Tag: Syria

Saman Ghoddos Ineligible to play for Team Melli

Tehran

The excitement of the Swedish-born Iranian appearing for Team Melli has turned to a major disappointment after FIFA declared that Saman Goddos is ineligible to play for Iran.

An unnamed administrator in FFIRI has informed Khabar Varzeshi newspaper that FIFA has rejected Iran’s application due to lack of proper documentation and proofs. As such, the chance of Ghoddos making his debut tomorrow against Syria has disappeared.

As a result of his Iranian parentage, Ghoddos was eligible to be called up by both Iran and Sweden. In December 2016, Ghoddos was called up by Sweden manager Janne Andersson for friendlies against Ivory Coast and Slovakia. He scored his first international goal for Sweden in a 6–0 win over Slovakia on 12 January 2017.

In June 2017, Ghoddos revealed that he had been approached by the Iranian football federation. In an interview in July 2017, Ghoddos stated that he may accept an invitation to play for Carlos Queiroz’s Iran if he is asked. He applied for Iranian citizenship on 21st August, stating that it is an honor to play for Sweden and his decision to represent either country is “fifty-fifty”.

Ghoddos was not called into Sweden’s World Cup qualification squad on 23 August, with Janne Andersson opting to choose expatriate footballers and stating that Ghoddos is not far from a call-up if he were to remain with the Swedish national team.

 in an interview on 25 August 2017, Ghoddos confirmed that he received his Iranian passport from the embassy. The following day, 26 August 2017, he announced on his Instagram page that he would be joining Team Melli for their 2018 World Cup qualifiers against South Korea and Syria.

The Östersunds FK midfilder was called up for the first time to Team Melli squad on 27th August 2017 by Carlos Queiroz for Iran’s 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against South Korea and Syria.

REUTERS – Masoud Shojaei has been left out of coach Carlos Queiroz’s squad for Iran’s final World Cup qualifiers against South Korea and Syria after playing against an Israeli club.

Shojaei and his Iran team mate Ehsan Hajsafi played for Greek side Panionios against Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv in a Europa League qualifier earlier this month, prompting Iran’s deputy sports minister to declare the pair were banned from the the national side.

Iran does not recognise the state of Israel and bars its athletes from competing against participants from the country.

Hajsafi, however, was included in the squad to play South Korea in Seoul on Aug. 31 and Syria at home on Sept. 5.

Top of Group A in Asia, Iran have already qualified for next year’s finals in Russia.

A member of Iran’s squads at the 2006 and 2014 World Cups, Shojaei captained the team in their last qualifier, a 2-0 win over Uzbekistan in June which secured their ticket to Russia.

Queiroz said he had included younger players in his squad but 33-year-old Shojaei and other excluded veterans remained part of his plans in the leadup to next year’s finals.

“We have a 37 Elite Player Group that is our preparation basis for the World Cup and this call-up list, bringing some younger players, reflects our strategy of working on all this Elite Group,” Queiroz wrote on his Facebook page.

“This doesn’t mean we are in condition to (leave) behind experienced players that we are used to have with us, like Pejman (Montazeri), Masoud (Shojaei), (Andranik) Teymourian or (Khosro) Heydary, who continue in this 37 Elite Player Group as important options for Team Melli.”

Queiroz said on his Facebook page on Saturday that his team was facing “dangerous winds of havoc” and complained that Irani authorities had failed to provide adequate financial support for their World Cup campaign.

“Team Melli spirit and mentality has always been, no matter what, ’under promise and over delivery’,” he wrote.

Qatar vs. Iran : Preview

The last time the two teams met in Azadi , it took Team Melli two late goals to defeat Qatar which excelled in defending their goal before a calamitous goal keeping error allowed Gucci to score the first then Jahanbaksh to seal the win in injury time.

Carlos Queiroz’s side are the only unbeaten team in Group A but, after Sardar Azmoun’s goal secured a 1-0 victory over the Taeguk Warriors on Matchday Four, Iran saw their lead at the top of the standings cut four days later when they played out a goalless draw with Syria. Two main players are missing from squad. Ashkan Dejagah injury put him out of match practice , while Ando Teymourian dip in form rendered the duo unfit for duty.

Opponents Qatar got off to the worst possible start on the Road to Russia by suffering three defeats on the bounce, but responded well by defeating Syria 1-0 and claiming a point in China on Matchdays Four and Five respectively.

The home side, though, will be without four players through suspension with Khalid Muftah, Ahmed Yasser, Abdelkarim Hassan and Meshaal Abdulla all unavailable for selection.

Photos: Lagardère Sports

 TABLE

GROUP A
TEAMS MP W D L GF GA +/- Pts
Iran
IRAN
 5 3 2 0 4 0 4 11  DWWDW
Korea Republic
KOREA REPUBLIC
 5 3 1 1 8 6 2 10  WLWDW
Uzbekistan
UZBEKISTAN
 5 3 0 2 5 3 2 9  LWLWW
Syria
SYRIA
 5 1 2 2 1 2 -1 5  DLWDL
Qatar
QATAR
 5 1 1 3 3 6 -3 4  DWLLL
China PR
CHINA PR
 5 0 2 3 2 6 -4 2  DLLDL

 

 

MATCHES

23 MAR 2017 – 19:35 Local time
GROUP A
Helong Stadium
Changsha , Hunan
China PR     CHINA PR vs   KOREA REPUBLIC Korea Republic
11:35 (GMT)
23 MAR 2017 – 20:00 Local time
GROUP A
Hang Jebat Stadium
Krubong
 Syria     SYRIA    vs.   UZBEKISTAN    Uzbekistan
12:00 (GMT)
23 MAR 2017 – 19:00 Local time
GROUP A
Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium
Doha
 Qatar     QATAR     vs.     IRAN     Iran
 16:00 (GMT)

 

 Head2Head

Home/Away / Neutral Matches Iran Wins Draw  Lost Goals + / –
H 8 6 2 0 19 – 4 +15
A 13 7 3 3 15 – 11 +4
N 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 +0
Total 21 13 5 3 34 – 15 +19

 

Team Melli to play Papua New Guinea on Friday

After the cancellation of Team Melli’s friendly against Thailand, an alternative match has been hastily arranged against Papua New Guinea in Shah Alam Stadium in Malaysia on Friday Nov 11th 2016.

Papua New Guinea is a member of the Oceanic Football Confederation. Its highest ever FIFA ranking was 160, in June 2004. In its last match on 17th June 2016, international Friendly,  Papua New Guinea defeated  Malaysia 2–0 in capital Port Moresby. A week before that , it lost the Final of the OFC Nation cup against New Zealand in Penalty Kick out after a goalless draw.

Both result are quite respectable for a nation that is still competing in the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers.

Team Melli , on the other hand , needed a warm up match before facing Syria in day 5 of the World Cup qualifiers. It is expected that the legionnaire players to be available for the Friday match against the not very tough opponents.

Team Melli will be missing 4 major players. Goalkeeper Biranvand due to injury, Ando Teymourian for non inclusion while Azmoun and Hajsafy are suspended for one match each.

Thailand Friendly game in doubt.

Team Melli’s friendly international match against Thailand in Bangkok looks in doubt following the death of king of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej. The revered monarchy who died at the age of 88 in Bangkok after a long illness was a much sacred figure and a period of one year mourning has been declared by the government in which no celebrations will be carried out.

Iranian official were alerted to this fact by the Thai counterparts, however the final call on the match status will be given to the FFIRI on Monday 17th October.

The match scheduled for 9th November, was part of Team Melli’s preparation for the final group match of the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers against Syria in Malaysia. Carlos Queiroz needed the match for players acclimatization of the hot and humid weather of the far east.

FFIRI officials are already looking for an alternative to the Thailand match.

 

UZBEKISTAN 0-1 IR IRAN

Tashkent
/ Oct 06 2016 /

Tashkent: A Jalal Hosseini header ended Uzbekistan’s 100% record in third round qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup as Islamic Republic of Iran defeated the Central Asians 1-0 in Tashkent on Thursday.

Uzbekistan came into the tie on the back of 1-0 wins over Syria and Qatar, but Hosseini’s goal on 27 minutes proved the difference maker as Carlos Queiroz’s team picked up their seventh point in three games to remain unbeaten so far.

Samvel Babayan’s side tried to respond in the second half but having lost playmaker Server Djeparov to injury just before the break, the White Wolves failed to breakdown a stout Iranian defence and suffered their first defeat of the qualifying campaign.

“I think we deserved this victory,” said Queiroz. “Uzbekistan also played well, but they controlled the ball in their area. We tried to go on the counterattack when we took ball.

“We didn’t give many chances to Uzbekistan. They didn’t show their usual performance, and that was to our advantage. We blocked them every time they had dangerous shots and I congratulate my team on this positive result.

“I think the battle for the World Cup will continue. We took three points today, but we need more victories and points. It is just one more step towards our target. If any team makes any mistake in Tashkent they will lose.”

Uzbekistan went into the game without captain Odil Akhmedov due to his inability to recover from injury, while Queiroz made a raft of changes to his midfield and attack with an eye on the crunch match with Korea Republic on Tuesday.

One of those changes, Reza Goochannejhad, could have opened the scoring inside 10 minutes but he sliced his volley high and wide after he was picked out inside the area by full-back Ramin Rezaeian’s fine cross.

Iran did go in front before the half hour mark, though, as centre-back Hosseini connected with a smart header from Masoud Shojaei’s inswinging free-kick from the right that left goalkeeper Aleksandr Lobanov helpless.

The hosts suffered a further blow five minutes before half-time as two-time AFC Player of the Year and captain on the night Djeparov was withdrawn from the field in a great deal of discomfort to be replaced by Alexander Geynrikh.

Uzbekistan begun the second period strongly and pushed forward in search of the leveller but struggled to penetrate the Iran backline.

Inside the final 20 minutes, substitute Jaloliddin Masharipov was brought down on the edge of the area in a hugely promising position but Geynrikh’s free-kick summed up Uzbekistan’s night as it hit the wall and rebounded away harmlessly.

And Iran could have ended the match even more comfortably as Sardor Azmoun, a second half replacement for Ghoochannejhad, played in Vahid Amiri but Lobanov was quick off his line to deny the midfielder, but Queiroz’s team still managed to see out the remaining minutes unscathed.

“Unfortunately we lost the game,” said Babayan. “The players tried to battle until the end of the match, but we couldn’t create chances without Akhmedov. We created some moments, but the team didn’t realise them. Now we have the next game and we need to pay attention to it.

“We lost the fight in the first 30 minutes tonight. Besides that, we couldn’t create any chances through the middle and those were the main reasons for our defeat tonight. We can’t play well in midfield without Akhmedov. Our defenders played well, but we lost many battles in the centre.”

Photos: Lagardère Sports.

Iran drawn against Korea Rep. again.

Iran was drawn with Korea Rep. , Uzbekistan , Qatar , China and Syria in Group A of the FIFA World Cup 2018 Final qualification rounds.

The draw was conducted by AFC General Secretary Dato Windsor John, with a helping hand from former Korea Republic star Park Ji-sung. Numerous personalities were in attendance, headed by the coaches of the teams that will contest the third round.

The latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking was used to split the 12-country field into six pots. These were then drawn into two groups of six teams, who will do battle for direct qualification to Russia 2018 between 1 September 2016 and 5 September 2017.

Both group winners and runners-up will go straight through to the 2018 World Cup. Meanwhile, the two teams that finish third will meet in a two-legged showdown on 5 and 10 October 2017. Whoever triumphs in this double-header will look to secure their spot at the finals in an intercontinental play-off – also to be played over two legs – against the fourth-placed country from CONCACAF qualifying.

Australia , the AFC Asian Cup title holders is grouped with Japan , Saudi Arabia, UAE , Thailand, and Iraq in group B.

The two teams Iran and Korea Rep. will renew their rivalry once again in the qualification for the World Cup. In the last encounter , the relationship between the coaches were making the headlines and as there was not love lost between Carlo Queiroz and the South Korean Choi KANG-HEE . The South Korean for all his rhetorics ended up in the losing side and eventually resigned his job, South Korea survived by the skin of their teeth after Uzbekistan failed to score one more goal to put them ahead on goal difference in the other group matches.

The draw avoided a potential problem for FIFA and AFC after the Saudi’s claimed they will refuse to play in Iran.

Iran, Japan, Korea Rep.,  Australia and Qatar are the top seeds for qualification. The first round will commence on 1st September 2016.

 

MATCHES SCHEDULE

Matchday One
September 01, 2016 Thursday Iran vs. Qatar – H

Matchday Two
September 06, 2016 Tuesday China vs. Iran – A

Matchday Three
October 06, 2016 Thursday Uzbekistan vs. Iran – A

Matchday Four
October 11, 2016 Tuesday Iran vs.  South Korea – H

Matchday Five
November 15, 2016 Tuesday  Syria  vs. Iran – A

Matchday Six
March 23, 2017 Thursday Qatar vs. Iran – A

Matchday Seven
March 28, 2017 Tuesday Iran vs  China – H

Matchday Eight
June 13, 2017 Tuesday Iran vs. Uzbekistan – H

Matchday Nine
August 31, 2017 Thursday South Korea vs. Iran – A

Matchday Ten
September 5th, 2017 Iran vs. Syria – H

Khakpour announces Omid Team plans.

Mohammad Khakpour, Iran’s U23 (Omid) coach announced his plans for the team from now until January 2016, when Iran will join 15 other finalist in a tough battle to qualify for the Rio De Janeiro Olympics football competition. The final rounds of the qualification for Rio Olympics will be held in Doha, Qatar.

In his briefing with the sport journalist, Khakpour express his gratitude to the clubs who helped the case of Omid team with their timely release of the players for the inaugural WAFF U23 tournament. Khakpour was over joyed by the results achieved in this first tournament of its kind, where Iran’ U23 won the title defeating Syria 2-0 in the final.

“The first order of business in to set up a short camp in UAE, were we were hoping to play against Iraq and Australia. The latter match is 100% confirmed but the Iraq match is yet to be finalized” Khakpour said. “After that we will be going to Turkey foe another short camp followed by a local camp either in Kish Island or in Khuzistan (Ahvaz). We hope that by that time , we will have all our players available for the best preparation of the squad.” Khakpour continued.

The reporters then quizzed Khakpour on several topics including the readiness of  Arya Hashemi. Khakpour said that this player will not be fit on time to join the team.

About Iran’s prospect for qualifying to that eluded prize of Olympic Games, Khakpour responded “We should be under no illusion that qualifying to the next round from the group is not an easy task at all. Qatar is the host, China is one of the strongest teams in Asia at that age level, and we have all seen Syria play against us with strength and skill. So, it is not going to be an easy task, but we are not going there to surrender either.”

khakpour-omis-team

About his abrupt resignation after winning the WAFF U23 tournament, Mohammad Khakpour admitted his mistake as he particularly apologized for Mohammad Mayeli-Kohan and Habib Kashani for this hasty move. “Both these gentlemen put a lot of faith in me and I let them down. I like to sincerely apologize to them and also to my compatriots for such an act and admit that it was out of emotions and not rational.”  the Iranian U23 team coach said. Khakpour also apologized for the media in an unprecedented move!  As such , this is a rare occasion that an Iranian coach admits his fault and apologized for it. So, there is still hope left in Iranian coaches!

The head coach of U23 team however, did not conceal his disappointment with Ali Kaffashian and the general lack of support for Omid Team from the federation. Khakpour said that the main reason for his resignation was the one-sided contract that he was offered in which he was held accountable for everything , while it hardly mentioned anything about the federations responsibilities.

2016 AFC U-23 Championship

Qualified teams

The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament

Team Qualified as Appearance Previous best performance
 Qatar Hosts 1st Debut
 Iraq Group A winners 2nd Champions (2013)
 Jordan Group B winners 2nd Third place (2013)
 Saudi Arabia Group C winners 2nd Runners-up (2013)
 United Arab Emirates Group D winners 2nd Quarter-finals (2013)
 Syria Group E winners 2nd Quarter-finals (2013)
 Australia Group F winners 2nd Quarter-finals (2013)
 North Korea Group G winners 2nd Group stage (2013)
 South Korea Group H winners 2nd Fourth place (2013)
 Japan Group I winners 2nd Quarter-finals (2013)
 China PR Group J winners 2nd Group stage (2013)
 Thailand 1st best runners-up (Group G) 1st Debut
 Iran 2nd best runners-up (Group C) 2nd Group stage (2013)
 Vietnam 3rd best runners-up (Group I) 1st Debut
 Yemen 4th best runners-up (Group D) 2nd Group stage (2013)
 Uzbekistan 5th best runners-up (Group E) 2nd Group stage (2013)

[divider size=”5″ margin=”20″]

12 January 2016
16:30
Syria  v  Iran
   
12 January 2016
19:30
Qatar  v  China PR
15 January 2016
16:30
China PR  v  Syria
15 January 2016
19:30
Iran  v  Qatar
   
18 January 2016
19:30
Qatar  v  Syria
18 January 2016
19:30
Iran  v  China PR
   

 

Omid team to meet Syria in the finals of WAFF U23 championship.

Iran U23 team (Omid) defeated Yemen 2-1 in the semi-finals of the first WAFF U23 Championship in Doha today. Iran goals were scored by Mehrdad Mohammadi in the 10th minute and Mohammad Daneshgar in th 48th.

Yemen pulled a goal back in the 52nd minute and missed a penalty kick on the 88th minute.

The match in the hot and humid conditions of Doha was a lively affair as both teams looked for an early lead to put pressure on the opponent. Iran was more organized in the middle of the field and played at a reasonable controlled pace to save energy. Yemen on the other hand , were more active and determined to use their pace to beat the less agile Iranian defenders. The Yemeni offensive continued through the half winning 5 corner but all to no avail. Iran goal came after the Yemeni keeper fumbled a ball for Mohammadi to slot in an easy goal. The first half finished 1-0

The second half was a repeat of the first with Iran controlling the preceding and managing to score early through Mohammad Daneshgar’s powerful header, however that goal was quickly answered by Yemen left back who found himself in acres of space following a free kick slotting the ball easily  past Akhbari in Iran’s goal.

With Yemen desperate to score the equalizer, the Iranian found  lots of space round the pitch. Some fine work and exchanges between the Iranian players soon turned into a supremacy by Omid team. The match was virtually played in one half of the field in the second half, with Iranian players displaying their skills and fine individual control. But as the case with most of the Omid team matches, their finishing was poor,  inacurate  and the shoots at goal all ending easily in the hands of Yemen Keeper who was hardly troubled by the Iranian shooters.

The profligacy of Omid players nearly cost the team dearly, as the players witnessed to their horror,  how the referee called a penalty that never was. Not only the ball never hit Danshgar anywhere near his hand, it was clear from all angles of replay that the Iranian defender cleverly intercepted the ball by his leg just around the knee area well off his arm and hand. nevertheless , the referee called it a penalty despite the vehement protest of the Iranian players.

Justice was done when the spot kick ended up hitting the underside of the bar then bouncing out of Akhbari’s goal line.

Iran will meet Syria in the final.

5th consecutive Asian Cup for Nekounam and approaching record.

Team Melli Captain, Javad Nekounam is on the brink of breaking a record of total match played for Team Melli. The current record holder is Ali Daei with 149 match appearances, while the Osasuna Captain is lagging behind by 2 matches with 147.

The next competition that Nekounam can equal or overtake Daei record is the AFC Asian Cup 2015 in Australia. Barring any surprises or injuries, Nekounam is assured at least the 3 matches he requires to take the all time record of matches. This will also be a record breaking 5th consecutive AFC Asian Cup appearance for Nekounam who played in the 2000 edition of Asian cup in Lebanon.  Javad Nekounam ( 34 years) made his debut for Team Melli against Syria on the 28th May 2000 at the age of 20 when he was a Pas Tehran player. Jalal Talebi was Team Melli coach who gave Nekounam his debut. For the next 14 years, the midfielder ‘s name was ever present in the list of Team Melli , with a character and performances which made it easy for the various Team Melli coaches to pick him.

Unlike many of his contemporaries , Nekounam kept a steady form , high level of discipline and avoided side issues and problems off the field. Despite being on the same age group of Ali Karimi , and Mehdi Mahdavikia, both household names in Iran and well-known beyond the national border , Nekounam managed to easily overtake both in number of matches played for Team Melli. while the Karimi was busy involving himself in all types of disputes and trouble making that kept him away from Team Melli on several occasions , Nekounam simply pressed on. Mahdavikia , on the other hand, suffered from the fact that he played in Germany which restricted his number of games especially the friendly matches.

In the list of top players who played 50 matches or more, the only player that seem likely to overtake both Daei and Nekounam , is Sepahan’s Ehsan Hajsafy. The young player is going from strength to strength with some wonderful performances. His consistency and discipline is exemplary and that should allow him . like Nekounam , to be on the selection list of Team Melli for many years to come.

TEAM MELLI

LIST OF TOP APPEARANCES

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