Tag: Hong Kong

Hng Kong has ‘fighting’ unit ready for battle

Head Coach Mixu Paatelainen says Hong Kong are heading for Bahrain with a team of “fighters” on Saturday as they get ready for a seemingly impossible task in the Middle East for the remaining 2022 Fifa World Cup Asian zone qualifiers.

Despite missing several key players who play in China as their clubs have refused to release them due to quarantine requirements, the Finn was still happy with his squad before they face regional heavyweights Iraq, Iran and hosts Bahrain in the next two weeks.

“I am very happy with the squad, a squad of players who are fighters, a squad of players who have a fantastic attitude and they are the players I want,” said Paatelainen, whose contract with the Hong Kong Football Association is due to expire next month and will leave Hong Kong for Bahrain on Saturday night.

“We will face three high level opponents in the event, but I am delighted with the players’ attitude. Every one is fully committed. In fact, it has been a long time since we last got together and therefore it’s great to see the boys again, talk to them and prepare them for the event.”

“Fighter” Ngan Lok-fung during a practice session with the Hong Kong team at Tseung Kwan O Football Centre. Photo: Chan Kin-wa
“Fighter” Ngan Lok-fung during a practice session with the Hong Kong team at Tseung Kwan O Football Centre. Photo: Chan Kin-wa

One of the “fighters”, midfielder Ngan Lok-fung whose impressive performance with Lee Man this season has earned him a call-up to the Hong Kong team after an eight-year absence.

“I like him [Ngan] as a player, as a character because he is a fighter, he is a ball winner with a never give up attitude. He is exactly the character that we need for these matches,” said the manager.

“I am not a gifted player but I just want to prove that if I keep working hard, the chance will come one day,” said the midfielder, whose work rate and ball control skills steered his club to third place in the Premier League with three wins in the play-off stage against Eastern, Pegasus and champions Kitchee.

Hong Kong are in fourth place in group C after a 2-0 win against visitors Cambodia 18 months ago. The team had been scheduled to meet Iran in Tehran in March 2020 but the pandemic threw the world sporting calendar upside down until the Asian Football Confederation rearranged the schedule by calling off the home-and-away format and replacing it with a zonal competition in Bahrain.

Leung Kwun-chung, who can play different positions in defence, also returns to the Hong Kong team after a long absence. Photo: Chan Kin-wa
Leung Kwun-chung, who can play different positions in defence, also returns to the Hong Kong team after a long absence. Photo: Chan Kin-wa

Iraq and Bahrain are the two unbeaten teams in the group, with Iraq leading the standings on 11 points from five games, followed by Bahrain who are two points behind. Iran are third on six points but have a game in hand. Hong Kong have five points, while Cambodia sit firmly at the bottom with one point.

Hong Kong will be massive underdogs against the three Middle East powers in Bahrain, but Paatelainen is not about to concede without a fight.

“I never go to a football match to lose, never,” said the manager. “I want to see a fighting team, I want to see the players out there who will do everything for the team. They are not just running around like headless chickens, I want them to know tactically their positions, how to move and how to make it difficult for our opponents.”

Mixu Paatelainen during Hong Kong’s 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifying match against Iran. Hong Kong lost 2-0 at home. Photo: Felix Wong
Mixu Paatelainen during Hong Kong’s 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifying match against Iran. Hong Kong lost 2-0 at home. Photo: Felix Wong

Paatelainen has selected a squad of 25 players, including defensive midfielder Diego Moreira of Eastern, the latest naturalised player, but two of them, Sandro and Fernando, another newly naturalised player, withdrew before the first training session.

Hong Kong will meet Iran on June 3 before getting a one-week break ahead of their second match against Iraq on June 11. Hong Kong will play the hosts in their last match on June 15.

Direct and Strong message from Dragan Skocic

The head coach of the Iranian national football team, referring to the importance of the team’s four matches in the qualifying round of the World Cup, said: “Due to the sensitive conditions of the matches, my players have no right to make any mistakes.”

Dragan Skocic, the head coach of Team Melli has sent a clear and strong message on the eve of submitting his final list of players for the upcoming qualifiers of FIFA World Cup 2022.  “What I want from my players is discipline, not motivation. I do not need to mention motivation, because when someone represents his country, he must be motivated.”

He continued: “When we play for the Iranian national team, we have 80 million reasons to be motivated.”

“I strictly forbid everyone in the national team from thinking or talking about our group matches in the future,” said the Croat team coach, referring to the focus of team members on the first match of the return leg.

Skocic continued: “Our only mental concern at the moment is playing against Hong Kong, as other issues will only distract us. When everything is in order, everything will certainly be easy, but we must maintain the right mentality in a situation where everything is against us.”

“We have no right to make any mistakes, I want my players to show their personality, they have the full capacity to succeed,” Skocic said, referring to his message to Team Melli players.

Team Melli preparing for the Crucial Games.

Team Melli’s next official match in the World Cup 2022 qualifying rounds is fast approaching. Iran will play against Hong Kong in Bahrain thirteen days from now.

 *Squad List

Meanwhile, The Croat head coach Dragan Skocic will announce the squad after the next round of league matches on Monday 24th May, after both Persepolis and Esteghlal play their postponed matches against Zob Ahan and Sanat Naft Abadanaft respectively.

Esteghlal and Persepolis are expected to have the most players in the Team Melli squad.

On concluding the matches on Monday, the final list will be announced at midnight, and the players named will have to make themselves available by the next day for training camp. Due to the presence of a number of legionnaires in this list, Skocic informed the players he picked to leave for Iran as soon as possible to participate in the training camp from day one. Most of the European Leagues have played their last matches on Sunday and pending flight availability, there should be no major delay in the availability of the legionnai4es in Tehran.

* Commencement of the training camp 24th May

According to the schedule, all the players and staff will undergo COVID19 PCR checks before joining the camp. After the results are determined, the group will hold its first training session at the National Football Academy second field.

The squad will finally leave for Kish Island on May 26th and will hold its first training session together in the late evening when the weather cools down, at the Kish Olympic Stadium.

The squad will be holding training sessions daily with all sessions conducted around the times of the matches so that the player acclimates to the condition existing in Bahrain. With the practice sessions being held late evenings, the lights of Kish Island Olympic Stadium have been strengthened to address Skochic’s most important concern on the grass.

* Vaccination of players

After the corona test is declared negative, legionnaires who have not yet received the Corona vaccine in their home countries will receive the first dose of the vaccine. Also, the group that passed the first stage of vaccination in Tehran will receive the second dose in Kish Island.

* Flight to Bahrain

The Iranian camp on Kish Island continues until 31st May. On the same day, the national team will fly to Manama, the capital of Bahrain, on a chartered flight, and will play its first match on June 3rd against Hong Kong, which is a warm-up for The game against Bahrain on 7th June.

Upon arrival in Bahrain, the national team will undergo corona testing and practice indoors.

For Iran to assure a place in the next round, they win have to win all their games, to overcome Iraq and Bahrain and advance to the third qualifying round of the World Cup.

On Sunday, Bahrain played an international friendly against Ukraine. The match ended in a 1-1 draw with the Ukrainians scoring in the dying minutes of the match.

Meanwhile, Iraq will be playing a friendly match against Tajikistan on Monday.  The Slovenian Head Coach SrečkoKatanec has announced the names of 26 players for this match.

* Match Schedule

DATETIMECOMPETETIONSTAGETEAM HOMETEAM AWAYVENUE
13-Feb-2517:152025 AFC U-20 Asian CupGROUP 'C'
IRAN
INDONESIA		Shenzhen Youth Football Training Base Pitch No.1, Shenzhen
16-Feb-202517:152025 AFC U-20 Asian CupGROUP 'C'
YEMEN
IRAN		Shenzhen Youth Football Training Base Pitch No.1, Shenzhen
19-Feb-202519:302025 AFC U-20 Asian CupGROUP 'C'
UZBEKISTAN
IRAN		Shenzhen Youth Football Training Base Pitch No.1, Shenzhen
2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup
20-Mar-202519:30FIFA World Cup 2026 QualifiersRound 3 - Group A
IRAN
UAE
25-Mar-2025FIFA World Cup 2026 QualifiersRound 3 - Group A
IRAN
UZBEKISTAN
05-Jun-2025FIFA World Cup 2026 QualifiersRound 3 - Group A
QATAR
IRAN
10-Jun-2021FIFA World Cup 2026 QualifiersRound 3 - Group A
IRAN
KOREA DPR

 

*Group Standing

 

Group C

Standings
P W D L F A GD PTS
1 Iraq 5 3 2 0 9 2 7 11
2 Bahrain 5 2 3 0 3 1 2 9
3 Iran 4 2 0 2 17 3 14 6
4 Hong Kong 5 1 2 2 3 5 -2 5
5 Cambodia 5 0 1 4 1 22 -21 1

“Fair Play” that has gone with the wind.

 

Team Melli head coach Dragan Skocic and Mehdi Taremi questioned AFC’s decision to hold World Cup qualifiers in Bahrain saying the decision was not made in the best interests of the participants.

They were not alone by any means as this great disappointment his all level of football in Iran which was counting of hosting 3 home matches against Hong Kong. Bahrain and Iraq.

 

Nothing is furthest away from “Fair Play” than the decision by AFC to award the hosting of group C remaining matches of the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers to Bahrain.

Iran has already played in Bahrain and lost. Iran is within its full right to avenge that defeat and become a contender by given its legitimate right to play Bahrain in Iran (be it Tehran, Tabriz, or Esfahan).  But to the shock of many, Bahrain was awarded the hosting!

There has to be some process matrix in taking such a decision, at least that is what many think. It should not be arbitrarily, politically motivated, based on favoritism, or based on factors beyond sport.

It is worth looking at a simple comparison. Surely it is not rocket science to figure. When it comes to accommodation and logistics, perhaps Bahrain beats Iraq and Cambodia, but it is way behind Hong Kong and at in a best-case scenario on par with Iran.

If we take the weather factor, then Bahrain is right at the bottom of the table. P{laying football in the heat and high humidity of June in the Persian Gulf countries, is not for the faint-hearted and is a hazard to the players, especially those who are not accustomed to such weather.

That is why FIFA moved the World Cup 2022 dates to November/December where the climate is much milder and pleasant. It was a major historical decision but in the end, it was the right one for all involved. The question now is, how come these weather considerations have not been applied in the case of awarding the hosting to Bahrain?

Iran is a big country, and it could host matches in cities ideal weather. The average temperature of Tabriz in June is 14.8 °C  to 26.6°C. It has the second biggest stadium which was recently renovated too.

If we are talking about Venues, Iran leads all of the group teams in a number of Stadia and facilities.

Apparently, AFC’s decision process is nothing like that.

The Iranians are furious at the AFC decision and have demanded an explanation, but seriously, no one expects AFC to provide any logical reasoning beyond its own. The world witnessed how football is administered by the ruling bodies. It is an autocratic system and one-sided which means the right to appeal and grievances are nothing but ceremonial especially if it involves commercial rights and financial interests.

In the corridors of Arab-dominated AFC, Iran has been deprived of many of its rights and the biased decisions against it are aplenty. The Iranian federation’s managers have played a major role in Iran losing so many cases, or at least not being given any favors. In general, these rulings are controlled by minnows albeit with quite a few accumulated votes. The Iranian representations in the AFC have been weak. The ineffectiveness of FFIRI management is institutional as a consequence of a system of appointment in the shape of a so-called election of the federation. Incompetent personnel reaches leadership posts due to their political influence more than their administrational skills and abilities.

Politics is quite rife in Iran’s federation, blame culture is a standard mode of operation, the current one accuses his predecessors, and the cycle repeats itself. The recently appointed President of the Football Federation (FFIRI) Shahab Azizi-Khadem was very quick to issue a long emotional communique accusing the previous administration of incompetency and lack of effort that resulted in the loss of the hosting rights. No one is in any illusion that this Azizi-Khdem will do any better than the rest of them, however.

 

Iranian fans are the eventual losers in all cases. When a small country like Bahrain has one of its subjects heading the Asian football ruling body, and good luck to them, it is no wonder that the decision of hosting the World Cup 2022 qualifiers tilted towards Bahrain. One needs to ask, why Iran a country with thousands of years of civilization is unable to produce competent representatives and candidates for the presidency of the AFC , or at least someone who can protect its interest in Kula Lumpur.

The decision for Bahrain hosting was taken way back before the announcement two days ago. AFC was just trying to create justifications, which until the writing of this article was not publicized.

Let’s end this with a quick quiz.

When is “Fair Play” the slogan that has been promoted by FIFA in football for many years, not a “Fair Play”?

If you guessed any of the answers below, then it is not too far from the truth:

  • When fair play is applied by AFC.
  • When your opponent in the World Cup qualifiers whom you have already played away and lost, has a man in the top of the AFC Pyramid.
  • When you play the same opponent in home and away format, at the opponent’s venue twice.
  • When playing in 29°C to 38°C degrees temperature and humidity that can be up to 90% (59% average) is much healthier and cooler for the players than high altitude mild weather of Tehran (average of 20.1°C to 34.5°C) with Maximum Humidity of 10%
  • When Covid19 is used as the ultimate excuse for bending the rules and breaking it.

Of course, we can go on and provide you a full sheet but we believe that you have caught the drift.

World Cup qualifiers postponed again to 2021!

FIFA has issued a statement postponing the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers and AFC Asian Cup 2023 for another few months to 2012.

With this further postponement, it is difficult to envisage normal league schedules and international matches to complete by the Winter of 2022 when the Qatar World Cup is scheduled to start, assuming FIFA will not address that.

Team Melli, currently in the 3rd place of the table behind Iraq and Bahrain was scheduled to play Hong Kong on the 8th of October in the return legs.

Following is the FIFA statement:

“In light of the current COVID-19 situation in many countries, FIFA and the Asian Confederation (AFC) have jointly decided that the upcoming qualifying matches for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ and AFC Asian Cup China 2023, originally scheduled to take place during the international match windows in October and November 2020, will be rescheduled to 2021.

With the aim of protecting the health and safety of all participants, FIFA and the AFC will continue to work together to closely monitor the situation in the region and to identify new dates for the respective qualifying matches. Further details on the new dates for the next round of qualifying matches for the FIFA World Cup 2022 and Asian Cup 2023 will be announced in due course.”

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers may be held behind closed doors.

With COVID19 still prevalent, Team Melli is likely to play the rest of FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers behind closed doors.

After months of uncertainty following of the postponement of the qualifiers, the schedule for the second round of the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers in the Asian Zone was announced, and Iran will play four crucial matches in October and November this year. However, the venues have not yet been announced yet by the World Football Governing body and AFC, and it is unclear whether the games will be hosted by the home team as standard, and whether spectators will be allowed entry into the venues. There is a possibility that the rest of the qualifiers will be played in a third country behind closed doors.

This possibility of action by FIFA and AFC is due to the continuing outbreak of coronavirus in different countries of the world. Corona is currently on the rise in some countries, and experts predict that the spread of the disease will worsen in the fall, and health protocols need to be implemented more vigorously. In this regard, the head of the UEFA Medical Committee announced that all national games will be held in the fall without spectators and that fans will not be able to return to the stadiums at the moment.

Such ruling by the Europeans could also be implemented in Asia which would practically deny the Iranian fans from attending matches in Azadi.

 * Effect of behind closed door games on Team Melli Chances.

Is this ban complicating Team Melli’s chances of qualifying? Although FIFA will announce its decisions after consulting with local confederations, it is clear that some Asian countries are less prepared than the Europeans and developed countries in terms of health protocols. As a result, due to the Iranian Premier League games being played behind closed doors, the AFC may not allow Iran to host spectators in the fall, and the national team will be forced to face its rivals without the support of the fans. Iranian fans have been a hallmark of Team Melli’s success throughout the years.

The players and managers have bee counting of home advantage in their remaining games specifically against Bahrain and Iraq, the two contenders of this group.

Due to the fact that Team Melli has played three away games, the matched in Tehran without the presence of spectators will be slightly in favor of the rivals. Currently, Iran is in third place in its group due to poor results of the previous round and the loss against Bahrain and Iraq under former coach Marc Wilmots. Iram has 4 points less than its two group leaders, namely Iraq and Bahrain.

Accordingly, the schedule of the Iranian national football team’s return matches was announced as follows:

Iran – Hong Kong (Thursday, October 8)

Cambodia – Iran (Tuesday, October 13)

Iran – Bahrain (Thursday, November 12)

Iran – Iraq (Tuesday, November 17)

AFC proposing new dates for Iran World Cup qualifying games.

Qatar’s Al-Sharq newspaper reported today that the AFC is evaluating alternative dates for the Asian Teams competition backlog since March 2020. According to the newspaper, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has made two proposals for the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers and the AFC Asian Cup 2023, which are scheduled to take place on October 8th and 16th).

“The AFC is expected to present these two proposals to the local federations to identify their views and opinions, but in the end, it all depends on the coronavirus situation in the countries concerned ” Al-Sharq reported.

Team Melli matches against Cambodia and Hong Kong were postponed.

Iran’s Team is currently in third place in Group C of the World Cup qualifiers, which is also the qualifying round for the 2023 Asian Cup, after Iraq and Bahrain with 6 points. Meanwhile, there has been a change in the coaching staff with the Croat Dragan Skocic taking over after the disappointing Belgian Marc Wilmots left the job.

Dragan Skočić, has yet to lead Team Melli in any match, in fact, he has not managed to get the team together due to the restrictions and lockdown after the COVID-19 outbreak. All sporting activities are suspended in Iran at the present.

Cancelation of Team Melli Training camp.

With the cancellation of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers in the Asian regions in March, Team Melli’s match vs Hong Kong and Cambodia is postponed until further notice.

Yesterday, FIFA announced the cancellation of the World Cup qualifiers of April and June, thus canceling Iran’s two games against Hong Kong and Cambodia, as well as Bahrain and Iraq.

This has disrupted Team Melli’s camp in Nowrooz in Tehran and is not expected that the coaches will invite players to the camp. On the other hand, the logistic difficulties of traveling to Iran caused by the restriction of flights by the major airlines means that the legionaries are unable to travel to Iran by air and will not be able to join any camps.

Dragan Skocic has also urged his foreign aides not to come to Iran and continue to monitor legionaries in Europe until a new tournament is announced.

The coaching staff is waiting for the announcement of a new dates of the World Cup qualifiers in Asia to coincide with the schedule of the national team camps. The current situation may also cancel the friendly match between Iran and Oman on June 21.

FFIRI Requests postponement of Team Melli matches from FIFA

The Iranian Football Federation FFIRI, along with eight other Asian countries, has called for the postponement of international matches held in the FIFA World Cup qualifying stages due to the outbreak of Corona.

The UAE’s Al-Etihad newspaper said in a special statement today that nine Asian countries have requested a postponement of the World Cup qualifier in a letter to FIFA. Malaysia, Iran, Japan, China, Thailand, South Korea, Guam, Sri Lanka, and Mongolia have all called for their national team matches to be postponed due to the spread of the Coronavirus.

FIFA will decide on these requests on Thursday this week, after an emergency committee meeting. Iran’s national football team are scheduled to meet Hong Kong in Azadi and away to Cambodia in the second round of the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar qualifiers. While Hong Kong has announced that it will not travel to Iran, the Cambodian media also have found it difficult for Iran to visit them. As conditions are becoming critical, FIFA is increasingly coming under pressure to delay the World Cup qualifying matches until the conditions stabilize and the public confidence is restored.

Coronavirus threatens all Asian football activities!

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Asian soccer leaders on Wednesday postponed two key meetings because of the spread of the Coronavirus.

The Asian Football Confederation was due to hold an executive committee meeting in Bahrain on March 14 ahead of a congress of member nations on April 16 in Kuala Lumpur. The AFC told The Associated Press that both gatherings had been postponed, with no new dates for the meetings given.

Governments have announced more than 20 cases of the virus in both Malaysia and Bahrain.

The virus has already impacted soccer matches on the continent with Asian Champions League games involving Chinese clubs Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai SIPG postponed to April-May.

All group and playoff matches in the east zone of the AFC Cup have been delayed until April 7.

Iran is one of the worst-hit countries in West Asia with many countries suspending flight to and from Iran while most have closed the borders. Several league matches were held with spectators while many clubs advocate the postponement of the league until the situation stabilizes and the threat of the virus is minimized.

Sepahan Esfahan, Esteghlal, Persepolis and Shar Khodro are representing Iran in this season’s AFC Champions League.

Team Melli is scheduled to meet Hong Kong in Azadi Stadium on 26th March in the FIFA World Cup 2022 Asian Zone qualifiers.