Tag: Mehdi Taremi

Saman Ghoddos out of the squad.

Team Melli midfielder Saman Ghoddos has been diagnosed positive in the latest PCR and hence lost the chance to travel to the Korean capital for the match against the host nation and the following match against Lebanon in Mashad.

In a communique with the FFIRI Brentford, the premiere league club from London has confirmed that Ghoddos will not be available for selection for the upcoming international matches.

Hamid Estili, who has recently been appointed as the new Manager of the Iranian national team, confirmed the news: “Unfortunately, we will not have Ghoddos in these two matches, but we hope that other legionnaires will be able to join the squad and play for Team Melli without any problem”. Saman Ghoddos was a starter and played both the last two matches against UAE and Iraq. His absence gives coach Dragan Skocic some difficulty. Skocic has announced that the result of the game against South Korea is very important to the team.

Team Melli arrived early morning Sunday in Korea and after the PCR test, were immediately sent to quarantine. Many Legionnaire players are yet to join including Azmoun who played for Leverkusen today in a 2-0 away win versus Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. Taremi is also expected to leave for Korea after the match against Boavista. Milad Mohammadi, Ehsan Hajsafi, and Karim Ansari also played for AEK Athens in a 1-0 loss to PAOK in the Greek league.

Team Melli Squad list announced.

Team Melli will play complete its FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 schedule by playing a double-header against South Korea and Lebanon on March 24th and 29th respectively. With a day before flying to Seoul on a chartered plane. the squad for the two matches was announced. Iran has qualified for the finals in Qatar and will be battling the Koreans for a top-of-the-table finish and more importantly a significant addition of points in FIFA ranking. The draw in June will seed countries for the Finals based on total points in FIFA Ranking.

Dragan Skočić has announced the list of players invited to the national team camp. The Croat coach is desperate to keep his immaculate, near-perfect record with Team Melli after over two years from his appointment replacing the perpetual failure Marc Wilmots.

The names of the invited players:

    • Goalkeepers:
  1. Alireza Biranvand
  2. Amir Abedzadeh
  3. Hossein Hosseini
    • Defenders:
  4. Sadegh Moharremi
  5. Hossein Kananizadegan
  6. Shoja’a Khalilzadeh
  7. Majid Hosseini
  8. Omid Nourafkan
  9. Milad Mohammadi
  10. Daniel Ismaelifar
  11. Farshad Faraji
  12. Aref Gholami
    • Midfielders:
  13. Saeed Ezatollahi
  14. Kamal Kamiyabinia
  15. Mehdi Mehdipour
  16. Amirhossein Hassanzadeh
  17. Milad Sarlak
  18. Ehsan Haj Safi
  19. Vahid Amiri
  20. Mehdi Torabi
  21. Ahmad Noorollahi
  22. Saman Ghoddos
  23. Ali Gholizadeh
    • Forwards:
  24. Mehdi Taremi
  25. Alireza Jahanbakhsh
  26. Sardar Azmoun
  27. Karim Ansarifard
  28. Allahyar Sayadmanesh

Two players Saeed Ezatollahi and Sadegh Moharremi are suspended for the Korea Rep match with an accumulation of two cards, while Hossein Kananizadegan is surprisingly included in the list despite being sanctioned by the disciplinary committee!!

Taremi saves Porto from Home defeat

The top of the Portuguese League clash between the leaders Porto and second-placed Sporting Club was played at Dragao Stadium in Porto.

That important match for the Portuguese fans was also the center of interest for the Iranian as the Team Melli central forward Mehdi Taremi was starting and the stage was open for him to prove his worth especially after the rumored interest by Arsenal to sign him in the summer. Taremi did not disaaponit. Not only he was the man of the match, but he also scored a brilliant header to save his team from defeat from their fiercest rival.

In this ill-tempered match, Porto was stunned early in the game when the host Sporting scored the opener with a nice close-range header by Paulinho in the 8th minute. As that was not bad enough, the guests Sporting, managed to score the second goal of the game in the 34th minute by Nono Santos from an error committed by Porto Captain Pepe. Sergio Conceiço’s team was able to score their first goal on Mehdi Taremi’s assist to Vieira in the 38th minute.

The first half ended 1-2 to Sporting.

The physical play of both teams caused the referee to brandish many yellow cards, and by the 49th minute, the color of this card turned red for Sporting player Sebastian Coates, with Sporting having to play most of the second half with 10 players. Porto’s pressure was immense in the second half until finally, Mehdi Taremi raised majestically to head a cross into the far corner of Sporting keeper, scoring the equalizer in the 78th minute with his exceptional header.

After the goal, there were many clashes between the players and some also involved the bench. Some ugly scenes were witnessed with the Referee unable to control the match. Not only there were individual pockets of fights everywhere on the pitch which saw an invasion from everyone including the whole bench of both teams. The melee continued until the match was prematurely ended.

It was pandemonium and ugly. Pepe and another player sporting player were dismissed.

The bright side of these ugly scenes is that, for once, Mehdi Taremi took a distance from all these trouble spots. He hardly got himself involved with the opposition players and did not go to the referee and blab his mouth like he usually does. Is this a sign of maturity? We hope that Taremei, a star on his own right now at the world level, maintains this attitude and calm. Indeed it was a truly admirable act by rational Mehdi.

With this draw, Porto reached  60 points to remain at the top of the standings of the Portuguese Premier League.

A critical look at Team Melli.

Team Melli got the result it wanted against the UAE and put further pressure on Korea Rep for the race at the top of the group. With qualification assured, it was an excellent opportunity for Dragan Skocic to introduce changes in the lineup, but to the great disappointment of many, he stuck with the same players except for those enforced changes such as through suspensions or Covid.

If the mission of Skocic was just to finish the match with three points and minimum damage, then he achieved that objective, but it was far from pretty. A countless number of passes went astray, the finishing in front of the goal was abysmal, final balls lacking accuracy, misunderstanding between players and lack the sense of urgency and accuracy. Players were guilty of some unprofessional works at this level. Team Melli must look beyond the final two games of the group, although the one against Korea is a good test, and start looking forward to how would they like to play and compete.

To be recognized and accepted, Team Melli has a long way to go in a relatively limited time period.

Player’s selections and Opportunities

Skocic pick for the match was frustrating. If Team Melli has any aspiration to stand and be counted amongst the elite in Qatar, then Skocic must think positively and bravely to build a team of 23 highly-rated players and not just stick with a skeleton of 11 to 13 fixed starters. That was Queiroz regime style and despite the limited success of Queiroz’s team, it failed to go beyond the group stages in Russia and did not win the title in the Asian Cup 2019.

To give players confidence, Skocic must offer them the chance to play and perform. The bench players must be as good as the main players. Bench players must be integrated and there is no better way of such integration except actually giving them the minutes at any opportunity.

Skočić missed that opportunity against the UAE. Perhaps fear of losing was the catalyst and that is understandable. It is not a crime for a coach to be result-oriented, however, there is a time when the future integration and strength of the team must take priority.

Shaky individual Performances

Non-performing players or those who are consistently playing sub-standard games must realize that they would lose their place in the lineup. For example, both Ghoddos and Gholizadeh were poor against Iraq, yet they both kept their places against UAE. To create the spirit of competition amongst the players, Skocic could have dropped them for this match to send a signal to everyone else that there is no such thing as a permanent place in the team, sub-standard performances have consequences, there are alternative options who can fill the gap and the team is more important than the interest of the individuals.

That methodology has proven to work, as the problem with Taremi proved not long ago.

Most professional coaches religiously adhere to this mindset, Skocic must follow too. If a player is selected to play, he must deliver.

If a player continues playing weakly and yet he is still picked up for matches, there will be a sense of injustice and disappointment in the team the consequences of which is unimaginable.

Players must feel that bad performances will have consequences and hence give it 100% effort. Players in Team Melli must understand that there are at least two if not more players that can take their place if they do not deliver. This is missing in Skocic team.

Professional players of this generation will develop a false sense of security and believe in their own vitalness. Only a good professional coach can change that.

Disciplinary acts.

Then there was another disturbing part. The disciplinary record of Team Melli is absolutely dismal. There are far too many yellow and red cards awarded to them. It is an indication of lack of guile, professionalism, and most probably negligence.  There are certain Team Melli players that one feels could be dismissed anytime due to a wild or mistimed tackle, pure negligence, and lack of maturity. leading to suspensions and negative effects on the team. Whatever it takes, Skocic and his coaching staff must strengthen the mental agility and emotional control of the players. The World Cup is too valuable of a place for the Team to lose players through suspensions because of loss of concentration.

Game Plan

While there were some nice touches and inter-passing, despite the lack of continuity, the game plan against the UAE was not clear specifically at the forward end. There were few crosses on the flanks while Iran has the best players who could cross. There was also a lack of aerial firepower up front where the like of Taremi can excel, the direction and control of the midfield were lost mainly due to the failure of the Team Melli midfielders in keeping the ball and timely distribution. Game plans normally do not cater for players’ dismissal and that could have been a reason for the bewilderment of the team, however, even with one player short, Team Melli still managed to miss at least two certain goals!

Creativity and flexibility.

Team Melli is struggling to break down compact defense teams. Even if that is successfully done, the rate of conversion against the chances created is poor. There has been an embarrassing number of easy scoring chances missed

The problems stem from the heart of midfield. The sight of Team Melli probing from side to side, with a painful lack of incision, has left some critics lacking in confidence in the team. Flanks that feed the tall attackers seem to go missing in action. Apart from Jahanbakhsh, no other midfield player seems to have the vision and the creativity that is required at the top-level competition. The generations of Khodadad Aziz, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Ali Karimi, Nekounam which then continued with Mojtaba Jabbari, Ando Teymourian, and Ashkan Dejagah have served the Team well through the years, now such creativity is simply lacking.

The root cause is the standard of the domestic league in Iran which is feeble and has failed to produce the quality required at the international level. The solution at Skocic’s hand. Somehow he must address this complicated issue.

Players rating vs UAE

Amir Abedzadeh : Another commanding, confident and perfect display. Despite the few attacks by the opposing team, Abedzadeh handled the ball and any aerial threat with ease and did not put a foot wrong, Oozes with confidence and that transmits to the defenders in front of him too [8.75]

Sadegh Moharrami : Disappointing premature game end for such a skillful half-back. His second yellow card and subsequent dismissal were unprofessional, reckless, and negligent for a player at the international level. We sincerely hope that a good lesson is learned  [5.0]

Omid Noorafkan : In the makeshift defense line, Noorafkan played well as a central defender partnering with Kananizadegan. Solid and steady although the UAE attacks were sparse and hardly threatening [7.7]

Milad Mohammadi: Had a quiet game, but it is apparent that this pacey defender has lost some of his finer touches. His ball distribution and passing lacked accuracy and was guilty of some bad passes [6.8]

Hossein Kanani-zadegan : Another solid performance at the center of defense. His timely header saved the Team a certain goal. Despite playing in an unusual formation with his regular partner (Khalilzadeh) missing, his coordination with Noorafkan was immaculate. [8.4]

Saeed Ezatollahi : Still wobbly and at times acts like a bull in a china store. The defensive work was as expected but he lacks consistency. Got himself booked for an unnecessary foul, then escaped another booking minutes later with a bad tackle. [6.7]

Saman Ghoddos : The second consecutive game in a row that Saman looks lackluster. It was not a difficult decision for Skocic to sacrifice him after Moharrami was dismissed. He made little difference in the team and lacked proper and accurate ball distribution for his teammates. It is a pity as Ghoddos is a highly technical and visionary football. He has yet to deliver at Team Melli though. [6.0]

Ali Gholizadeh : After a marvelous run late in the second half where he showed tremendous skills, his run towards the UAE goal and the feeble shoot on goal, while Taremi on his left was wide open, is bordering a crime. He did not have a good game like his partner Ghoddos. It is unsettling and as such robbing the team of creativity. Missed two glorious goal-scoring chances [6.3]    

Alireza Jahanbakhsh : Another top performance from the Captain of Team Melli. His enthusiasm, skill, and vision are going to be much needed if Iran has any aspiration in qualifying from the group stages of the World Cup. He is the Maestro of the team [8.9] Man of the Match

Mehdi Taremi : He delivers when needed. That goal against UAE was a poacher’s goal and that is what makes Taremi so special and a valuable asset to the team. He suffered from some fatigue especially when he had to return back and cover for the team missing a player, but still performed admirably [8.8]

Vahid Amiri : A few flashes of brilliance but Amiri like many of his teammates today lacked the high passing accuracy. It is expected from him to feed the forwards with crosses, but they were scarce and far apart thus hardly creating any threats. He still covered quite well in the back when needed. [7.5]

Substitutes

Ahmad Nourollahi : Found it hard to control the midfield after he came as a substitute. His one shot at goal was way off target., otherwise he had a quiet game. Perhaps recovering from Covid had some effect on his performance  [7.0]

Saleh Hardani : taking into account his status as a new member of the team, he played with confidence and boldness against quite a pacey UAE winger. He never let his guard down and filled Moharrami’s slot quite well. A very good prospect and a player that needs to be given more playing time [7.8]

Siavaush Yazdani Moghadam : Not enough playing time to rate him, but in the opportunity given, he played well without any problem.to be

Team Melli striker Mehdi Taremi offered to Arsenal

According to CBS sports website, A dramatic deadline day looks set to end with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leaving Arsenal with Barcelona has reached an agreement to sign the former Gunners’ club captain on a free transfer. Arsenal who looks like having a crisis in the forward line, with their two main strikers being out of contract in the summer has already failed to attract the Serbian forward Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina after Juventus secured his services for a €70m transfer fee

The Gunners have also been offered several players on loan this month, including Real Madrid’s Luka Jovic and Team Melli striker Mehdi Taremi of Porto, and have been working to upgrade Arteta’s strikeforce before the transfer window closes Monday night. Meanwhile, Arsenal have made one signing, securing the services of Colorado Rapids center back Auston Trusty.

Porto, meanwhile, have lost three of their key players in recent weeks, namely Jose Corona, Sergio Oliveira, and Luis Diaz, and it is unlikely that the Porto boss will take another move in the transfer window. Mehdi Taremi who scored the winning goal against Iraq on Thursday to qualify for the World Cup 2022,  is currently in the camp of Team Melli and will face the UAE tomorrow.

It will be suicidal for Porto to part with Taremi at this stage, especially since they are challenging for the League titke.

Iran confirm Qatar 2022 berth

the-afc.com
Tehran: The Islamic Republic of Iran booked the first AFC ticket to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 with a third consecutive win in Group A of the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar, beating neighbours Iraq 1-0 at Azadi Stadium on Thursday.
The result sees Team Melli go back to top the group after Korea Republic had temporarily snatched the lead with a win against Lebanon earlier in the day, the Iranians building an unassailable lead at the top that pulled them past the finish line with three games to go.
Both teams were lively from the off with chances coming as early as the sixth minute when Omid Noorafkan got a shot following a good pass from Alireza Jahanbakhsh, but Iraq’s Fahad Talib fisted the ball away for a corner.

At the other end just a few minutes later, Aymed Hussein got a header on Bashar Resan’s delivery from the flank, but an alert and well positioned Amir Abedzadeh held the ball, with the following attack seeing Jahanbakhsh’s long range shot take a bounce before hitting the post, in what was an exhilarating opening 12 minutes.

With 25 minutes on the clock, Talib pulled off a magnificent double save after Jahanbakhsh’s shot was spilled into Mehdi Taremi’s path, with the FC Porto striker’s shot going straight at the Iraqi keeper’s fists to be sent away. Vahid Amiri also got a shot seconds later, but that was deflected behind for a corner by Talib.

Talib’s heroics showed no signs of stopping when Ali Gholizadeh, unchecked, was in on goal following a magnificent long pass from the other side of the pitch by Jahanbakhsh, yet the former’s shot was yet again saved by the Iraqi keeper, capping off an electrifying opening 45 minutes

The deadlock was finally broken just two minutes after the break, when Ahmad Ibrahim attempted to intercept but missed Jahanbakhsh’s low through ball, allowing Taremi a clear path on goal with the Team Melli forward dinking it just above Talib to pull his country ahead.

Saman Ghoddos almost doubled IR Iran’s lead when Taremi’s feigned run between the two central defenders as Moharrami played the former through, allowing the Brentford FC man to take a low shot from close range that skimmed past the post.

The Lions of Mesopotamia threatened to equalize with 15 minutes left on the clock after substitute Hasan Abdulkareem fired a stinging low shot that was saved by Abedzadeh, but fell into the path of Huseein who could not get a clean touch on it.

The result sees Iraq remain in fifth place with four points, with IR Iran topping the group with 19 points. Iraq faces Lebanon away in four days, while Dragan Skocic’s men will remain in Tehran to take on the United Arab Emirates on the same day.

At last, Taremi lands in Tehran and available for the match against Iraq

Tehran :

Mehdi Taremi, who was stranded in Turkey for days after his flight to Tehran via Istanbul was diverted due to a severe snowstorm in Istanbul airport, finally landed in Tehran early morning Thursday.

The Iranian  Porto striker underwent the PCR test and the result returned negative after arriving in Iran and hence Taremi is available for selection for the match against Iraq.

Due to fatigue and other issues, Dragan Skocic, might very well opt to use Taremi as a substitute rather than in the starting lineup. The technical staff, due to the absence of many of their players, made a great effort to ensure the availability of Mehdi Taremi for this match.

Team Melli will still be deprived of 3 key players, Azmoun, Nourollahi, and Hajsafi.

Latest on Team Melli

Dragan Skocic recalled two players from the standby list while including a previously unlisted Perspolis midfielder to the squad.
  • Farshad Faraji was called by Team Melli to fill in for the absent players while Aghasi, Rafei, and Kamiabinia have been added to the party. While Taremi is on the squad, his flight was disrupted as the airplane taking him from Portugal to Istanbul was diverted after the icy weather in the airport closed the runway. Taremi’s flight landed at Dalman Airport in southwest Turkey near Bodrum and he like the other passengers are stranded there awaiting a flight and weather improvement.
  • The match on Thursday will be refereed by the Australian Christopher James Beath.

  • There is still no confirmation on whether the spectators will be allowed or not for the Iraq match. Most probably, a 20% max number of spectators may be allowed in provided the passengers are vaccinated according to the latest requirements of health protocols.
  • Tuesday’s training session was attended by 17 players and was carried out in Azadi Stadium.
  • The Iraqi squad had 5 positive PCR tests on arrival at Imam Airport in Tehran. After protesting the results, another test was carried out with one positive result. Further request to repeat the test was not entertained again. Iraq has a new coach in the Montenegran  Željko Petrović. This will be Iraq’s third coach in the qualifiers after Katanec (Slovenia) and Dick Advocaat (Netherlands).
  • The revised list of invited players:
    • Goalkeepers:
  1. Alireza Biranvand
  2. Amir Abedzadeh
  3. Payam Niazmand
    • Defenders:
  4. Sadegh Moharremi
  5. Hossein Kananizadegan
  6. Shoja’a Khalilzadeh
  7. Omid Nourafkan
  8. Milad Mohammadi
  9. Siavash Yazdani
  10. Saleh Hardani
  11. Aref Aghasi
  12. Farshad Faraji
    • Midfielders:
  13. Saeed Ezatollahi
  14. Milad Sarlak
  15. Soroush Rafiei
  16. Kamal Kamyabinia
  17. Vahid Amiri
  18. Mehdi Torabi
  19. Saman Ghoddos
  20. Ali Gholizadeh
    • Forwards:
  21. Karim Ansarifard
  22. Alireza Jahanbakhsh
  23. Kaveh Rezaei
  24. Mehdi Ghaedi
  25. Shahab Zahedi
  26. Mehdi Taremi (Not available)

 

the Standby List: Mohammadreza Akhbari, Danial Ismailifard, Zubair Nikonfs,

Team Melli : FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers updates.

The preparation for Team Melli is on its way after the return of head coach Dragan Skocic from his homeland. The Croat coach will be preparing the final list for the upcoming matches vs. Iraq and the UAE on 27th January and 1st February respectively.

There is no major changes or surprises are expected from the new list and it is pretty certain that Mehdi Taremi who missed two matches of the qualifiers, will be invited back to the team. Barring any serious injuries, the squad list will be close to the last one.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022
AFC ASIAN QUALIFIERS – GROUP A

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES v    SYRIA

LEBANON  v    KOREA REPUBLIC

                                                                            SAIDA MUNICIPAL STADIUM
15:00
(SAIDA)

IR IRAN   v   IRAQ

18:30
AZADI STADIUM
(TEHRAN)

Qualification possibilities.

With the 3rd rank team, UAE on 6 points, which is 10 points behind Iran, a win against Iraq will increase Iran’s points to 16 assuring qualification for the third consecutive FIFA World Cup. A win for UAE against Syria increases their point to 9, the maximum point the UAE can achieve from their remaining 3 matches is 9 only.

Team Melli will be highly motivated to register a win in Azadi and celebrate the early qualification.

Since the last two matches, the Legionnaire players have been al doing well except for a brief goal drought by Taremi, However, the Porto forward has scored in his last two consecutive matches  Azmoun is involved in a transfer struggle with Lyon being the most possible destination. Ansarifard and Hajsafy are well settled in AEK Athens and have been scoring goals too.

GROUP TEAMS BRIEFS

IRAQ

 

Iran injury vows continue. A key player in the Iraq team’s defensive line has been injured, and this has raised concerns for the team. Zargham Ismail,  is injured and will most probably not recover in time for the match against Iran, and Rabin Solaqa, another Iraqi defender who plays in the Thai league, is also infected with the Coronavirus, and there are rumors that he will not be invited to the squad. Mohammad Qasim is another key player for the Iraqis, who is also very unlikely to recover to play this crucial game. Iraqi is scheduled to play a friendly match against Uganda in Baghdad before facing Iran, after which it will depart for Tehran.

It is also believed from unofficial sources that the trio of the Iraqi national team players: Saad Natiq, Mohammad Daoud, and Alaa Mahawi, have outstanding administrative problems that prevent them from being selected for the squad to face Team Melli.

UAE

The team was in crisis after the humiliating 5-0 defeat against Qatar in the recently concluded Arab Cup. There were calls to sack Van Marwijc but the UAE FA did not find it appropriate to change the coach at this crucial stage of the competition.  UAE still stands a chance to qualify for the play-off if it can maintain the 3rd rank with 4 matches to go.

No major absentees have been announced but the final squad list for the two matches against Iraq and Iran have yet to be announced.

KOREA REP.

 

Bad news for the Koreans with their star player Son Hyung-min injury in the match against Chelse in Carabao cup semi-finals. Son will not be able to accompany his country’s national team for the World Cup qualifier due to due to a muscle injury according to the Tottenham Hotspur announcement.

Korea still has a good squad but the game against Lebanon in Sidon will be a tough test for the Koreans and three points is not a foregone conclusion. Korea Rep trails Iran by two pints at the top of the group.

SYRIA

The temporary committee in charge of managing the affairs of the Syrian Football Association announced that it had reached a final agreement with Romanian coach Tita Valerio, for the latter to continue coaching the Syrian national team, after long negotiations that brought the two sides together for more than 60 days.

For his part, Valerio confirmed that he will do his best to achieve what is required in the remaining matches in the Asian qualifiers of the World Cup, especially in the next two matches against the UAE and South Korea.

Tita indicated that he had contacted Omar Khribin and Omar Al-Soma, and confirmed the inclusion of the two strikers in the list of Syrian squad.

Meanwhile, the federation is active in recruiting players of Syrian origins in Europe. The Expatriate Committee has identified six such players of Syrian origin active in Europe, at the request of Romanian coach Valerio, who is looking into the possibility of utilizing their services in the remaining matches of World Cyp qualifiers.

Four players who are active in Sweden League: Matthias Behnan, Sherko Shehab, Almar Abraham, and Mark Gerges, have already completed the formalities and arrived in Aleppo to join the squad.