina will see them top Group F, sending Argentina into second place.

Iran – Need to beat Bosnia-Hercegovina and require Argentine win over Algeria, with a superior goal difference

After losing to Argentina in the cruellest fashion last week, the Iranians now rely on them to triumph over Algeria whilst making sure they beat Bosnia-Herzegovina in the process. Even then, Iran will need a superior goal difference to advance.

 Bosnia-Herzegovina – Out

With two losses from two games, Bosnia-Herzegovina are guaranteed to be spectators following the conclusion of the group matches.

How Iran Will Line Up Against Bosnia

Iran continue to prepare for their decisive clash with Bosnia tomorrow, fully aware that three points will likely take them to the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time in the nation’s history.

Confidence is high in the Iran camp after the impressive performance against Argentina last weekend, and a tough stretch of luck for Bosnia has left them only playing for pride in the final match.

By Bobak Abdolmohammadi, 
Featured Columnist Bleachers report

 

Forward/winger Ashkan Dejagah and striker Reza Ghoochannejhad will be relied upon to score for Iran, who are the only team to have failed to find the net so far.

Iran lined up in a 4-5-1 formation against Argentina as follows:

 Position  Name  #
 GK  Alireza Haghighi  12
 RB  Jalal Hosseini  4
 CB  Amirhossein Sadeghi  5
 CB  Pejman Montazeri  15
 LB  Mehrdad Pooladi  23
 CDM  Andranik Teymourian  14
 CDM  Javad Nekounam  6
 RW  Ashkan Dejagah  21
 LW  Ehsan Hajsafi  3
CAM  Masoud Shojaei  7
ST  Reza Ghoochannejhad  16

Here is how Iran will likely line up against Bosnia.

Goalkeeper

Alireza Haghighi will once again man the goalposts for Iran.

He was very solid and perhaps more confident after the Nigeria game and made a string of good saves against Argentina.

There was not much he could do against Lionel Messi’s world-class finish that gave Argentina the late, late victory.

Coach Carlos Queiroz has plenty of confidence in the Rubin Kazan-owned goalkeeper.

Defense

The defense is also unlikely to change much from the past two games, where Queiroz has started the same back four both times.

The defense has made a tournament-high 47 clearances out of 57 attempts, as per FIFA’s official statistics.

Right-back Hosseini, left-back Pooladi and center-backs Montazeri and Sadeghi played well against Argentina, very nearly keeping a clean sheet against one of the most talented front lines in the world.

Hosseini and Pooladi also played very well in a tracking sense, with Hosseini coming close on a first-half header and Pooladi bursting up the flank despite having to deal with Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain and Messi at differing times.

This group will remain the same against Bosnia’s potent attacking force, which will feature Edin Dzeko, Vedad Ibisevic, Zvjezdan Misimovic and Miralem Pjanic. 

 

Midfield

 
Sergei Grits/Associated Press 

Nekounam, as captain, and Teymourian are both automatic starters as the central midfield pair.

Hajsafi was also extremely impressive opposite the highly influential Dejagah. Both should continue to start as wingers given the attacking impetus and the general work-rate on offer.

Shojaei came in to start after coming on as a substitute in the Nigeria match. The former Osasuna star clearly has lost a step but remains a dangerous proposition when on the ball.

Despite his talent, he struggled to really impose himself on the game against Argentina.

Queiroz is likely to opt for a two-striker formation given that Iran absolutely must score to secure progression, leaving Shojaei as the odd man out.

 

 

Attack

 
Sergei Grits/Associated Press 

Ghoochannejhad has been one of Iran’s primary attacking outlets, coming close against both Nigeria and Argentina multiple times.

He remains an undisputed starter under Queiroz.

Iran must win this game to advance, and given their struggles scoring so far, Queiroz may go for a strike partner to pair with Ghoochannejhad.

One of Alireza Jahanbakhsh or Karim Ansarifard will likely get the nod.

It is also possible that Khosro Heydari makes an appearance as an attacking winger, but the most likely starter opposite “Gucci” would be Jahanbakhsh.

Bosnia & Herzegovina vs Iran – Match Preview

By 

Jun-24-2014

Onazi Ghoochannejhad Nigeria Iran Action Images John Sibley
Photo by Action Images/John Sibley

Match: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Iran

Date and Time: Wednesday 26 June 13:00 Local Time, 18:00 GMT, 20:30 Tehran Time

Location: Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador

 

Match Projection:

Bosnia-Iran-Match-Forecasts

Match Preview:

Prior to the commencement of the World Cup, this fixture was earmarked as a potential round of 16 decider with one of these nations requiring Argentina to defeat Nigeria to aid the progression of the other. The expectancy was that Bosnia and Herzegovina would be the nation on the brink of the World Cup knockout stage with Iran heading home; however this is not the case.

Bosnia and Herzegovina can feel aggrieved at this point regarding its early World Cup exit given the performance of the officials during its defeat against Nigeria – so things could have been very different had Edin Dzeko’s first have goal had not been wrongly disallowed for offside. That said, Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama and some poor finishing also contributed to Bosnia’s defeat and elimination.

The question is how Safet Susic approaches this match. Will he revert to the 4-1-3-2 that worked so well during qualification or continue to use the 4-2-3-1 with a more defensive approach? Will he play other members of his squad now that Bosnia have been eliminated? In either scenario, it could mean that Vedad Ibisevic starts for Bosnia, scorer of Bosnia’s only goal of the competition so far. However, the early exit does not mean that players have not impressed; Miralem Pjanic, who is expected to be fit after missing training on Monday, has been the creative influence in the side with 10 shot assists – with everything going through the Roma midfielder – while Muhamed Besic has been a workhorse in the midfield, covering 23.5 km between the two matches while leading the side in passes (65.0 per 90), passing accuracy (91.5%), interceptions (6) as well as providing 2 shot assists.

The story here, however, is Iran’s potential progression to the World Cup knockout stage. While a 1-0 win may well be enough, it does need Argentina to beat Nigeria – and if both matches end up with 1-0 score lines in Iran’s favour it will come down to drawing lots for the first time in the History of the World Cup (and some people claim that penalties are a lottery!).

Iran were moments away from creating one of the shocks of this World Cup and having a wider margin for error entering this contest in the process; however Lionel Messi’s incredible late winner has resulted in Carlos Queiroz’s side requiring the Iran win/Nigeria lose combination of results in order to progress. However, for a national team that failed to play a single game for 119 days following its qualification due to sanctions placed against the nation at a political level, the fact that it enters its final group stage match with a chance of qualifying for the round of 16 is an achievement in itself.

Like Nigeria and Argentina before them, Bosnia and Herzegovina are going to find it tough to break through Queiroz’s hard-working, well-disciplined side set up with men behind the ball in a 4-2-3-1 formation that is more like a 4-5-1. The two defensive midfielders, Andranik Teymourian and Javad Nekounam embody its hard-working nature, covering distances of 21.9 km and 21.8 km respectively as the Iranians spend a lot of time without possession – averaging just 27.4% over its first two matches, the lowest average possession in the World Cup so far. Teymourian and Nekounam are the only players in the Iranian squad to have surpassed 40 pass attempts between the first two matches – with all but four players attempting less than 30.

Still, Iran probably had the best opportunities to score against both Nigeria and Argentina, as well as looking more likely to score during an impressive second half against the South American nation before Messi’s moment of brilliance. While Iran had one good chance against Nigeria – a Reza Ghoochanneijhad header from an Ashkan Dejagah corner – both players had strong opportunities against Argentina as Iran had a number of opportunities in the central zone of the box:

Iran Shots

Ghoochanneijhad and Dejagah are Iran’s main attacking threats but Queiroz may field a more attacking line-up against Bosnia. The Charlton striker embodies Iran’s hard-working nature (21.4 km covered so far) while attempting a team-leading seven shots, but the creative force in the side is Dejagah (five shot assists as 17.9% of his passes have created opportunities). If Iran are going to score at this World Cup, one of these two players will be involved regardless of who else joins them in the Iranian attack – and potentially both. Queiroz knows that his side’s finishing will need to improve.

”My major concern is to keep players focused,” Queiroz told reporters. ”And, they’ll need to convert those chances.”

Bosnia and Herzegovina are the favourites according to the BSports Match Analysis tool, which really is unsurprising given the players available to Safet Susic – so Iran will continue in its underdog role in a match in which it can qualify for the World Cup round of 16.

Bosnia and Herzegovina Injuries & Suspensions: Miralem Pjanic (Probable)

Iran Injuries & Suspensions: None

Other Match Analysis Forecasts:

Not so impressive Argentina rescued by Messi

Argentina’s 2-1 defeat of Bosnia and Herzegovina in their 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ debut is hardly likely to generate great delight among Albiceleste fans. That said, there are times when all that matters is getting the job done, and this was one such occasion.

Those fans are likely to make a similar observation about the game as the players themselves did after it was all over, namely that Alejandro Sabella’s side were more fluent after the restart, when the coach switched from the 3-5-2 formation he began the game with to the 4-3-3 that had worked so well for him in the qualifiers. The introduction of Fernando Gago and Gonzalo Higuain for Hugo Campagnaro and Maxi Rodriguez also helped his side approach their usual rhythm.

One man who saw things that way was midfielder Javier Mascherano, who was making his 99th appearance for his country. “Even though we took an early lead, we struggled to get into the game in the first half,” he told FIFA. “We played better in the second, though.”

“We looked more like ourselves with our usual formation. Why the changes? Well, the coach thought that was the best way to start before then deciding that he had to change. That what it’s all about.”

Right-back Pablo Zabaleta, who was finally making his World Cup debut at the age of 29, also pointed to the improvement in Argentina’s performance after the break, while making an interesting tactical observation:

“When we changed to 4-3-3 our first pass into the forwards was better, we were organised and we got more people forward,” he said, also in conversation with FIFA. “When we do that, we’re a handful for anyone.”

A glass half full
Neither player had been expecting an easy night, a feeling that had nothing to do with formations or tactics, as Mascherano explained: “We knew it wasn’t going to be our greatest game. The important thing was to win because opening games at the World Cup are never easy, even more so when you have a few players who’ve never experienced one before. All that anxiety has gone now, though.”

For his part, Zabaleta took a pragmatic view of the evening’s events: “Obviously we tried to win by playing good football, but what matters today is the result. What counted was getting the three points and we did that. We still know, though, that we have plenty of room for improvement, which is a good thing.”

One of the many positive points that the two-time world champions can take from their defeat of the Bosnians is that Lionel Messi got back to goalscoring ways, having gone a whole 623 minutes without hitting the back of the net in a FIFA World Cup match, his last world finals goal coming against Serbia and Montenegro at Germany 2006.

“We are all very pleased to see him get his goal because he’d gone a while without scoring in the World Cup,” said Zabaleta of Messi’s second-half strike. “We hope he can get a lot more too.”

Before taking their leave the Albiceleste duo had special words of praise for the thousands of Argentina fans who made themselves noticed at the legendary Maracana with their singing.

“I wasn’t surprised by the support,” said Zabaleta. “You expect that from Argentina fans. We felt like the home side today and we’re proud of that.”

Mascherano was no less effusive: “I’ve never experienced anything like that outside my country. I hope they keep supporting us because they’re going to help us a lot.”

Susic: We won’t sacrifice a player to man-mark Messi

No Miralem Pjanic, no Edin Dzeko, no problem for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even without the mercurial Roma midfielder and the €32m Manchester City striker, Safet Susic’s side comfortably saw off Brazilian club Santos U-21s 5-1 in an unofficial friendly on Monday – their last before the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™. It was the Bosnians’ fourth successive victory and will send them into Group F high on confidence.

Following the game, FIFA.com caught up with Susic to discuss the performance at the Vila Belmiro, the fitness of Pjanic and Dzeko, and his plans to combat Lionel Messi in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s opener against Argentina.

Safet, were you pleased with your team’s performance in the victory over Santos U-21s?
Safet Susic: I think it wasn’t bad at all. It was a good match, with many opportunities for both sides, many goals, many beautiful pieces of play. I think we should be satisfied.

Have the recent results boosted Bosnia and Herzegovina’s confidence? 
Definitely, definitely. The self-confidence we had lost after the two defeats has come back. The boys are now, evidently, in a very good mood. During the matches they even tried out some things that they had previously practised with fear. It is evident that they played in a relaxed way, that the [recent] results have helped to regain self-confidence, to bring the morale to a high level.

It is a dilemma for me, but to sacrifice a player just to man-mark Messi, I don’t think it would be good for us.

Bosnia and Herzegovina coach Safet Susic

What is the state of Pjanic’s and Dzeko’s fitness? 
Nobody is seriously injured. The four players I spared was to not take any risks. Dzeko is not even injured, he is just a bit tired. The other three players, they have minor injuries. If the match against Argentina was tomorrow, everybody would be ready.

Do you plan to man-mark Lionel Messi? 
It is a dilemma for me, but to sacrifice a player just to man-mark Messi, I don’t think it would be good for us. We have a player who would be ideal for man-marking Messi – this player is [Muhamed] Besic – but this guy is so well prepared physically that it wouldn’t be good for us to make him track Messi. Messi sometimes stands for several minutes, not participating in the match. It would therefore be a shame to sacrifice a player [to mark him]. Messi will probably enjoy plenty of freedom, but each time he gets the ball, somebody needs to be near him. But I don’t think we have ever played a match having dedicated a player to man-mark a specific opponent, and it’s going to be the same [against Argentina].