Tag: Farhad Tavakoli

24/09/2021

A thrilling victory for Iran’s futsal.

Futsal Team Melli defeated its regional rival Uzbekistan 9-8 in one of the most exciting and thrilling of World Cup matches to qualify for the Quarter Finals of the competition of the FIFA Futsal World Cup Lithuania 2021

In a spectacular encounter between two of Asia’s biggest teams, 12-time Asian champions Iran walked away winners to set up a quarter-final tie against Kazakhstan.

The all-Asian affair got off to an exciting start right from the get-go with both sides battling for possession with Iran opening the scoring in the first minute through captain Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh, before Mahdi Javid doubled their lead in the fifth minute, courtesy of Farhad Fakhim’s assist.

The two teams last met in the 2018 AFC Futsal Championship with Iran emerging 7-1 winners but Uzbekistan – bolstered by reaching the Round of 16 for the first time – refused to be overawed and pulled one back in the ninth minute through Khusniddin Nishonov.

Iran restored their two-goal lead when Hassanzadeh turned provider for Saeid Ahmad Abbasi to find the back of the net in the 16th minute, but Uzbekistan’s persistence saw them score quick goals through Dilshod Rakhmatov and Ikhtiyor Ropiev in the 17th and 18th minutes respectively to level the tie.

Iran called their first time-out to take the edge out of Uzbekistan, which proved to be a successful move as Farhad Tavakoli struck moments into the restart.

Team Melli maintained their high tempo in the second half with Abbasi and Javid scoring their second goals of the evening in the 22nd and 25th minutes respectively.

The scintillating match continued with its thrills as Anaskhon Rakhmatov reduced Uzbekistan’s deficit in the 28th minute, but Iran’s reply was immediate through Hassanzadeh, before Moslem Oladghobad scored two minutes later to make it 8-4.

Uzbekistan, however, refused to back down and closed the gap with Ilhomjon Hamroev and Nishonov beating Iran goalkeeper Alireza Samimi in the 31st and 33rd minutes.

The goals galore, however, were not yet over as Abbasi completed his hat-trick in the 37th minute but Uzbekistan fought back with Anaskhon and Hamroev giving their side hope only for the clock to run out on them.

Iran Scorers

First Half

Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh (1′), Mehdi Javid (5′), Saeed Ahmad Abbasi (16′) and Farhad Tavakoli (18′)

Second Half

Saeed Ahmad Abbasi (22′), Mehdi Javid (25′), Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh (29′), Moslem Oladghobad, Saeed Ahmad Abbasi (39′)

17/09/2021

Iran Futsal qualifies for the next round with a win over USA

The Iranian national futsal team defeated the USA futsal team 4-2 in their second match in the 2021 World Cup in Lithuania.

Head Coach Mohammad Nazem Al-Sharia started with Alireza Samimi, Asghar Hassanzadeh, Mohammad Shajari, Mehdi Javid, and Moslim Olad Ghobad in the starting lineup for this match, but only two minutes after the start of the game Alireza Samimi committed an absolutely amateurish blunder by handling the ball outside his area.

After a review by Var, he was shown the red card to send a shock wave in the team. After this incident, while Iran was playing with one player less, the American scored the first goal. That was a second shock within a few minutes of each other. However, to their credit, Team Melli player soon returned to normal and managed to score the equalizer by Farhad Tavakoli.

Mehdi Javid, and Ahmad Esmailpour scored 2 more goals to end the first half with a 3-1 margin.

In the second half, Iran struggled to score. Despite their slick and fast passing, the players failed at the last hurdles due to profligacy and wastefulness. On the other hand, the United States determined to put the humiliating result against Argentine behind them, matched Iran, and were handled the attacks very well. The goalkeeper was the star of the team.

With ball after ball failing to find the net the United States scored its second goal in the final minutes and made the Iranians quite nervous. In the final minutes of the Americans’ power play, Iran scored the fourth goal by Saeed Abbasi to end the game in their favor with a score of 4: 2 and to secure their qualification to the next stage with 6 points.

Despite the win, the performance, discipline, and attitude of the players were far from polished. The TV Mic picked up Nazim Al Shariaa telling his player at a time out “This is what happens when you do not listen.” He then went on to explain what he told them beforehand and how the players failed to apply his plan.

The final match against Argentina will be on who heads the group. Team Melli needs a huge upgrade to match Argentina, the World Champions and if they have any real aspiration to repeat or better the performance of the 2016 Futsal World Cup, they indeed need a whole lot of improvement in every department, specifically the mental attitude strength and discipline.

30/07/202130/07/2021

Iran Futsal wins the Continental championship 2021

Iran National Futsal Team defeated host Thailand in the final of the Continental championship 2021.

In the match held this Friday afternoon, Iran was facing its toughest opponent in the tournament in host Thailand. Buy the final whistle, The Persian came out 5 -1 winners to clinch the title in which 8 teams participated.

Playing a silky futsal and with a dazzling performance, Iran made it look easy against a tough Thai team that struggled to beat weaker teams on its way to the final. Within minutes of the start, Iran scored, and by half time Team Melli was 3-0 up0.

In the second half, Iran continued as they left scoring two more goals to make it 5-0. Thailand scoring a consolation 3minutes before the final whistle.

Alireza Rafiei (2 goals), Behzad Azimi (2 goals), and Farhad Tavakoli scored for Iran. The Iranian national futsal team is preparing for a strong presence in the Futsal World Cup 2021 in Lithuania to improve on the previous tournament result.

11/02/2018

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS..

Team Melli Futsal confirmed its continental superiority after it won the AFC Futsal Championship Title after defeating Japan 4 – 0 this evening in Taipei.

Iran has now won the title for the 12th time and has also successfully defended its last championship crown.

The first half ended 1-0 for Team Melli when a late strike by Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh broke the deadlock.

The Asian MVP , Hassanzadeh opened the scoring early in the 2nd half to make it 2-0 .

Farhad Tavakoli added a third while Hossein Tayebi consolidated his position as the top scorer of the championship with Iran’s 4th goal to make his tally 13 goals.

Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh won the Championship Top Accolade, to make it a hat trick of titles for Team Melli.

30/01/2018

Iran Futsal to defend AFC Futsal Championship title in Chinese Taipei

Team Melli, who recently beat Belarus 5-0 and 2-1 with Ahmad Esmaeilpour and Asghar Hasanzadeh scoring a goal apiece on both occasions, will play Azerbaijan on Tuesday and Wednesday..

Iran, who are preparing for their defence of the AFC Futsal Championship title – which will be held in Chinese Taipei on February 1-11 – are drawn in Group C alongside Iraq, China PR and Myanmar.

Sixteen teams are divided into four groups with the top two sides in each section advancing to the knockout phase.

Iran won their 11th AFC Futsal Championship title after beating Uzbekistan 2-1 in the final of the 2016 edition.

AFC Futsal Championship 2018: Group C Preview

IRAN

Best finish: Champions – 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2016

How they qualified: Group B winners (South & Central Zones)

FIFA Ranking: 5

Defending champions Iran are the favourites to lift the title again in Chinese Taipei as Mohammad Nazemosharia’s side prepare to open their defence against Myanmar on Feb 2.

Team Melli, who won the Asian Indoors in Ashgabat last year, beating Uzbekistan 7-1 in the final, topped their group during qualification as they maintained a perfect record beating Afghanistan 8-2 and Tajikistan 12-2.

Ahead of the Finals, Iran beat Belarus 5-0 and 2-1 in Tehran. They also played to a 3-3 draw against Azerbaijan before beating them 4-1 in the return leg.

Two-time AFC Futsal Player of the Year Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh will lead a star-studded cast in Chinese Taipei which includes Mahdi Javid, Farhad Tavakoli, Ahmad Esmaeilpour, Moslem Oladghobad and Alireza Rafieepour.

IRAQ

Best finish: Quarter-finals – 2002, 2016

How they qualified: Group A runners-up (West Zone)

FIFA Ranking: 50

Iraq qualified for the Finals after finishing second in Group A during the West Zone qualifying behind group winners Bahrain.

The 2002 and 2016 quarter-finalists head to Chinese Taipei after completing a series of friendlies against Lebanon and Malaysia as part of their tune-up ahead of the Finals.

The Lions of Mesopotamia beat Malaysia 5-1 and lost to Lebanon (5-1) and (3-2) in Beirut.

CHINA PR

Best finish: Fourth place – 2008, 2010

How they qualified: Play-off winners (East Zone)

FIFA Ranking: 74

China PR’s best finish in the competition was finishing fourth in the 2008 and 2010 editions and Team Dragon will be looking to better their record in Chinese Taipei.

Li Jianjia, Zhuang Jianfa, Zeng Liang, Zhao Liang, Xu Yang and Li Zhiheng will lead China’s charge in Chinese Taipei.

MYANMAR

Tournament debut

How they qualified: Group A runners-up (ASEAN Zone)

FIFA Ranking: 71

Myanmar will be making their debut in the Finals following an impressive ASEAN Zone qualifying, scoring 41 goals in finishing runners-up in Group A behind group winners Vietnam.

The White Angels beat Brunei 13-0, Phillipines 25-0, Indonesia 3-2 but fell 3-0 to Vietnam as Pyae Phyo Maung emerged top scorer with 11 goals.

Khin Zaw Lin, Naing Ye Kyaw, Nyein Min Soe, Aung Aung and Hlaing Min Tun make up the rest of Htay Myint’s side in Chinese Taipei.

Group C Fixtures

Feb 2:

Iraq v China PR,

Iran v Myanmar

Feb 4:

Myanmar v Iraq,

China PR v Iran

Feb 6:

Iran v Iraq,

China PR v Myanmar

01/12/2016

Ali Asghar Hasanzadeh wins AFC FUTSAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2016:

Team Mell’s Ali Asghar Hasanzadeh won the AFC Player of the year 2016 award beating his compatriots Ahamd Esmaeilpour and Farhad Tavakoli for Asia’s best futsal player title. Meanwhile , Iran’s football federation FFIRI boycotted the AFC Annual Awards ceremony in protest against several issues by AFC including the bias of AFC towards Saudi Arabia , discrimination against Iran and finally the lack of recognition of Team Melli players.

Mehdi Taj and Alireza Asadi plus the PR manager of the FFIRI were on the invited list but never made the trip to Abu Dhabi. Despite the fact that Iran has been the best Asian Team for the past 23 months running , no Iranian players were included in the shortlist of candidates. Abu Dhabi, out of all the 7 UAE emirates, has also been quitw hostile towards Iran and fighting against the Al Houthi clan in Yemen .

In the ceremony held in Abu Dhabi, Iranian referees won recognition as Alireza Faghani, Reza Sokhandan and
Mohammad Reza Mansouri were awarded AFC Referees Special Award 2016

AFC Futsal Player of the Year Nominees

Aliasghar Hasanzadeh (IR Iran)
Ahmad Esmaeilpour (IR Iran)
Farhad Tavakoli (IR Iran)

AFC Referees Special Award
Men
Alireza Faghani (IR Iran)
Reza Sokhandan (IR Iran)
Mohammad Reza Mansouri (IR Iran)

20/11/2016

Futsal Team Melli players rule the annual AFC awards

All the nominee of AFC Futsal player of the year are Team Melli members according to the list published by AFC. In yet another unusual move, the Asian football ruling body has published a second list weeks after publishing what was thought to be the annual awards final list. Apparently there was two parts.

After a great year for Iran’s Futsal team , the three nominations is hardly a surprise with Iran winning the 3rd place in the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2016 recently held in Colombia. This is the highest ever futsal achievement in Asian futsal history.

The nominees are:
AFC FUTSAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Ahmad Esmaeilpour (IR Iran)
Aliasghar Hasanzadeh (IR Iran)
Farhad Tavakoli (IR Iran)

FARHAD TAVAKOLI - Iran Futsal Team — FARHAD TAVAKOLI – Iran Futsal Team

Iranians referees were also honoured after a landmark year for Asian referees

Asian referees have set a new benchmark for excellence in 2016, gracing some of the world’s biggest stages. In recognition for their outstanding performances, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) today awarded six match officials – three men and women – with the AFC Referees Special Award 2016 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The men’s trio from the Islamic Republic of Iran – Alireza Faghani, assistant referees Reza Sokhandan, Mohammad Reza Mansouri – and the women’s team comprising Australians Kate Jacewicz, Renae Coghill and India’s Uvena Fernandes received their awards from the AFC Referees Committee Vice-Chairman, Hany Taleb Ballan Safar (Qatar) at the opening of the AFC Elite Referees and Assistant Referees Seminar taking place in the Malaysian capital.

AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: “The AFC’s Vision and Mission has underlined our desire to ensure Asian players and officials succeed on the world stage. The performances of our men and women referees this year demonstrate once again our continent as a great force in world football and that our referees – both men and women – have earned global respect

“Their achievements serve as a testament to the progressive steps Asian football continues to undertake under the banner of One Asia, One Goal and I am confident that they will continue to do us proud in the years ahead.”

Faghani, Sokhandan and Mansouri made history this year as Asia’s first trio to officiate the final of the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament when they took charge of the Brazil versus Germany gold medal match in August in Rio de Janeiro.

During the hugely successful AFC Asian Cup 2015 Australia, Faghani and Sokhandan were appointed to officiate the final match between Korea Republic and host nation Australia. The men’s trio also officiated the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup final in Tokyo, which saw Barcelona take on Argentina’s River Plate.

25/09/2016

Drama as Iran clinch win at the death.

Iran clinched a FIFA Futsal World Cup semi-final place for the first time since 1992 as Ahmed Esmailpour struck deep into extra time to see off Paraguay 4-3 in an incredible climax during Bucaramanga’s final game of the FIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia 2016.

With plenty of space to operate in, both sides moved the ball around fluidly in the opening minutes, but the final pass was lacking as neither was able to craft solid openings. While it was Iran who were applying most of the pressure early on, it was Paraguay who took the lead, with Francisco Martinez turning in Juan Salas’ drive across goal.

This spurred the South Americans into life, threatening a second as space opened up at the back as Iran pushed for a quick equaliser. But it was in fact a well-tried route to goal that brought the leveller, as an Esmaeilpour thunderbolt proved that persistence pays off.

With half-time almost upon them, Paraguay nipped ahead again, this time it was Juan Salas himself bundling in at the back post. And if there was any similarity between Paraguay’s goals, that was entirely superseded as Iran drew level again, this time it was Mahdi Javid unleashing a hammer blow.

Rene Villalba would have trumped them all if his volley from inside his own half hadn’t struck the frame of the goal, while Mohammed Keshavarzand and Farhad Tavakoli did likewise, albeit from a great deal closer as the game opened up.

The game swung Iran’s way on the tug of a shirt, though, as Gabriel Ayala saw red for pulling down Tavakoli, and Javid made it 3-2 with Iran a man to the good. But with time ticking down, Villalba, sporting the flying keeper’s shirt, fired a low free-kick to take it to extra time.

It looked all set for both sides to face penalties for the second time in successive games, but Esmaeilpour was on hand to hammer home from close range with 23 seconds to go. Even then, Villalba still had time to hit the post, but now Iran will face one of Spain or Russia in the semi-finals.

19/09/201619/09/2016

Azerbaijan, Iran share spoils to advance.

Azerbaijan and Iran shared an exciting 3-3 draw on Sunday with the result seeing both teams advance from Group F in second and third place respectively.

On three occasions the two teams exchanged goals in quick succession with neither able to gain a break on their opponents, in what was an entertaining contest in Medellin.

Iran entered the contest trailing their rivals on goal difference, and perhaps it was they who seemed marginally more enterprising in attack during the early stages.

Indeed Iran opened the scoring just a minute into the contest after some great combination play ended with Ahmad Esmaeilpour firing high past an exposed goalkeeper. However, and in keeping with what was to be a theme, Azerbaijan quickly drew level as Gallo corner volley was deflected into the net.

The match settled into an entertaining and fast-tempo affair, with Mehran Alighadr hitting the post for Iran, while at the other end Eduardo pinged a shot against the crossbar after attempting to lob the keeper.

The second half commenced just like the first half with an exchange of goals. Farhad Tavakoli converted at the second attempt for Iran, while the always lively Gallo fired home with hard direct shot after a corner.

Azerbaijan were arguably having the better of the second half and went ahead through Gallo only for Iran’s Hossein Tayebi to end the scoring.

Iran, seeking to leapfrog their opponents into second, played with a flying goalkeeper in the latter stages and were nearly rewarded for their endeavour as Esmaielpour hit the post and Javid narrowly failed to convert the follow-up.

The result places Team Melli Futsal team in third place behind Spain and Azerbaijan on goal difference. The bad news is that the next round opponent will be title contender Brazil. The round of 16 match against Brazil will be on 21 September. The last time the two team met , it was a thrilling affair in the finals match of the Brazil Grand Prix which ended 4-3 for the host nation .

**GROUP F**
TEAMS	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	+/-	Pts
SPAIN	3	3	0	0	13	6	7	9
AZERBAIJAN	3	1	1	1	10	7	3	4
IRAN	3	1	1	1	9	11	-2	4
MOROCCO	3	0	0	3	6	14	-8	0

12/09/2016

Futsal Continental giants take to the stage

Match of the day
Iran-Spain, 20:00 local time

With Iran missing from only the very first edition of the Futsal World Cup, and Spain one of three ever-presents, it’s fair to say that this match will be full to the brim with experience. Both have a trio returning for their third tournament – where in 2008 Iran fought to the quarter-finals and Spain finished second – while the European side have six amongst their ranks to have reached the final.

The Asian champions stormed to the AFC crown back in February, scoring eight goals per game on average, while Spain had laid down an impressive marker themselves a couple of days earlier, beating Russia 7-3 in the UEFA Futsal EURO final. Both will be intent on transferring that pedigree from their own continents to South America early on.

Iran’s Strengths and styles
Iran were an irresistible attacking force in the Asian finals, racking up 48 goals in their six matches, more than any other side in the competition. They also conceded fewer than anyone else – a mere four. Coach Mohammad Nazemalsharie’s squad contained a clutch of experienced players who appeared at the FIFA Futsal World Cup Thailand 2012, including Hossein Tayyebi, the scorer of 11 goals at Uzbekistan 2016, and Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh, while Mahdi Javid and Farhad Tavakoli were two of the young players to excel.

Live Broadcast

https://youtu.be/G_rty6AAaTY