Tag: Competition

“Iran’s Messi” a class above Qatar in the AFC Asian Cup

by Luke Costin

MELBOURNE, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) — Any scout in the world not aware of Sardar Azmoun should be now after “Iran‘s Messi” delicately scored the winner over Qatar in Sydney on Thursday.

Sardar cleverly drew a defender before dragging a low cross under himself and sealing Iran’s 1-0 win and qualification for the knockout stage.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran’s next opponent, scored a goal within 15 seconds on their way to sealing their quarter-final berth over Bahrain in Canberra.

Sardar, having run just past the low cross from the right field, stuck out his right leg to flick the ball under himself. He made no mistake with his second touch sending the mostly-Iranian crowd wild.

The 20-year-old has been linked with English powerhouses Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham in the current January transfer window, and based on this form, his Russian club, Rubin Kazan, may get another few pounds from a transfer of their young star.

Three minutes in, Sardar had already shown Asia why he has been compared to the three-time World Player of the Year with a delightful header that narrowly missed its target.

The only blemish in Sardar’s performance was something partially out of his control.

Acute cramp struck Sardar down on the hour and forced an early substitution.

It showed that, perhaps, playing in Russia had left him under- conditioned for the Australian warmth.

Qatar’s goalkeeper Qasem Burhan, coming off a 4-1 loss to UAE, was clearly low on confidence and often found himself lucky not to concede earlier than the 52nd minute.

Not 60 seconds after the break, an Irani corner drew Qasem into “no-man’s land,” but resulting strike missing an open goal.

Sardar azmoun -940x627

Desperate defending from the Maroons was necessary throughout as Iran peppered the goal with plenty of near chances.

Morteza Pouraliganji flew in over the top to meet a corner kick sweetly in the first half, only to beat the unguarded right post.

Minutes later, Ashkan Dejagah had a speculative crack from wide in the area that zipped past the goal, barely missing the far post.

Those in the stadium commended Iran’s frenetic fans for making the 22,672 crowd feel closer to 100,000.

Earlier in nation’s capital, the Emirates took just 14 seconds to puncture the Bahraini defenses and kick-start their 2-1 win.

A shocking defensive error from the kick-off led to Omar Abdulrahman delivering a pinpoint ball to Ali Mabkhout, who put away his third goal of the tournament.

Jaycee John Okwunwanne equalized in the 26th minute but it was his captain Mohamed Hussain’s own-goal header that was the decider.

UAE produced their best chances from free kicks including the pieces and, through some luck, scored in the 73rd.

From a free kick in left field, Hussain rose highest, only for his errant clearance to find the top corner of his own net.

Straight after the kick-off, right back Abdulla Omar took on the Emirati midfielders only to give the ball up to his Emirati namesake.

A sublime lofted through ball from Omar to Mabkhout allowed the tournament’s leading goal scorer the time to run around the goalkeeper.

Nigerian-born Okwunwanne’s one goal, from a perfect corner kick by Faouzi Aaish, so easily could have been a brace just three minutes later.

But it was not to be, his powerful header denied by an aware keeper.

Bahraini center-back Mohamed Duraj may miss the dead rubber against Qatar after painfully pulling a groin and being stretchered off midway through the second half.

UAE’s superior goal difference means Iran needs a win in Brisbane on Monday to steal top spot and potentially avoid the reigning champions, Japan, in the quarter-finals.

Team Melli through to AFC Asian Cup quarter finals

Team Melli have clinched a berth in the AFC Asian Cup quarter finals after beating Qatar 1-0 in ANZ Stadium ,Sydney.

The only goal of the match was scored by Sardar Azmoun in the 52nd minute after brilliantly turning his marker and beating Burhan Qassim in Qatar goal.

With UAE beating Bahrain 2-1 earlier , Iran and UAE will be competing for the table lead in the final match on Monday. UAE have a 1 goal better goal difference and need only a draw to top the group.

# Team MP W D L F A D P Last 5 matches H2H
1 Previous rank: 4 UAE 2 2 0 0 6 2 +4 6 WW
2 Iran 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3 6 WW
3 Previous rank: 1 Bahrain 2 0 0 2 1 4 -3 0 LL
4 Previous rank: 3 Qatar 2 0 0 2 1 5 -4 0 LL

 

Iran vs. Qatar : “keep it tight at the back”

14th January 2015

In addition to being the match that could decide Team Melli qualification, the match against Qatar on Thursday, will also be another test of Carlos Queiroz’s defensive game plan. A win by Team Melli will take it to the sixth consecutive quarter finals appearance of the Asian Cup. Iran’s proud record started in 1996 edition , in which Team Melli played in 5 consecutive tournament and never losing a match in regulation time.

Iran will be facing a wounded Qatar, and that could be a two edged sword. The multi-National team of Qatar could have already conceded although publically they are putting up a brave face and a defiant attitude. On the other hand, they still believe that there is nothing to lose, they still stand a chance for qualifying and end up playing their best football, the one that we have seen they can excel in, in front of Team Melli.

Ismaeel Abdulatif batteling with Morteza Pouraliganji

Djamal Belmadhi has assembled a decent team including many new faces. He dispensed with the Latin American contingents as they were failing to deliver and instead he picked a few North Africans and players from his native Algeria to replace the likes of Fabio Cesar, Andrés Sebastián Soria. Neutralizing foreign players is a fundamental standard procedure in Qatar sport including the National Football team.

The result against UAE was hardly an indication of Qatar weakness neither was it in any way and sign of the might of the UAE team. The difference between these two Gulf nation teams are minimal hence a 4-1 result was a freak result that should not be read too much into.

The reality remains that Qatar is strong opponent for any team and still stands a chance in the tournament. The Qataris will be hoping that Thursday’s match will be the turnaround point in their fortunes.

On the other hand, Iran is placed comfortably in the table. A win will be a perfect result, but a draw is not going to be a disaster either. No Team Melli fan should hold his breath hoping that Team Melli will be going to the jugular either. Carlos Queiroz will stick, and religiously so , to his strong defensive ideology regardless to the opposition.

 Since the World Cup and the term parking the bus was associated with Team Melli , even the offensive minded Iranians are becoming convinced with the Queiroz ideology in a classic bandwagon effect. The reality is that Team Melli does not have the ingredients of an lethal offensive team , so why play some tactics that the coach does not have the right resources for it? It makes sense to everyone even with a stronger position and a few field advantages over Qatar, for Team Melli to play the same old game plan hoping for a low margin win.

If you do not have the players like Khalatbary to run havoc on defenders , or a schemer such as Mojtaba Jabbari or Ali Karimi to masterfully orchestrate the midfield and feed your forwards, then offensive plans have to be shelved and Queiroz stick to “keep it tight at the back” approach.

Carlos Queiroz has to be credited with introducing the new players in the defense line, hopefully he would give more playing time to Azmoun and Jahanbakhsh instead of the inert Shojae, whose selection remains an enigma with his pathetic and lethargic performances.

also It will be a tight match but surprises in football can be expected. We hope those would be in the shape of a handsome victory for Team Melli.

Reza Ghoochannejad chased by Hussain Ali Baba of Bahrain

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Head 2 Head

This will be only the second time that Iran and Qatar meet in the Asian Cup. The first was in Doha in 1988 edition when Team Melli beat the host nation Qatar 2-0 with goals from Karim Bavi and Farshad Peyous. That match was also the first official game between the two teams.

H / A / N Matches W D L Goals + / –
Home 6 4 2 0 16 – 4 +12
Away 13 7 3 3 15 – 11 +4
Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 +0
Total 19 11 5 3 31 – 15 +16
Date Comp. H / A / N Final score Stadium Attendance
04.06.2013 World Cup Qualifier A 1 – 0 AlSadd Stadium , Doha 11872
12.06.2012 World Cup Qualifier / Round 4 H 0 – 0 Azadi Stadium , Tehran 80000
29.02.2012 World Cup Qualifier / Round 3 – Group E H 2 – 2 Azadi Stadium , Tehran 55000
06.09.2011 World Cup Qualifier / Round 3 – Group E A 1 – 1 Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium , Doha 8125
28.12.2010 Friendly A 0 – 0 Khalifa Stadium , Doha 3000
28.12.2009 Friendly / Qatar Intl. Friendly Tournament A 2 – 3 Suhaim Bin Hamad-Doha Qatar Stadium 3000
09.11.2008 Friendly A 1 – 0 Al Saad Stadium , Doha 5000
11.08.2008 WAFF H 6 – 1 Takhti Stadium , Tehran 5000
10.01.2008 Friendly A 0 – 0 Al Saad Stadium , Doha 2000
24.03.2007 Friendly / Friendly A 1 – 0 AlGharafah Stadium , Doha 7000
13.10.2004 World Cup Qualifier / WCQ A 3 – 2 Doha 3000
18.02.2004 World Cup Qualifier / WCQ H 3 – 1 Azadi – Tehran 0
01.08.2001 Friendly / Friendly A 1 – 2 Doha 0
27.09.2000 Friendly A 2 – 1 Al Sadd Stadium , Doha 5000
07.11.1997 World Cup Qualifier / WCQ A 0 – 2 Doha 20000
03.10.1997 World Cup Qualifier / WCQ H 3 – 0 Azadi – Tehran 70000
01.06.1996 Friendly / Friendly A 1 – 0 Khalifa Stadium , Doha 10000
17.05.1996 Friendly H 2 – 0 Takhti Stadium , Tabriz 30000
02.12.1988 Asian Cup / Group 1 A 2 – 0 AlAhli FC Stadium , Doha 20000

No serious injury fears in Team Melli squad.

Amir Hossein Sadeghi , Andranik Teymourian and Masoud Shojae carry  slight knocks that is not considered to be too serious according to Team Melli medical staff.

Teymourian & Shojae played against Bahrain and both received a slight knock in the game , while Sadeghi is believed to had these knocks during the training sessions in Australia. Amir Hossein Sadeghi was an unused substitute in the Bahrain game which Team Melli won 2-0.

All the three players are being given special treatment and recovery training.

Dr. Khanlori also confirmed that Hashim Beigzadeh , who was replaced by Khanzadeh is suffering from a broken bones in his palm. “We could have placed a special protective element as a precaution in order to make him ready for playing , but at the end we decided not to take a risk.” The head of Medical staff of Team Melli announced.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Hossein Haymathi , who is in-charge of Team Melli squad security,  a task which involves keeping an eye on Team Melli players whereabouts and movements , denied that any players have been reprimanded or cautioned for indiscipline, according to his statement to ISNA.   The security section ensures that tight measures are implemented to deter the squad from meeting undesirable personnel from abroad especially opposition figures and remind everyone that they are being closely watched. However, the official declared tasks of this security apparatus is ensuring discipline and conforming to curfew hours , routine tasks that are assigned to Team Mangers in every other squad.

“As you might have witnessed, other squads like Oman and Bahrain have quite a lot of freedom of movements  and their players are seen to be coming and going out at will. Our team is much more disciplined and abide by the rules” . Haymathi said.

About the rumors of the caution for 3 players “That is totally false. We have not cautioned any player no singled out any squad member for disciplinary issues. Amir Hossein Sadeghi, Andranik Teymourian and Masoud Shojae have left the hotel for some medical treatment with the approval of Team Manager.”

It is not clear if Mr. Haymathi is attached to the FFIRI the Iranian Government Security and intelligence system.

Alireza Haghighi and Amir Hossein Sadeghi

Perfect start for Team Melli in AFC Asian Cup

 Team Melli defeated Bahrain 2-0 lead in the first match for the two teams in group C of the Asian cup. The goals scored in the dying seconds of the first half by Eshasan Hajsafi , while Masoud Shojaei made it 2-0 in the 71st minute in the second half..

Carlos Queiroz started with the nucleus of the world Cup team with two exceptions. Morteza Pouralganji and Vouriya Ghafoori were replacing Khosro Heydari and Amir Hossein Sadeghi in the defense line

hajsafy-scores-vs-Bahrain
Hajsafy’s strike seconds after his shoot floats over towards the goal.

The Iranian fans in the Melbourne created a wonderful atmosphere turning the Rectangle stadium into what the  Australian TV commentator called a “Mini Azadi”. The vociferous fans loud chant was only challenged by a very whistle happy Australian referee whose continuous whistling threatened to spoil what was an intriguing encounter. Both teams started lively sharing possessions without creating any serious scoring chances.

Ashkan Dejagah was by far the most active of Iran’s players on the right flank. He managed to give the Bahrain defense some real work out, however the ex- Fulham player delivery and finishing were quite poor in comparison to his skills and work rate . He missed a glorious chance to give Iran the lead when Hajsafy put him through with a brilliant pass in the box ,

Ashkan only managed to find Bahrain Keeper Seyed Jaffar’s legs instead while he had better options including squaring to unmarked Ghoochannejad,

The game went on with Iran having a strong grip on the match but the end product was lacking despite being the more controlling side.

And then came a brilliant piece of work by Ehsan Haj Safi from a corner kick in the finals seconds of the half.  Teymourian’s floating corner kick, was too close to   Bahrain Keeper Seyed Jaffar who ball punched  it away only to find Hajsafy. The Sepahan midfielder controlled the ball with a perfect touch before he chips a wonderful ball with side footing over a crowd of players in front of the goal into the net. A truly wonderful strike by one of the two best Iran players of the half.

 The first half ended 1-0

Shojaei sidefoots his shoot towards the far end of Bahrain keeper
Shojaei sidefoots his shoot towards the far end of Bahrain keeper

The second half continued with the rhythm of the first with both teams playing openly. The first real threat came from Bahrain on the stroke of the hour when Alireza Haghighi mad his first save of the match from a powerful strike by Bahrain’s Jessi John , whose ferocious shot was deflected by Iran’s keeper. However , 10 minutes later Haghighi left the crowd ins suspense and anxiety for a few seconds when he collected a ball and then ran into Bahrain’s Fouzi Aaish who dropped on the ground. The referee whistled for a foul, thankfully it was against Bahrain player who protested and was clearly upset at the decision. The replay clearly showed that it was in fact Haghighi who charged into Aayesh. Hs indiscretion and foolish act could have been quite costly except for the mercy of the Aussie referee.

Not long after that incident , Iranian fans were relieved to see Team Melli scoring again. in the 71st minute Masoud Shojaei , whose contribution to the team up to that moment was absolutely minimal , scored from another corner kick. The floating ball was sent to the left corner of the stretched arms of Bahrain keeper to end up in the net. 2-0 for Iran

With the 2 goal margin , Team Melli opted to control the match leaving the Bahraini team to venture forward. Queiroz introduced his new players , with Azmoun , Jahanbakhsh and finally Soroush Rafei coming into the game. Although their contribution were minimal , it gave the team a new look and certainly raised the confidence of the young players.

Despite Bahrain’s gallant attempts , except for one case where Haghighi had to deflect a shot into a corner, Iran defense remained solid and intact. The rookie Pouraliganji was superb in partnering the veteran Hosseini in the middle of the defense, Ghafoori on the right flank was also a revelation while Pooladi was the same solid defender of the World Cup games.

The lack of creativity on the midfield was quite evident. Nekounam and Teymourin doing their routine defensive duties and hardly venturing towards opposition territories. Masoud Shojaei , as poor as always and looked like a lost figure in the midfield simply walking the match off , while leaving the bulk of the offensive load on Hajsafy and Dejagah to feed Team Melli’s lone forward Reza Ghoochannejad who was trapped between 5 Bahrain defenders.

 Despite all the preparations problems and many side issues that the team and coach Queiroz had to endure with , this was perfect start for Team Melli . There was the obvious shortcomings but at the end of the day , Iran had the higher quality and experience to finish the match on winning all the 3 points and deservedly so.

History of Iran vs. Bahrain

The tiny Persian Gulf Island state of Bahrain , has given Iran quite a few problems in football matches.

In 1974 during the Asian games , Bahrain came to Tehran not so much to challenge the Big Boys of Asia , but more to learn how the masters of the continent play their football. A 6-0 drubbing against a Team Melli which had a large number of reserves players in the team , was the beginning of what looked like a long domination by mighty Iran.

However, the first shock to the Iranians came in 2000 in Syria, when Bahrain defeated team Melli in Damascus during the Asian Cup 2000 qualifiers, thus recording the first setback of Team Melli against the minnows. Despite winning 7 out of 16 matches played between the two, Iran’s record against Bahrain can hardly be described as dominant and assured.

The worst  result for Team Melli must have been the 3-1 defeat in Bahrain , when Iran needed just a draw to make it to the finals of the World Cup in 2002. This left a permanent mark in the ego of Team Melli and the fans especially since some Bahrain players did carried out unsportsmanship act by carrying the Saudi Arabian flag on their victory march at the end of the match.

This is only the 2nd time that the teams meet in the AFC Asian Cup finals. The first , back in 2004 in Workers Stadium , Beijing, China was the third place play off where Team Melli scored a 4-2 victory against the best team that Bahrain ever produced in its history.

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Quotes

Hadi Tabatabaei , Former Team Melli goalkeeper ” Bahrain is not going to be an easy team to defeat. One of the advantages of our team is their fighting spirit than can come to our advantage.”

“Since it is the first game of the competition , we need to tread carefully and ensure that we have strong defensive. We should not allow their players much maneuvering space. From what I have seen of other teams, our task is going b e quite hard to make it all the way, but let us not forget one of our strongest attributes and that is our fighting spirit .”

Vahid Talebloo, Former Team Melli goalkeeper “Our biggest advantage is the solid defense. We have performed very well in this area during the World Cup and since the standards in the Asian Cup is not as high as the World Cup , we should be doing fine. First matches always have this intriguing feel to it and can spring surprises. We did will in our first match against Nigeria in the World Cup and that gave us a boost for the nest against Argentina. We need to repeat that in Australia”

“I think we can make it to the finals but that is not going to be an easy job at all. There are so many strong teams in this edition and it is very difficult to pick a winner at this stage. We have the resolve, the quality and the willpower to make it all the way. the boys need to focus and do their best.”

Mahmoud Fekri , former Team Melli defender ” We must defeat Bahrain to have any chance of qualifying ti the next round. If we fail to qualify , then this is a real wake up call for Iran’s football and a disaster in making.”

“The normal cliché of the first match difficulties still applies, but the quality and standard of Iranian football is way above Bahrain’s despite this team being a stubborn opponent for us. If we have any aspiration , any claims for lifting the title , we have to win such matches. Let us not forget that our neighbors on the other side of the Persian Gulf , are progressing steadily and firmly in football. They have managed to build strong teams and are in the top ranks of Asian football.”

Mehdi Foonoonizadeh , Former Team Melli midfielder ” Considering the current team status and the poor preparation, I seriously doubt that our Team, Melli will be among the top 4 in this competition.”

“I also have virtually no hope of Team Melli lifting the trophy. In order to make the grade, the team should have had a proper program with as  many friendly games as possible starting way back. This team has not had such preparation and all that the coaching staff have done is to summarize a six months work in two-week of intensive physical training in South Africa and Australia. You cannot substitute proper training by intensified two weeks hard labour camp. One other problem in the team is the high average age of the players compared to other teams. We have not really embarked in renewing the blood in our Team Melli in earnest. I hope that Queiroz starts doing that in Australia.”

“Japan and then Australia , are the two strongest candidates for the championship. ”

 

Mohammed Hussain , Bahrain Captain and central defender “The difference in standards between Bahrain and Iran is marginal. However , we still have to play to our best level against Iran else it will be difficult for us.  We have several players playing in professional leagues out of Bahrain , many of them in Qatar where a number of Iranian national team players are also playing. We have a good knowledge about them and hopefully such knowledge will help us to gain the right result tomorrow.”

 

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Betting odds

Iran Win Draw Bahrain Win
1.62 3.5 6.25

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Match Details.

Iran vs. Bahrain

AFC Asian Cup 2015 – Group ‘C’

09:00 (GMT) – 12:30 (Tehran)

Rectangular Stadium , Melbourne.

Referee: Benjamin Williams (Australia)

Past records Head to Head 

H / A / N Matches W D L Goals + / –
Home 6 5 1 0 19 – 0 +19
Away 5 0 2 3 4 – 9 -5
Neutral 5 2 2 1 7 – 3 +4
Total 16 7 5 4 30 – 12 +18

 

Date Comp. H / A / N Final score Stadium Attendance
12.12.2012 WAFF N 0 – 0 Kazma SC Stadium, Kuwait City 1200
11.11.2011 World Cup Qualifier / Round 3 – Group E A 1 – 1 National Stadium – Riffa 18000
11.10.2011 World Cup Qualifier / Round 3 – Group E H 6 – 0 Azadi Stadium , Tehran 83000
24.09.2010 WAFF / Group A N 3 – 0 King Abdullah Stadium – Amman 12000
31.08.2009 Friendly A 2 – 4 NATIONAL STADIUM , Manama 1500
21.03.2008 Friendly A 0 – 1 National Stadium 3000
08.06.2005 World Cup Qualifier / Second Round H 1 – 0 Azadi – Tehran 90000
09.02.2005 World Cup Qualifier A 0 – 0 Manama 30000
06.08.2004 Asian Cup / 3rd Place N 4 – 2 Workers Stadium , Beijing 10000
19.10.2001 World Cup Qualifier / WCQ A 1 – 3 NATIONAL STADIUM , Manama 8000
14.09.2001 World Cup Qualifier / WCQ H 0 – 0 Azadi – Tehran 50000
07.04.2000 Asian Cup Qualifier / Group 2 H 3 – 0 Azadi – Tehran 40000
04.04.2000 Asian Cup Qualifier / Group 2 N 0 – 1 Al Hamdaniya Stadium , Aleppo 30000
03.10.1994 Asian Games / Group A N 0 – 0 Hiroshima 5000
20.08.1975 Olympics Qualifier H 3 – 0 Amjadiah – Tehran 25000
07.09.1974 Asian Games H 6 – 0 Amjadiah , Tehran 10000

Iran vs Iraq friendly match details.

Team Melli will be meeting Iraq in an international friendly match in Wollongong , New South Wales on Sunday as part of both te teams preparation for the AFC Asian Cup 2015 in Australia..

Carlos Queiroz will be using this match to play his full team for at least one half on order to check on the readiness of the first choice players against one of the better teams in Asia. Iraq , which won the AFC Asian Cup in 2011 is grouped with defending Champions Japan, Jordan and Palestine and considered as favorite to qualify from Group D along with Japan. The teams last encounter in the last edition of the Asian Cup in Doha 2011 , ended in a 2-1 victory for Team Melli with goals coming from Gholamreza Rezaei. and Iman Mobali.

Team Melli has been going through practice at a rate of two per day, morning and evening sessions in Sydney. In the last camp in South Africa, Iran failed to arrange friendly international matches against quality opponents , playing with reserve teams of the 3 different South African league teams. Both Iraq and Iran teams have set camps early in Australia as an acclimatization program. Iraq is coached by Radhi Shenaishel after the Iraqi FA replaced Hakeem Shaker as head coach of Iraq. One of the best Iraqi players in the last few years , Karrar Jassim , to happens to be playing with Esteghlal Tehran , was not picked for the squad this time. Captain Younis Mahmood , who is not attached with any club and currently is a free agent, was picked as a last-minute choice.

 

Iraq v Iran

WIN Stadium, Wollongong, NSW

Sun 4 Jan 2015, 06:00 PM

Alireza Mansourian pledges full support to Queiroz

Naft Tehran coach and a former Team Melli player, Alireza Mansourian pledged his full support to Team Melli and Coach Carlos Queiroz. Mansourian was present at the farewell ceremony of Team Melli to wish them well before departure to Australia.

In a short statement to the press at Team Melli camp site, Mansourian said “I came here to show my support to the boys, and Carlos Queiroz. It is my duty to do so and I sincerely wish Team Melli all the best in their difficult task in Australia. Yes, it is not an easy job by any means but the boys are well up to it.”

“Queiroz has been trying his best for the team, however the preparation was less than ideal and there is no denial in that. However some might justify the circumstances and whatever was said; we must admit that the preparation of Team Melli was well below Querioz’s expectations and definitely way below our competitors’.”

Mansourain , who has 3 players in the squad Biranvand, Amiri and Pouraliganji added “I believe that Queiroz and Team Melli in general were victims of the disputes between the Ministry of Sports and the football federation. That should not have happened but the reality was, a high tension between these two organizations resulted in Team Melli being hurt by it.”

Alireza Mansourian urged all the fans and the media to be behind Team Melli and support the team to the end.

Squads of UAE , Qatar and Bahrain.

Team Melli will be facing a tough task against 3 well prepared team in Group C of the AFC Asian Cup 2015 Australia.

With all the 3 opponents starting their preparation at least six months ahead of the competition and playing numerous friendly games, Team Mell has only managed one game against South Korea in Tehran while a scheduled match against Palestine was canceled in Azadi by the guests. Team Melli should have one last friendly against Iraq in Sydney.

On paper , Qatar is considered the favorite to qualify or top the group. Iran & UAE have equal chances to join the Qatari team while Bahrain is not been given much hope by the experts after their poor showing in the Gulf Cup and going through their 3rd coaching changes in a short time.

 

UAE

Exciting Al Ain playmaker Omar Abdulrahman has been included in the 24-man United Arab Emirates squad for next month’s AFC Asian Cup in Australia.

23-year-old Abdulrahman played a key role in Al Ain’s progress to the AFC Champions League semifinals this year. He has been selected in the squad by coach Madhi Ali, despite not having played competitive football since sustaining an injury during last month’s Gulf Cup. UAE were defeated 3-2 by eventual runners-up Saudi Arabia in the semifinals.

“Omar Abdulrahman is fine, his doctor reports he has started jogging. He needs five to seven days to get back to full fitness,” coach Ali told the official AFC Asian Cup website.

UAE are in the all-West Asian Group C of the elite continental competition along with fancied Iran — who impressed at June’s World Cup in Brazil — and neighbours Bahrain plus Gulf Cup winners Qatar.  

Ali has named six players who were not part of the Gulf Cup squad for the elite continental competition beginning in January. Al Ahli goalkeeper Majed Nasser and Al Wahda centre-back Hamdan Al Kamali have been recalled to the side.

UAE will play friendlies against Jordan and Kuwait after reaching Australia on Wednesday. After the friendlies, Ali will trim his squad down to 23 players.

UAE — who reached the final of the competition in 1996 when they were hosts — take on Qatar on Jan. 11 in their first group game in Canberra.

Squad:

Goalkeepers Majed Nasser, Ali Khaseif, Khalid Essa,

Defenders: Mohammed Fawzi, Abdulaziz Haikal, Abdulaziz Sanqour, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohamed Ahmed, Ismail Ahmed, Mohanad Salem,

Midfielders: Ismail Al Hammadi, Hassan Ibrahim, Majed Hassan, Khamis Esmail, Habib Fardan, Amer Abdulrahman, Haboosh Saleh, Mohamed Abdulrahman, Omar Abdulrahman,

Forwards: Ali Mabkhout, Ahmed Khalil, Salem Saleh, Saeed Al Kathiri

 

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QATAR

Doha: Experienced striker Sebastian Soria was left out of Qatar’s 23-man squad for next month’s Asian Cup with the Gulf Cup winners instead opting for uncapped African-born forwards Tresor Kangambu and Mohammad Montari.

Soria won his 100th cap for Qatar in October and marked the milestone by scoring in a 3-0 success over fellow Asian Cup finalists Uzbekistan but it was not enough to make the squad for the Gulf Cup tournament the following month.

The 31-year-old has continued to score goals for Qatar Stars League champions Lekhwiya but national team head coach Djamel Belmadi opted against a recall when he named his travelling party for the Jan 9-31 tournament in Australia.

The Algerian instead went for the Congolese-born Kangambu, a wide forward who plays alongside Soria at the league leaders, and El Jaish’s striker Montari, who was born in Ghana.

The 27-year-old Kangambu moved to Qatar four years ago, while 21-year-old Montari has been in a rich vein of form for his club side in recent weeks. The duo joined Asian Player of the Year nominee Khalfan Ibrahim in the squad after the Al Sadd playmaker was recalled after he missed the Gulf Cup because of injury. Qatar have been drawn in an all West Asian Group C in Australia alongside Bahrain, Iran and United Arab Emirates.

The Maroons faceD final warm-up matches against Estonia , which saw them easily win  3-0 and Oman next week before they kick-off their campaign in Canberra on Jan. 11 against the UAE.

The 2022 World Cup hosts staged the Asian Cup four years ago, matching their tournament best showing of a quarter-final berth in 2000.

 

Squad :

Goalkeepers: Saad Al Sheeb (Al Sadd), Ahmed Sufyan (El Jaish), Qasem Burhan (Al Gharafa)

Defenders: Ahmadi Ali Mukhtar (Al Sadd), Abdelkarim Hassan (Al Sadd), Ibrahim Majid (Al Sadd), Mohammed Musa (Lekhwiya), Khalid Muftah (Lekhwiya), Abdulrahman Issa (El Jaish), Bilal Mohammed (Al Gharafa)

Midfielders: Khalfan Ibrahim (Al Sadd), Ali Assadalla (Al Sadd), Karim Boudiaf (Lekhwiya), Mohammed Muntari (El Jaish), Majed Mohammed (El Jaish), Khaled Al Zereiqi (El Jaish), Boualem Khoukhi (Al Arabi), Abdulaziz Hatem (Al Arabi), Ahmed Abdul Maqsood (Umm Salal)

Forwards:

Hassan Al Haidos (Al Sadd), Ismaeel Mohammad (Lekhwiya), Mohammed Tresor Abdullah (Lekhwiya), Meshal Abdullah (Al Ahli)

 

BAHRAIN

 

The Bahrain national soccer team arrived yesterday in Balart City, Australia, for their second training camp ahead of the 2015 Asia Cup to be held in Australia from January 9 to 31.

Bahrain are in Group ‘C’ with Iran, Qatar and the UAE.

Bahrain completed their first training camp in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday and the second camp will run till January 7.

The team will play its first friendly match tomorrow against Saudi Arabia.

They held their first practice session yesterday evening under the supervision of national coach Marjan Eid and his assistant Isa Al Sadoon. The team warmed up and worked out some tactical moves while the goalkeepers trained separately under goalkeepering caoch Abdulla Belal.

Faisal Bu Dahoom and Abdulla Abdo also trained separately under physical fitness trainer Deen Taylor as they are yet to fully recover from recent injuries.

The team will have an early evening training session before the friendly game tomorrow.

Coach Eid has included all three professional players – Fawzi Ayesh, Abdulla Omar and Jessi John – in the squad which was cut from 27 to 23 before leaving for Kuala Lumpur.

The trio were not selected by the previous coach Adnan Hamad of Iraq for the 22nd Gulf Cup held in Riyadh in October. Bahrain failed to qualify for the knock-out stage and coach Hamad was sacked.

The best position of Bahrain was in the 2004 edition in China where they were ranked 4th. Bahrain has a player nicknamed  “Karimi” after the famous Iranian player Ali Karimi.

 

Goalkeepers :Sayed Mohamed Jaafar (Muharraq)  Ashraf Waheed (Manama), and Hamad Al-Dosari (Al Riffa)

Defenders : Mohammed Hussain (Al Nasr KSA), Hussain Baba (Al Kuwait FC KWI),  Rashid Al-Houti (Al Busaiteen) ,  Abdullah Al-Hazza (Al Hidd) , Faisal Ali Budahoom (Al Riffa) , Mohammed Daij (Al Riffa), Walid Al Hayyam (Muharraq)

Midfielders: Abdullah Yusuf (East Riffa), Abdulla Abdo (Al Riffa), Abdullah Shallal (Al Riffa), Sami Al-Husseini (Al Busaiteen) , Abdullah Omar(Al Riffa), Fawzi Ayesh (Al Saliyya QAT),  Abdul Wahab Almalood (Al Hidd)

Forwards : Ismail Abdullatif (Al Nahdha KSA),  Abdulwahab Ali, Syed Zia Saeed Muharraq)  , Seyed Ahmed Jaffar “Karimi” (Al Busaiteen), Jaycee John Okwunwanne (Al Khraityat QAT), Mohammed Tayeb (Al Najma)

 

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Group C
UAE, Iran, Bahrain, Qatar
11 Jan 2015
06:00pm
           
UAE    vs.  Qatar
Canberra Stadium
**********************************
 
11 Jan 2015
08:00pm
           
Iran   vs.      Bahrain
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
**********************************
 
15 Jan 2015
06:00pm
             
Bahrain  vs.   UAE
V
Canberra Stadium
********************************** 
15 Jan 2015
08:00pm
             
Qatar   vs.     Iran
Stadium Australia
********************************** 
19 Jan 2015
08:00pm
             
Iran  vs      UAE
V
Brisbane Stadium
********************************** 
19 Jan 2015
08:00pm
         
Qatar  vs. Bahrain
V
Stadium Australia

Pooladi & Rafei cleared to join Team Melli squad.

sqd-pooladi2013
Mehrdad Pooladi

Mehrdad Pooladi , Team Melli’s left back currently playing for Al Shahniya club in Qatar and Soroush Rafei the young Foolad Khuzestan player have been granted permission by the armed forces to join Team Melli squad.

After a series of disappointing turns of events and depressing news around Team Melli in its preparation for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2015, this has to be the brightest news of them all. With the absence of Pejman Montazeri who misses the tournament due to injury, Pooladi’s inclusion in Queiroz squad is quite vital. Mehrdad Pooladi was the best player in Team Melli 3 matches in the World Cup according to FIFA technical analysis. His National Service problem prevented him from being selected for duty for Team Melli.

Most of the credit for the inclusion of Pooladi and Rafei must go to the Head coach Carlos Querioz whose personal efforts and demands, including a straightforward and serious discussion with the Minister of Youth & Sport has yielded result. The latter writing to the Armed Forces and requesting the release of the two players for national duty as football players.

The two persons who should have done the most to release Team Melli players, Kaffashian and Mohammad Nabi were quite passive about the issue and maintained a stance where they kept declaring that they are abiding by the law, without making any efforts to challenge or request any alternative options from the authorities to seek the two players release.

Soroush Rafei

Although Soroush Rafei is a rookie and is not expected to play a major role in the Asian Cup in Australia,  his inclusion is vital for the long term planning of Carlos Queiroz future Team Melli build up.

Team Melli is supposed to fly to Australia via Dubai this evening for the last part of the ir training camp which includes a friendly match against Iraq in Sydney.