Tag: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers

Post Match Press Conference UAE v Iran

Dragan Skocic expressed his satisfaction with the victory against the UAE. However, he stressed that “now is not the time for celebration because the crucial game against South Korea is ahead.“

“We played a great game against a team that defended with all heart and soul but we finally won,” Dragan Skucic told a post-match press conference. “The weather bothered us, especially since most of the players came from Europe and were not conditioned with the climate. The win was very important. We had a hard game. We knew our job was not easy at all in this climate. The presence of players from Europe also made our work difficult and we had little time to coordinate.”

He continued: “I was not satisfied with the way my team played in the first half, but with the changes we made, I got better in the second half. We made a mistake but VAR came to our rescue and reversed the referee’s decision. We are well on our way to achieving bigger things. We know we can do better. With the existing difficulties, we got a good result. “I am 53 years old and I know I should not be comfortable with these things,”

Team Melli Head Coach commenting on his 10th consecutive victory and his team’s lead with a difference of seven points with the third team in the World Cup qualifiers. “I have said many times that football has no memory. We have to rest well and get ready for the next game. If we compare with the previous round of World Cup qualifiers, we had a stronger start, but we should not be happy and we should work to get better.”

Regarding the use of VAR and determining the offside before the Shojaa Khalilzadeh was dismissed, he said: “If I had to change because of the Shojaa’s  dismissal, I would have to change one of the forwards Azmoun or Taremi, which was like cutting off one of my arms.”

“At the beginning of the second half, we started to control the game and impress the opponent, but that one mistake ruined everything, and the VAR corrected that,” Skocic said of the scene of Khalilzadeh’s dismissal.” After that scene, we returned to the game. I am glad that Shojaa’s dismissal did not take place. I must say that Khalilzadeh’s return raised the morale of the team.”

He continued: “We went to the field to win and achieved what we wanted, and this is very important. I would like to say that I liked the UAE style of play, especially in the first half, when they defended very well. “

“We are not celebrating this victory because we have a very sensitive game against South Korea,” Skocic concluded. “We have to win that game as well.”

In the post-match press conference, Bert Van Marwijk, the coach of the UAE national team, attributed the loss of his team 1-0 against Iran in the third round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, to the physical superiority of the Iranian players over his players, adding ” I do not blame the players for today’s loss, we played Against a very strong team ranked 26 in the world, and has players in the European leagues, which makes their physical fitness very high. “

Van Marwijk revealed that the video technology (VAR) had stopped functioning or some time in the UAE-Iran match, but then it was back online to work again, saying, “The fourth referee told me in the first half that the video technology  system VAR has stopped, but later he came back again to tell me in the second half that it had returned back to work again, This is unfortunate for the UAE team, as the video technology canceled the expulsion of the Iranian national team defender.”

“We played a very good first half, and we could have scored, but we did not take advantage of those opportunities well, and on the other hand, the opponent scored his goal from a quick counter-attack, which is a shame. ” He continued: “We will not give up, and stop there. We will try to compensate for the loss of Iran’s match in the next confrontation with Iraq, and we also have seven matches left in the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, we must use them well, and the third-place we currently occupy is not bad. It also qualifies for the World Cup.

Van Marwijk pointed out that the players of the UAE national team came out very tired and frustrated after the match, noting that he has not spoken with them yet, but he will definitely work to get them out of the current situation in preparation for their next match against Iraq on the 12th of this month.

Taremi the hero as Iran edge UAE

Dubai: Iran secured three priceless points on the Road to Qatar, emerging from a dramatic AFC Asian Qualifiers clash against the United Arab Emirates with a 1-0 win at Zabeel Stadium on Thursday.
the-afc.com
07th.October.2021

A Mehdi Taremi strike with 20 minutes remaining proved decisive, keeping Dragan Skočić’s side on top of Group A with their third win from as many matches in the Final Round.

Unable to end their long winless run against Team Melli, the result leaves the United Arab Emirates stranded on two points from their three outings, considerably raising the stakes ahead of their clash with Iraq on Tuesday, the same day Iran will meet Korea Republic in a top of the table tie.

It had been billed as a showcase of some of the continent’s best strikers, but, with three crucial points on offer, clear goal-scoring chances were at a premium in a keenly contested first half.

An early delivery from the industrious Sadegh Moharrami provided one of those opportunities for Sardar Azmoun, but the Zenit star missed the target with his header, while the Emiratis might have wished it was Ali Mabkhout and not Khalil Ibrahim on the end of their brightest chance, with the latter also heading wide after a burst of speed from Fabio Lima had stretched the otherwise solid Iranian defense.

Scoreless at half-time, Azmoun threatened once again to provide the game’s first goal five minutes after the break, but again failed to test goalkeeper Ali Khaseif, while the other member of Iran’s two-pronged strike-force, Taremi, found himself well contained by the Emirati defense.

Iran had seized the initiative and Khasief was finally called into meaningful action when Jahanbakhsh forced him into a low save, but the pendulum looked to have swung sharply in the UAE’s favour when Shojae Khalilzadeh – exemplary until then – was shown a straight red card for fouling a goalbound Mabkhout, only for the Iranian defender to escape punishment after the Video Assistant Referee spotted an offside earlier in the move.

The turnaround in Iran’s fortunes was complete in the 70th minute when Taremi played a superb give-and-go with Azmoun to get behind the Emirati defense before easily beating the questionably positioned Khaseif from just outside the penalty to break the deadlock.

The visitors had a golden chance to add to the scoring when they were awarded a penalty after Taremi was impeded by Abdullah Ramadan in the dying minutes, but Khaseif saved brilliantly to deny Azmoun from the penalty spot.

That gave Bert van Marwijk’s side a glimmer of hope, but the last gasp equalizer didn’t materialize making Tuesday’s clash against Iraq one of the utmost importance for the UAE.

The perfect record of Skocic continues as Iran claims another 3 points.

Team Melli defeated UAE 1-0 in Dubai in a dramatic match full of action and controversies. The goal was scored by Man of the Match Mehdi Taremi from a spectacular pass from Sardar Azmoun. The win puts Iran comfortably at the top of Group A with a two points cushion over their next opponents South Korea.

Team Melli was far from firing on all cylinders. It was an amazing contrast between the last game against Iraq. The hero of that match was Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who could not put a foot right in this match against UAE and he was wasteful and profligate. Taremi wasted a couple of very good easy chances in this half which could have reduced the pressure on the team if he had opened the scoring. The UAE did embark on a few offensive moves but in reality, they hardly bothered Beiranvand in goal.

The solid defenders in the center of Team Melli’s defense had a marvelous day as both Kananizadegan and Khalizadeh played a classy game with confidence and ability. On the right, Sadegh Moharrami was also shinning. His accelerating and ball control was immaculate. On the left halfback, Nourafkan, who was one of the star players in the previous lineup, was shaky and nervous. He got a yellow card for a foul and m, minutes later he repeated a similar foul from behind but the Australian referee elected not to award him a second card and a dismissal to the disgust and protest of the UAE Players.

In the midfield, it was clear that there is a lack of creativity and dearth of quality in supplying the balls to the forwards. Jahanbakhsh was having an off day, Nourollahi was not at his best, Ezatollahi was far too slow to be effective and focused on his defensive duties more, while Amiri huffed and puffed to no avail. The two schemers of the team, Gholizadeh and Saman Ghoddos were warming the bench.

On the whole, the performance of the team was disappointing in the first half which ended 0-0.

In the second half, Nourafkan was pulled out, perhaps to avoid a second yellow, and Gholizadeh was introduced. This substitution gave a completely different complexion to the team. The nifty winger was a delight to watch going through the UAE defense like a knife through butter.

The highlight of the match occurred on the hour, While Iran was dominant, the only instance of the match when Ali Makhbout managed to beat the trap and Khalizadeh and was going to score, Shojaa pulled him from the back just outside the box. The referee pulled the red card as a result of denying the UAE forward the chance to score. After a lot of discussions and drama, and while Azmoun was being withdrawn to replace him with a central defender, Team Melli rejoiced when the VAR declared that the original pass to Mabkhout came from an offside position. The climate of the situation suddenly turned to a non-event and Shojaa’s red card was rescinded with a free kick awarded to Team Melli.

The goal scored by Taremi in the 69th minute was a work of art between him and Azmoun. Some quick passes outside the box initiated by Taremi found Azmoun on his left. Sardar measured his return pass to his onrushing partner Taremi to perfection. Taremi controlled Azmoun’s pass, saw the UAE Goalkeeper rushing towards him, and sent his ball away from the Keeper’s body into the empty net. 1-0 for Iran. Taremi is an amazing player, he misses an open goal yet he scores the spectacular!

Near the end, there was a penalty given to Team Melli as a result of a foul on Taremi in the box. Sardar Azmoun took the penalty and feebly shot at Khusaif in UAE goal, who had no problem saving it. A penalty wasted.

In the end, the miss did not matter as the UAE could not do much to score and Iran won 1-0. Although the performance of the team was far from satisfactory in the hot and humid weather of Dubai, winning while not playing at your best is one of the signs of champions. The big test, however, is in five days’ time in Azadi Stadium.

As for the UAE which was unable to end their long winless run against Team Melli, the result leaves them stranded on two points from their three outings, considerably raising the stakes ahead of their clash with Iraq on Tuesday, the same day Iran will meet the Korea Republic in a top of the cable clash.

Where UAE falls short, and Team Melli’s vulnerability.

According to Tasnim news agency, Al-Bayan newspaper of the UAE has analyzed the match between the national football teams of Iran and the UAE in Dubai in today’s issue. The newspaper’s pre-match reads: “

The UAE is more desperate to win this game as anything less than that, even a draw, makes their mission of qualification that much complicated.

With only two points from two games and a single goal scored, this result does not look rosy for the UAE and a win, therefore, is quite essential for them. UAE can learn from Iran itself, as Team Melli suffered two bad defeats in the previous round, but they bounced back perfectly to clinch qualification for the third and decisive round.

So, the UAE players will enter the game with a lot of confidence and motivation and want to desperately be around the top of the table to clinch one of the promotion places. This game is very important for both teams as the Iranian side wants to maintain its lead in the group, so both teams will be looking for victory and the draw is not satisfactory for them, especially not for the  UAE national team.

It is expected that Van Marwijk will first seek to solidify his defense and use counter-attacks in this game. However, this is where Skocic can outfox his Dutch counterpart and play on the vulnerability of the UAE defense. Van Marwijk uses Khalifa al-Hamadi in the central defensive role along with Shaheen Abdul Rahman, who has replaced Walid Abbas due to injury. The only goal conceded by UAE against Syria was the result of the elementary error of this pair. The Syrians forwards were so profligate in that match, the result could have easily been 3 or even 4 goals victory for Syria. Omar Khribin himself missed at least two easy setters.

Van Marwijk is well aware of the capabilities of Azmoun and Taremi in aerial battles, and how their Iranian pair’s superiority can harm his team from crosses on both flanks. He has been working on that aspect to limit that threat. What Skocic can do is supplement his offensive plan by penetrating through the center of Emirates defense using through balls and fast passing.

While depending on counterattack is perhaps the only way the UAE can threaten Team Melli, the transition from attack to defense must be organized well for Team Melli. Iran has been prolific in this aspect and must continue to do so in the coming games especially and particularly against the Koreans.

In midfield, Majid Hassan will be next to Abdullah Ramadan or Majid Rashid, and Khalfan Mubarak will be the team’s playmaker for the UAE. Lima, Caio, and Ali Mabkhout should form the team’s attacking trio. Mabkhout is the most dangerous of the UAE players and the most likely to score. He has however suffered from a slowdown in his mobility lately.

On paper, Iran looks the better of the two sides and a three-point is not too difficult to achieve. The only vulnerability of Team Melli and most of the Iranian teams, in general, is the mental toughness and discipline, both of which have resulted in bad consequences. The Arab teams are all well aware of that weakness of Iran and have mastered all sorts of tricks for many years to yield results. One can safely bet that the UAE will be resorting to intimidation tactics to provoke the Iranians.

With the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualification rounds at early stages, it is vital that the players keep their discipline and refrain from receiving silly yellow cards and possible suspensions. This needs to be implanted in them very strongly.

Team Melli DISCIPLINARY RECORD

18 YELLOW CARDS and ONE RED CARD in the 10 matches played in the World Cup qualifiers. This is an average of 1.8 cards per game which is quite high.

Five players received two cards: Azmoun, Taremi, Jahanbakhsh, Shojaei, and Pouraliganji.

3 players served suspensions, Azmoun, Shojaei, and Pouraliganji while two got away from it as per the FIFA regulations of clean records for the third round.

Card Details

Second round 10-Oct-19 vs Cambodia – PouraliGanji

Second round 15-Oct-19 vs Bahrain – Hajsafy – Azmoun

Second round 14-Nov-19 vs Iraq – PouraliGanji- Shojaei (two yellow)

Morteza PouraliGanji and Masoud Shojaei were suspended for the match vs Hong Kong

Second round 03-Jun-21 vs Hong Kong- Torabi

Second round 07-Jun-21 vs Bahrain – Kananizadeghan

Second round 11-Jun-21 vs Cambodia- None

Second round 15-Jun-21 vs Iraq- Nourollahi-Jahanbakhsh-Moharrami-Azmoun-Taremi

Sardar Azmoun was suspended for the match vs Syria Round Three

Third Round 02-Sep-21 vs Syria -Khalilzadeh-Mohammadi-Taremi

Third Round 07-Sep-21 vs Iraq -Ezatollahi-Jahanbaksh

Third round matches heating up

The UAE vs. IRAN

Team Melli is expected to be at full strength meeting their host UAE in tomorrow’s match at Zabeel Stadium in Dubai.

There are no reported absentees as the squad is now complete with the arrival of the European-based players. The UAE is also playing with full strength however, all is not too well in the camp.

In Thursday’s match, Ahmad Nourollahi who played in the UAE club, Shabab Al-Ahli is singled out as the player who has the most to prove. Unlike his clubmate Mehdi Ghaedi, the former Persepolis midfielder and a player who is in the high regard of Dragan Skocic and has been a key player in the success of h Team Melli, in his club he has been at the receiving ends of many criticisms and often substituted. Perhaps Nourollahi can see what his critics have been missing in tomorrow’s game.

Barring any last-minute injuries, Dragan Skočić is expected to stick to the tried and trusted with a similar lineup as the last two matches.

There have been some debates and unsatisfaction with the performance of half-backs, where Milad Mohammadi, Vahid Amiri, Saleh Hardani, Sadegh Moharrami, and Aref Agasi have been given minutes in the two games but not to the full satisfaction of the head coach. It is quite possible that the team Captain Ehsan Hajsafy will occupy the left-back position in Thursday’s match while Sadegh Moharrami might get the call for the right side.

Both Khalizadeh and Kananizadegan will be used again in the central defense with Azmoun and Taremi being once again paired in the forward line.

The goalkeeper position is still firmly in the hands of Alireza Beiranvand who was perhaps the most comfortable match in the last game versus Iraq. While the midfield formation could be Saman Ghoddos, Ahmad Nourollahi, Vahid Amiri, Saed Ezatollahi.

In the UAE camp. all is not so well with the fans demanding the dismissal of Dutch coach Van Marwijk. The fans along with many critics in UAE accuse the coach of negativity in managing the team and his cautions game plan. Critics have accused him of playing the wrong formation against Lebanon while failing to benefit from the bench in the two matches,

in addition to the team’s failure to adequately prepare for the qualifiers, which was put under scrutiny. Van Marwijk was satisfied with one week of external training, including two days, travel back and forth, and his insistence not to play friendly matches to prepare the players. The coach was satisfied with the first two rounds of the league, which he found adequate for the formation of the national squad.

During the two UAE matches, it seemed that the team lacked offensive effectiveness, especially with many easy opportunities wasted in front of the opponents’ goal. One of the TV punters in the UAE local station was former UAE international player Abdel Rahman Mohamed. Now an analyst, he expressed his anger against the team’s administration and head coach

” I am against Van Marwijk. He is not the man of touch competitions and he will not be able to take this team to the finals”

Korea Rep vs. Syria

The Syrians have a different problem in Seoul as the Syrian Football Association announced the absence of midfielders Muhammad Othman and Ayaz Othman from the team’s squad for its match against the South Korean counterpart, scheduled for Thursday. The Federation indicated in a statement that the absence of Muhammad Othman, a professional in Dutch Sparta Rotterdam, and Ayaz Othman who plays for the Greek club PAE Ionikos, were denied boarding the flight because neither had a valid visa in their European passports, despite the Korean embassy in Beirut and the UAE confirming that there is no need to issue a visa to them on their European passport.

Iraq vs. Lebanon

Meanwhile, Iraq’s national team  Dutch coach Dick Advocaat, called upon the Al-Shorta striker, Mohammed Daoud, to join the Iraqi squad that will meet its Lebanese counterpart on Thursday. Daoud is a late replacement for Iraq’s top striker Muhannad Ali, who suffered a severe injury during a match in the Greek League. The injury suffered by Muhannad Ali who plays for Aris Thessaloniki means he will miss both the matches against Lebanon in the third round and against UAE in the fourth round of the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers.

Team Melli squad arrives in Dubai.

Team Melli squad with a limited number of players has landed in Dubai. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) continues to tighten its restriction on the teams with health measures to ensure the safety of players and officials for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

The squad will start training in the UAE from today (Monday), and according to the AFC health guidelines, all team members must be in the health bubble and are not allowed to leave the hotel. Members of the Iranian national football team will take a corona test twice before the match against the UAE on Thursday in order to be allowed to attend the match. The Confederation’s executive officer also inspects the camp of the two teams on a regular basis sending reports on hygiene and preventive measure of the squads to the World Cup selection committee.

While the training will start as of Monday, most players based in Europe are absent and expected to join in Dubai within the next two days. In contrast to Iran, the UAE has its full quota of players in the training camp.

The list of UAE team includes goalkeepers, Ali Khaseef, Fahd Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani and Mohammed Al Shamsi, and players Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammed Barghash, Abdel Aziz Heikal, Shaheen Abdel Rahman, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Ahmed Rashid, Ahmed Al Attas and Al Hassan Valid. Youssef Jaber, Majed Hassan, Yahya Nader, Ali Salmin, Abdullah Ramadan, Muhammad Abbas, Abdullah Hamad, Majed Rashid, Fabio de Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Muhammad Jumaa, Tahnoon Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Zayed Al Ameri, Ali Mabkhout and Sebastian Tigali

The last time the Iranian national team met UAE was in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 in Australia. Only two players from the UAE team that lost to Iran 1-0 are in the current squad. Ali Mabkhout and  Walid Abbas.

Iranian Females in Azadi

Fans are still awaiting on the verdict on Azadi.

The President of FFIRI Shahabuddin Azizi Khadem declared that the verdict in the case of Marc Wilmots against his federation in the Supreme Court of Sports is still pending: “We are currently waiting. We have time until the 29th of October. We hope that what is in the interest of national football will come to fruition. No Iranian is willing to waste even a penny from the pockets of these people in a contract in which this federation was not involved!!”

The remark is quite controversial coming from the head of the federation that is supposed to have signed a contract for the coach of Team Melli. All football federations of the world select, employ, and sign contracts with coaches to manage their national teams. What transpires from Azizi Khadem is that the FFIRI had no say in the contract of the Belgian coach. That raises many questions including who forced this unsuited coach on Team Melli ? and worst, why did the previous head of the FFIRI, namely one Mehdi Taj accept this failure of a coach?

Azizi Khadem continued “We hope the final verdict is not damaging to Iranian football rights.”

Regarding the introduction of video referee assistance (VAR) technology to Iran, he said  “The information that I have is that the managers of the relevant company will arrive in Tehran tonight for study and planning. They will be in Iran for about 12 days and we have agreed on trials of VAR in four Team Melli games. Necessary instructions have also been given to the league organization to list the stadiums. This is a very important and historic step for the national football, club, and refereeing community to benefit from VAR technology in the near future “

The President of the Football Federation was asked about the chances of allowing female spectators into the stadium for the match against South Korea, He said “Our colleagues are studying all the relevant details and health protocols. I hope the verdict on the presence of the fans in the game against South Korea is positive,  which is an important issue for us. Mr. Kamrani Far had a meeting today regarding the subject and the maximum number of fans allowed, which will be announced by himself.”

Azizi Khadem dodged the original question and refused to commit to allowing females into Azadi stadium. Of course, in Iran, such decisions are beyond the football federation or the Ministry of Youth and Sports authority and jurisdiction.

Iran will be hosting South Korea on the 12th of October in Matchday 4 of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers.

List for UAE And Korea Rep matches announced.

Dragan Skocic announced the list of Team Melli players to play against the UAE and South Korea in the final qualifying rounds of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Majid Hosseini, Ehsan Haj Safi, and Kaveh Rezaei are the three changes from the last squad in an otherwise unchanged squad.

With a perfect winning record and players who have delivered, Skocic rightly stuck to the same skeleton of Team Melli players. With two tough matches ahead, Team Melli can set very comfortably at the top of the table with a high chance of qualifying to Qatar with all the six points of the October matches.

Despite the lack of preparation and minimal training before the first match against UAE, the team seems to have a good understanding and performed quite well in the last two matches.

Team Melli is currently at the top of Group A of the 2022 World Cup final qualifiers in Asia with 6 points, two ahead of nearest rivals South Korea whom they meet in Azadi.

Goalkeepers

Alireza Biranvand, Amir Abedzadeh, Payam Niazmand.

Defenders

Shoja Khalilzadeh, Mohammad Hossein Kananizadegan, Majid Hosseini, Milad Mohammadi , Omid Nourafkan, Sadegh Moharremi,  Saleh Hardani, Siavash Yazdani,  Ehsan Hajsafy

Midfield

Ahmad Noorollahi, Milad Sarlak, Yasin Salmani, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Saeed Ezatollahi, Vahid Amiri, Saman Ghoddos, Mehdi Torabi , Ali Gholizadeh.

Forwards

Karim Ansarifard, Mehdi Ghaedi, Kaveh Rezaei, Sardar Azmoun and Mehdi Taremi.

 

 

Analysis of the matches vs UAE and Korea Rep.

 In an interview on the prospects of Team Melli, the former lecturer and football analyst Amir Haj Rezaei spoke of Team Melli chances for the upcoming games against the UAE and South Korea in the group stage of the final qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar,

“The unity and empathy of the players can be clearly seen in the games of this team. The most important factor in shaping a team’s success is their sense of engagement, duty and technical responsibility”. Haj Rezaei continued: “The victory of the Iranian national team against Syria and Iraq was very important and we were able to defeat teams that were always a problem for us during the period of Carlos Queiroz, but now we see that they have nothing to say against Team Melli.”

Referring to Dragan Skocic’s excellent statistics on the Team Melli bench, Hajrezaei added: “He was not a leading coach and not a front runner for the post of coaching Team Melli, but now he has proven himself to everyone. Although Skocic, was not a household name, his success on and off the field are speaking volumes about him and his reputation is growing bigger and bigger.”

“There is no call to ignore his performance and credit the victories to other issues such as the legionnaire players and the management of the federation. The fact is that the current pillars are harmonized and we see successive successes in the senior team because of many factors, not just one.” HajRezaei who was a former assistant coach of Team Melli commented on differences and comparisons between Skocic and Carlos Queiroz ” I really do not understand why there is a need to compare these two people, who have nothing to do with each other. Each has done his own thing. The only point I like to point out is that during Queiroz, there was no stability and high tension as a result of the Portuguese coach’s demeanor.”

“but talking about the past does not help the current situation. We need to enjoy the results over time and learn from them when we fail to achieve our goals.”

He noted: “Team Melli will have a lot to say against the UAE and South Korea, and I think it is not necessary to create giants and hype the opposition like they are doing to  Al-Hilal, which really did not perform well against Esteghlal.” Hajrezaei added: “The fact is that we have neglected our resources and do not enjoy it, then we talk about the small assets of other teams.”

“Let us stop criticizing the team on every point and remember to be supporters aiming for the success of Team Melli. Let’s leave the technical issues for the coaching staff,  and focus our energy on being supporters of Team Melli which currently has at least three good players in each position.”