Tag: Doha

Match Preview: Iraq vs. Iran

There is a solid consensus that Team Melli did not play well against Syria and also Iraq will form a much tougher opposition versus Iran on Tuesday in Doha.

The Performance

It did not need a professional football analyzer to conclude that indeed Team Melli was not at its best versus Syria and the team lacks cohesion and strategy. Despite the superiority in statistics for Team Melli against Syria with a ball possession figure of 69% against Syria’s 31% and total passes of team Melli of 416 against Syria’s 130, the dangerous chances created on the opposition keeper was meager and hardly inspiring.

So, Yes, the Team lacked direction, was short of ideas, and generally poor in the finishing phase and final passes. When one looks at the reasons and preparation of the Team, achieving a win against Syria is actually admirable.

Team Melli came to the match with the worst possible preparation. Even the Syrians were better prepared despite the catastrophic conditions of their country. Iran’s football federation and in particular the body in charge of national teams is world-renowned for their incompetency and poor organizational skills. This body, if it actually exists, has done little in terms of value for Team Melli’s preparation for the World Cup qualifiers. With only one or two proper training sessions, lack of leadership as both Skocic and Hashemian were quarantined, and the hallmark of Iran’s federation (no friendly matches) the expectation of a brilliant performance against Syria with a good result was just wishful thinking. In fact, grabbing all the 3 points was admirable under the circumstances.

Against Iraq, the conditions will be slightly improved in the sense that the full squad would have 3 days of training together and a coach sitting on the bench, but that is about all.  The team still requires strengthening in many areas which have been covered and reported many items over, particularly in the discipline department.

It will not be a bad idea to replay the AFC Asian Cup 2019 Semi-final match against Japan to teach the players a lesson of how the breakdown of technical discipline led to such an embarrassing historical defeat.

The opposition

Despite Iraq’s admirable draw away to South Korea, it is hardly a team that Iran should fear. The tactics that Iraqis deploy have not changed for years. Dick Advocaat in the short time he has taken over cannot change the Iraqis system overnight as what he will focus on is much the same as old Iraq with enhancement here and there.

Being a Dutch coach and a master in the offensive free flow Dutch football system does not mean that Iraq will go for an all-out attack against Iran on Tuesday. In fact, the Iraqis are lacking in offensive areas and lack the power that Syria has upfront. Their general situation is very much like Iran with organization and preparation. Iraq however is stronger than Iran in a few areas. They are a defensively disciplined team, strong mentality, and have a never-say-die attitude. There is intensity in their game but has a vulnerable defense line. In general, the team has a good mixture of physical and mental attributes which makes Iraq a strong opponent.

 

 The expectation.

The unsatisfactory performance will be truly forgotten when Iran gabs all the 3 points from Iraq, which is entirely possible. The Coaching staff has a few things to sort out, but the expectations from the fans will be nothing short of 3 points. Sardar Azmoun is available and that is a tremendous boost for Team Melli, the Stadium is air-conditioned and ideal for playing football, the team is away from any controversy and drama that is sometimes associated with Iran training camps. It is all set for another victory, but it will not be easy nor granted.

Ma Ning to referee Iraq-Iran match

The Chinese referee Ma Ning has been assigned to referee the Iraq-Iran match scheduled to be played in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday 7th September 2021 in Matchday 2 of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Asian Qualifiers.

the 42 years old Ma Ning has been a FIFA referee since 2011 while in 2019 the Chinese Football Association hired him as a full-time professional referee.

The match which will be without spectators is the second for both teams and will start at 21:00 local time (22:30 Iran Time)

Iran leads the group with three points while Iraq has one point after a respectable draw away to South Korea.

Iran to meet Iraq in Doha for the World Cup qualifiers.

The city of Doha will host the Iraq-Iran match at Al-Wakrah Stadium for the FIFA  World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifier.

According to sources quoting Iraqi Sports, the Iraqi national football team will host Iran in its second match in the World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday (September 7th). Iraq has chosen Qatar as the host of its home games due to its hosting problems. Al-Wakrah Stadium has been selected as the host of Iraq’s match with Iran, and thus the game will be held in this stadium.

Iraqi FA has unsuccessfully appealed against FIFA’s decision that the security situation in Iraq is unsafe and hence the Iraq Team has to nominate other venues outside of Iraq to play the home matches.

 

Mehdi Ghaedi chased by Qatar Star League clubs

Team Melli and Esteghlal striker Mahdi Ghaedi is close to playing in the Qatar Star League QSL according to the daily Al Raye of Doha. The newspaper cites several foreign sources who have been secretly negotiating with the player and agent to play in Qatar next season. The reports claim that several serious offers have been put forward to the Iranian star from several Qatari clubs, headed by Al Sadd and Al Duhail, to recruit the services of the player who starred with his team in the group stage in the AFC Champions League which helped Esteghlal to qualify for the next round of the AFC Champions League.

The 22-year Ghayedi is still under contract with Esteghlal and the club is insisting on keeping him for the next rounds of the AFC Champions League hoping to make it all the way to the finals. Esteghlal was the most potent attacking team of the group stages and Ghaeydi was amongst the top 5 stars of the competition according to the AFC website.

Transfermarket.com which tracks players’ value in the market quite a figure of 1.6 million Euro for the player from Bushehr. However, Ghaydi’s true value is much higher than what transfermarket is quoting, perhaps two to three times that.

Down memory lane: Bitter defeats of World Cup 1994 qualifiers

Iran’s football history is full of glories and honors almost all of it was in the pre-revolution era. Achievements such as winning the Asian Cup three times in a row have never been repeated by any team thus far.

The beginning of those glories started way back in 1964 when Iran made it to the Olympics Games Tokyo. In 1966 a younger Team Melli won the silver medal of the Asian Games in Bangkok, while at home, Iran won its first-ever Asian title when Hassan Habibi lifted the trophy in Amjadieh after they defeated Israel 2-1.

That was the beginning of the golden age of Iranian football in 1968. In 1972 Iran successfully defended its Asian Cup title in Thailand while the same year, it qualified for the Olympic Games in Munich. Iran won the Asian Games football gold medal for the first time in 1974. Two years later 1976 was another glory year for Team Melli with double achievements, winning the Asian Cup for the third time and qualifying for the Montreal Olympics. Iran also made it to the quarter-finals for the first time.

Team Melli led by the legendary Iranian coach Heshmat Mohajerani qualified for the Argentina World Cup in 1978. It was the perfect icing on the cake for a decade of glorious years of football. Then came the revolution and political upheaval that disrupted the whole society and disturbed the exceptional progress of Iran’s football. The glory days were never to come back.

However, twelve years into the revolution with Team Melli completely devoid of any success, Ali Parvin lead a young side to win the Asian Games 1990 gold medal. It was hoped that this was the omen and the glory days are surely coming back.

While Team Melli struggled for success, there were still some good moments to be proud of the team and a few bad moments. There were some bitter defeats during the 1990s however, one particular period is considered by many as the worst performance of Team Melli ever.

This happened at the Asian Zone equalization for the FIFA World Cup 1994.

in October 1993, the qualification matches for FIFA World Cup USA 1994  were held in Doha, Qatar. Iran, while missing several key players such as Kermani Moghadam, Farshad Pious, and Mojtaba Moharrami due to suspension and Ahmad Abedzadeh due to injury headed to Doha. The squad was lead by Ali Parvin but internal politics and wide disputes prevented the team to properly prepare for those qualifications rounds. The team did not have and friendly preparation matches and the camp was disrupted by internal disagreements.

The result of an ill-prepared team marred by dispute and disharmony was exposed quite early in the competition when Team Melli was beaten comprehensively by South Korea 3-0.

The aftermath of this heavy defeat disrupted the squad even more and its effect also lead to calls for change in Iran’s coaching team, back home. is loss had very bad consequences for Iran’s football, According to some squad members, after this game in the locker room and later at a hotel where the team was accommodated there were many disputes between the players and the coaches and it escalated to the point that some players wanted to leave the camp.

The federation officials came to the rescue and with a mixture of promises and threats, they managed to cool the situation until these qualifiers are concluded.

In the second game, Iran defeated Japan 2-1, to ease the pressure on Parvin. The third game was crucial for Iran who needed a win to stay in the competition for a place in the World Cup. They were facing Iraq. Despite a hard-fought game the match ended with Iraq winning 2-1.

In the fourth match, another good win against North Korea 2-1 boosted the morale of the squad ahead of the final game against Saudi Arabia.

That match was a game-changer in Iran’s football history. Team Melli, clearly lacking a proper game plan and mostly depending on direct football, lost in a seven-goal thriller. It was clear that the team was commanded to go for it and score as many goals, leaving the defense exposed and in the process conceding 4 goals.  Iran lost 4-3 to Saudi Arabia, the team was eliminated from the World Cup and failed to achieve what the coaching staff promised while it was ranked fifth among 6 countries.

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 Saudi Arabia 7 5 2 3 0 8 6 2
 South Korea 6 5 2 2 1 9 4 5
 Japan 6 5 2 2 1 7 4 3
 Iraq 5 5 1 3 1 9 9 0
 Iran 4 5 2 0 3 8 11 -3
 North Korea 2 5 1 0 4 5 12 -7

Saudi Arabia took first place with its 4-3 victory over Iran. Japan and South Korea were even on points, but South Korea held the goal difference advantage after the 3-goal victory over North Korea and won the tiebreaker.

After the return of Team Melli to Tehran, Parvin was the target of the wrath of the fans. It all started from Mehrabad airport where mobs shouted profanity and accusation of treason and it continued all the way to his home, despite police protection. The protests against him did not stop either as they continued wherever he went.

Parvin had warned many times in the months before the qualifiers in Qatar that the national team had problems (problems with the preparation game, players, finances, etc.). However, those words were of very little use as after a few days, the whole of Team Melli coaching staff including Head Coach Ali Parvin, Nasser Ebrahimi, Amir haj-Rezaei Kumasi, and Mohammad Maeli-Kohan, were fired.

That was not the end of that either. As the consequences of the defeat in Qatar continued until Safizadeh, the president of the Football Federation, and Hassan Ghafouri Fard, the head of the Physical Education Organization, were also relieved from their duties as they were singled out as accountable for these bad results.

World Cup qualifiers to be changed yet again!

There are strong indications that the upcoming two FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers of Team Melli against Cambodia and Hong Kong will be postponed and the possibility of playing all the remaining rounds of matches in a round-robin format in one country. This has made Dragan Skocic’s mission of qualifying that much harder for several reasons.

While some countries have suggested that the remaining matches should be held centrally because of the coronavirus, there are others that oppose that idea and insisting that the matches should be carried out on a home and away basis as normal while strictly observing health protocols and compliance with Covid19 prevention conventions.

Currently, several Asian countries are continuing ahead with football activities behind closed doors. The league competitions are held in this way in most countries and one of them is Iran.

It is natural for the Iranian Football Federation FFIRI to resist holding the games in a centralized venue, because Team Melli is hosting three of the remaining 4 games, and now if it is to play in a centralized venue, it will be deprived of home advantage. According to the Football Federation, the AFC has not yet sent a letter to the member states regarding the manner of holding the remaining games, and as far as the FFIRI is concerned, it would follow the last original schedule. However, it is hardly unlikely that such an arrangement will prevail. If the Asian Football Confederation decides to hold the remaining matches centrally, the Iranian Football Federation will vote for Qatar as the host of the games.

Another country that has announced its readiness to host Iran Group Games is the UAE. Interestingly, if the games are finalized in one centralized venue, the matches will be held at later dates possibly June 2021.

One issue with the single venue is that the matches will be held intensively, and this round of qualifiers will have to be over in less than two weeks. All teams must play 4 matches within 14 days.

In this scenario, the remaining qualifying rounds of FIFA World Cup 2022 matches will probably be held after the end of the league season, which means that Team Melli will not have a program in April.

Without a doubt, these will be stressful times for all the teams in the qualifiers and most of the teams need to go back to the drawing board to reschedule and change their plans. For Team Melli, it is of the utmost importance to arrange friendly matches to prevent the squad from being inactive and stagnant if the matches are to be held in June 2021.

Shojaa Khalilzadeh to sign for Al Rayyan in Doha

Shojaa Khalilzadeh, Persepolis, and Team Melli central defender has turned up in the Qatari capital Doha to sign a contract with Al Rayyan club. According to Al Arab daily newspaper, Al Rayyan has already concluded the negotiation with the Iranian defender and just awaiting the signatures on the contract.

According to sources, after accepting the conditions of a contract renewal with Khalilzadeh, Persepolis is now dealing with the news of his departure from Iran to sign a contract with Al Rayyan of Qatar Star League. The news caused the club to send a letter to the Qatar Football Federation and Al Rayyan Club regarding the legality of any contract between Khalilzadeh and any Qatari club.

Khalilzadeh, whose contract with Persepolis runs for another season, unilaterally terminated his contract with Persepolis due to the club’s breach of payment clauses. It seems that Persepolis has not paid the player, which is a very common practice in Iran’s football, and hence the player is legally allowed to cancel that contract.

Recently recalled to Team Melli after a seven years gap, the Persepolis defender was supposed to sign his contract extension and amendments at 10:30 AM on Wednesday at the club premises. However, Khalizadeh was upset by some contradictory behaviors of the club’s managers and left for Qatar.

Before traveling to Qatar, Khalilzadeh was contacted by Yahya Golmohammadi, the head coach of the team, Attempts to reach him was futile, because Persepolis defender mobile was turned off. However, Khalilzadeh, after leaving for Qatar, sent a message to Yahya Golmohammadi informing him of his intention to leave the team while wishing him personally and Persepolis’s success in the final of the Asian Champions League.

The message shocked the Reds’ coach, but Golmohammadi has decided not to react to it for the time being.

Khalilzadeh has left Persepolis while there is no news of his official agreement with Qatar’s Al Rayyan Club. However, it is possible that his contract will be signed today, given the player’s presence in Qatar.

The bitter reality of Iranian football

The poor showing of Iranian clubs in the AFC Champions League has resulted in many criticisms and demands for change.

Masoud Eghbali, a football expert and FIFA instructor, talked to Mehr about the performance of the four Iranian clubs representatives in the AFC Champions League currently being played in Doha, Qatar. He was particularly critical with the appointment of the coaches of these clubs and considered some most of the appointments as irresponsible, amateurish, and indicative of a lack of insight and knowledge.

The format of the competition has been changed due to the COVID19 pandemic, The remaining group matches and next round plus the next round of the AFC west division has been arranged like a mini tournament in Doha,

Iran is represented by Perspolis, Esteghlal, Sepahan, and Shahr Khodro. The latter two teams have been eliminated from the competition however, Persepolis and Esteghlal still stand a slim chance in the final group games.

Eghbali commented: “The appointment of Mehdi Rahmati (Shar Khodro) and Moharram Navidkia (Sepahan) who have no qualification whatsoever as coaches and neither have attended any coaching courses as head coaches of teams that are playing in Asian competition, makes a mockery of football and its principles. It is only natural that these inexperienced coaches will fail and it is clear for even the average football fan to predict their failures against the top clubs in Asia who invest in the best coaches in the world.”

“Our football is facing deep-rooted and fundamental issues. While in the few last decades, Asian football has experienced rapid movement forward, our football has snoozed in the memories of past successes and proudly stood still and even retreated in many cases. We have to accept this reality, even though it is bitter. The bitter truth about our football is that we are years behind the top tier of Asian football. Just look at the facilities of Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan and many other Asian countries and compare it with our football facilities. You will instantly recognize the vast gap in infrastructure and our shortfalls. Korea and Japan have hosted the World Cup in the past, and Qatar is set to host the next World Cup. Look at the stadiums in Iran, we do not even have one such high standard facility in comparison. In terms of investment, it is not possible to catch up with these developed countries. In football management, we are light years behind the Asian competition and that is where it really hurts. Technically, the results of our clubs and national teams is evident as it show that we are not at the top tier of Asian football anymore. We are at best second tier, drifting down to third if drastic measures are not taken to address the shortfalls”

If football in the developed Asian countries stagnates at the standards where it is today and makes no progress, and there is a revolution in our football that progresses and develops rapidly in the fields of structure, technology, facilities, investment, and management, we may require 15 years later to catch up with the top tier Asian countries like to reach Japan, Korea, and Qatar.”

“We still look at football as a ‘game’ while the world sees this sport as a ‘sport, industry, business, economy and politics’. We must change our mentality and mindset with regard to football. As long as our clubs are the playground and backyard of political leaders and they look at it as “a heavy burden in every way”, as long as we do not invest enough in it, as long as we do not become proactive, honest, and dedicated to the sport rather than using it as a tool for political propaganda or personal gains, the status quo will remain and this football will not improve, perhaps even drop further. This current situation means a large distance between us and the top level of Asia and it will be more and more evident day by day.

Honestly, with this situation of our football, there will be hardly any progress and it remains only at the level of a (childish) game and entertainment.”

Single country hosting for FIFA qualifiers.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is thinking of a plan for one venue or one country to host the remaining  FIFA 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers.

The 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Asia have been postponed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.  The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is considering a single host country, given the continuing coronavirus and the restrictions of entries by many countries that have been placed on their borders. Qatar seems to be the obvious candidate for such hosting.

To create such a scenario, FIFA must first approve such a plan, so the AFC is consulting with FIFA to reach a final conclusion. The AFC website said that the AFC considers the continuation of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers and the 2023 Asian Cup as a cumulative system (hosted by one country) as the best solution for the current situation with Corona. Qatar’s Ustad al-Doha website reported by saying that creating such conditions will allow the member countries of the Asian Football Confederation to hold their local leagues as well.

Certainly, this decision will not be in favor of Iranian football, because Team Melli lost in the away matches against Iraq and Bahrain, and it is hoped that by hosting both teams in Azadi, it will make up for the defeats, and improve its standings in the table.

Although Corona has not yet been eliminated as countries like India and the USA are seeing a rising number of cases, the AFC, like other football governing bodies, seems to be determined to continue football even suggesting games without fans, just to ensure financial revenues. Some European leagues such as the English Premier League blackmail their governments citing huge losses. redundancies and bankruptcies of clubs, to force the authorities to award some kind of dispensation to start playing football. If that happens, AFC and FIFA will certainly have a solid backing to start the competitions again.

Omid team ties Qatar with Gentleman Estili’s generosity!

In a friendly match held in Doha, Iran’s Omid Team (U23) tied with Qatar U23  2-2 today. The match played on Saturday evening at Al Arabi’s Hamad AlKabir Stadium behind closed doors.

Omid team led the first half 2-0 with goals scored by Reza Shekari from a penalty kick, and Mehdi Ghaedi.

Hamid Estili’s had the upper hand on Félix Sánchez Bas, the Spanish coach of Qatar and the Asian Cup Champions in the first half. Both teams are preparing for the upcoming AFC U23 Championship in Thailand, which is also the qualifiers for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 football tournament.

In the first half, Qatar player Mohammed Emad Aiash was sent off in the 35th minute for violent conduct, however, Hamid Estili suggested to his Qatari counterpart Felix Sanchez to replace the sent off player with another one. Qatar team obliged as they sent in Ahmed Suhail to replace the sent off player.

It was the sportsmanship act by Estili and a clever one too as he needed to see his team play against the strongest opposition possible regardless of the result.

The ensuing Free kick from the sending off was a beautifully executed goal by Mehdi Ghaedi.

The first half ended 2-0 for Iran’s Omid team.

At the beginning of the second half, the Qatari’s again lost another player Yusuf Abdulrazzaq with a red card. And again, Estili became the true gentleman and invited Sanchez to send a replacement! This time Qatar sent Amro AbduFattah to the field.

It is the first time in history at this level of football that one team is given two red cards, yet continue playing to the end with 11 players. Simply unheard of.

Abdul Rashid Ebrahim reduced the deficit on the 83rd minute for Qatar. The same player scored the equalizer in the dying seconds of the match om minute 96.  As customary with Iranian teams, there is always a lapse of concentration leading to conceding a goal.

In support of Hamid Estili’s demand for the league to be postponed, the FFIRI partially postponed some of the matches to enable the Omid team to set up a training camp in Doha and play this friendly match.

Teams Line up

Iran U23

Merag Esmaeili: Aref Aghasi, Mojtaba Najarian, Matin Karimzadeh, Reza Dehghani [76′ Sina Zamehran], MohammedMedi Mehdikhani, Mohammad Mohebi [66′ Mohammad Khodabandelo], Ali Shojaei [70′ Amir Roustaei], Omid Noorafkan, Mehdi Ghedi [70′ Reza Jabeira], Reza Shekari [66′ Jafar Salmani]

Coach : Hamid Estili

Qater U23

Mohammed AlBakri: Abdullah Ali Saei, Tarek Salman, Mohammad AlBayati, Yusuf Abdurazzaq , Abdulla Abdulslam, Khalifa Saad, Mohammed Emad Aiash , Hashim Ali, Abdulrahman Mohammed, Homam Elamain Ahmed.

Coach : Felix Sanchez Baz