Tag: China

Afshin Ghotbi in the shortlist for coaching Omid Team.

The Iranian Football Federation is considering former Team Melli and Persepolis head coach Afshin Ghotbi as a candidate for coaching Iran’s Omid team (U21). This comes after a 3-hour meeting between Mehdi Taj, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, and Habib Kashani to discuss the appointment of a new head coach for the team. Other names being considered include Mojtaba Hosseini and Mehdi Tartar.

In the meantime, the name of Afshin Ghotbi, the former head coach of the Iranian national football team, was added to the list of coaches available and willing to take the job. In past meetings, names such as

The coach will take over the assignment ahead of two important competitions, the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou in September 2023 and the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.

Two Iranian candidates and one foreign are being shortlisted according to an announcement by the National Olympic Committee (NOC) to the Football Federation. It is also determined that this appointment must be determined by May 25 so that this team is ready to participate in the Asian Games. In this regard, the Football Federation has decided to identify the head coach of the Omid national team by May 24 and introduce him to the National Olympic Committee. Also, after last night’s meeting, Mehdi Taj, the president of the football federation, and Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, the vice president of the federation, left for Qatar to participate in the draw of the  AFC Asian Cup 2023, which will be held on Thursday.

The coaching of the Omid Team has left many of those with heads down with failure after failure in all official competitions. Apart from some odd exceptions, the FFIRI tends to pick some inconspicuous or obscure coaches to save on wages and the result is inevitably, elimination from the competitions. With the Olympic Games, there is an added situation as the Iranian NOC is involved and history shows some bitter disagreement between the two sides (FFIRI and NOC) on various issues

Ghotbi is currently the head coach of Canadian Premier League side Vancouver FC, He was appointed in November of last year. Before that Ghotbi coached in the Chinese league with Cangzhou Mighty Lions.

Seeding for AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ Final Draw confirmed

the-afc.com

Kuala Lumpur: The seeding for the highly-anticipated AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ Final Draw, which will take place on May 11, 2023, 2:00pm (local time), in Doha, Qatar, has now been confirmed following the release of the latest FIFA World Ranking.

As with the previous editions of Asia’s crown jewel, Qatar have been allocated the first position in Pot 1 ahead of the draw to be held at the Katara Opera House to ensure that the host nation commences the tournament with the opening match scheduled for January 12, 2024.
Joining the hosts and defending champions in Pot 1 are the teams ranked from second to sixth in Asia in the latest FIFA Ranking namely, four-time winners Japan, three-time champions Iran, two-time winners Korea Republic, 2015 champions Australia and Saudi Arabia who will be aiming to claim their fourth Continental crown.
Pot 2 will comprise 2007 champions Iraq, 2019 hosts the United Arab Emirates, Oman, 2011 semi-finalist Uzbekistan, and two-time runners-up China PR and Jordan.
Meanwhile, Bahrain, Syria, Palestine, Vietnam, Kyrgyz Republic and Lebanon will take their places in Pot 3, while India, debutants Tajikistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia will complete the line-up in Pot 4.
Similar to the expanded 2019 edition in the United Arab Emirates, the 24 teams will be divided into six groups of four teams each across Groups A to F, with the top two and four best third-placed teams advancing into the final 16 of the competition before the Asian champions are crowned on February 10, 2024.
Some of the most iconic names of Asian football are expected to grace the Final Draw as Draw Assistants with the Head Coaches from the 24 teams also poised to be in attendance.
Final Seeding for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Draw
Pot 1: Qatar (hosts), Japan, Iran, Korea Republic, Australia, Saudi Arabia
Pot 2: Iraq, UAE, Oman, Uzbekistan, China PR, Jordan
Pot 3: Bahrain, Syria, Palestine, Vietnam, Kyrgyz Republic, Lebanon
Pot 4: India, Tajikistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia

Former Team Melli players passes away.

“Karim Bavi“, the former Iran national football team striker, passed away this evening after suffering from a long illness for many years.

Bavi played made his debut for Team Melli against China on 28th May 1986. He went on to play 34 times for Team Melli between 1986 to 1990 and scored 10 goals. Born and raised in Abadan, Bavi movd to Tehran to join Persepolis and he also played for the Shaheen football team for many years before moving to Qatar. A veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, BAvi suffered after enduring years of pain. Team Melli expresses its condolences to Karim Bavi’s family and all the fans.

Karim Bavi was in Team Melli’s squad that won third place in AFC Asian Cup 1988 in Qatar.

Bavi was 56 years old.

AFC invites members for hosting of AFC Asian Cup 2023.

Kuala Lumpur: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has today issued an Expression of Interest (EoI) invitation to all the AFC Member Associations (MAs) to host the AFC Asian Cup 2023™.
Following China PR’s decision to withdraw as hosts of the AFC Asian Cup 2023™, the recent 32nd AFC Congress 2022 had provided the mandate to the AFC Administration to define the terms and requirements of an expedited bidding process to find a replacement host for the competition.
Following the conclusion of the bidding process, the AFC Administration will submit a report with its recommendations to the AFC Executive Committee, which will then select the new host of the AFC Asian Cup 2023™.

The deadline for interested MAs to submit their EoI to host the AFC Asian Cup 2023™ is June 30, 2022.

Such a short deadline surely means that there is one country only that can host the Asian Cup and that is Qatar. Although after the World Cup, Asin Cup hosting will be a formality, it is only logical to award it to Qatar unless the gas-rich Persian Gulf country is exhausted from hosting major tournaments and needs a break.

Iran’s women team gains its first point.

The-afc.com

Navi Mumbai: Iran held India to a 0-0 draw in their AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022™ Group A clash at the D.Y. Patil Stadium on Thursday.

India had the better chances but determined defending by Iran kept the hosts at bay as both teams now set their sights on their Matchday Two ties.
Iran, making their first AFC Women’s Asian Cup appearance, found themselves on the backfoot as India started aggressively with their attacks coming from the flanks.
India had their first attempt on goal in the second minute as Nongmaithem Ratanbala Devi’s run down the left caught Iran by surprise but the midfielder’s effort was easily cleared by goalkeeper Zohreh Koudaei.

Iran found themselves under pressure again two minutes later when India’s Manisha Kalyan sent a delightful cross to Pyari Xaxa who, however,  sent her header wide.
With India controlling the pace of the game, Maryam Irandoost’s side saw very little of the ball but they could have taken the lead against the run of play in the 12th minute from a set-piece.

Samaneh Chahkandi sent a delightful ball into the area for Negin Zandi, whose looping header beat India goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan, only to bounce off the crossbar.

India, however, continued to dominate but the South Asians missed several chances with Indumathi Kathiresan and Kalyan firing their efforts over the bar as the score remained 0-0 going into the break.

India continued to dictate the pace of the game after the restart with Kalyan Iran’s main tormentor when she sent a clever pass to Kathiresan who at full stretch missed the target by mere inches.
Thomas Dennerby’s side almost broke the deadlock just after the hour mark when Kathiresan made a darting run down the left after linking up well with Xaxa but her effort was undone when she slammed the ball into the side netting from close range.
Koudaei had to be on her toes a minute later when she denied Kathiresan from inside the box as Iran continued to hold out.
India were denied what looked like a sure goal in the 77th minute when substitute Manisha Panna sent a delightful cross to Dangmei Grace, whose header from close-range was denied by a one-handed save by Koudaei.
Dennerby’s India will be aiming to claim their first win when they face Chinese Taipei on Sunday, while Iran face eight-time champions China PR.

MATCH STATS

India

4-3-3
 0 – 0 Iran

4-4-2
AFC Women’s Asian Cup

India
1 A. Chauhan GK
3 M. Panna DF
4 A. Devi DF
7 R. Devi 82‎‘‎ MF
8 S. Yadav DF
9 A. Tamang MF
10 P. Xaxa 65‎‘‎ FW
12 I. Kathiresan MF
13 S. Ranganathan 55‎‘‎ FW
16 M. Kalyan 69‎‘‎82‎‘‎ FW
17 D. Chhibber DF

Substitutes
5 Shilky Devi 82‎‘‎82‎‘‎ Sub
11 D. Grace 55‎‘‎55‎‘‎ Sub
15 Renu 65‎‘‎65‎‘‎ Sub
22 S. Kumari 82‎‘‎82‎‘‎ Sub

Manager
– Dennerby MAN

Iran
1 Z. Koudaei GK
4 M. Motevalli DF
5 G. Banitalebi DF
6 Z. Sarbali 59‎‘‎ MF
8 B. Taherkhani DF
11 S. Chahkandi 59‎‘‎ MF
17 N. Zandi 88‎‘‎ FW
18 M. Mohammadi MF
19 F. Adeli DF
20 H. Dabbaghi 70‎‘‎ FW
23 S. Sadeghi 67‎‘‎70‎‘‎ MF

Substitutes
7 A. Chatrenoor 88‎‘‎88‎‘‎ Sub
10 S. Zohrabi 70‎‘‎70‎‘‎ Sub
13 Y. Farmani 70‎‘‎70‎‘‎ Sub
16 Z. Masoumi 59‎‘‎59‎‘‎ Sub
21 M. Nikkhah 59‎‘‎59‎‘‎ Sub

Manager
– Irandoost MAN