Category: World Cup 2018

Preview: Iran vs. Spain

(FIFA.com)
19 Jun 2018

Iran did their homework ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™. While there was undoubtedly an element of luck about their late win against Morocco, the team did exactly what was expected of them – play with passion. It was clear from the outset that a draw from the opening match would almost certainly not be enough for the Asian side to make it out of such a high-quality group. With three points under their belts, they are now at the top of Group B and brimming with confidence.

ANDREAS INEISTA
  • Iran top their group after first World Cup win since 1998
    Will Daniel Carvajal return to Spain’s starting XI?

 

Meanwhile 2010 world champions Spain made a frantic start to the competition. While their 3-3 draw with Portugal was a spectacle worthy of a place in the World Cup history books, La Rojaonly earned a point for their exertions. Will coach Fernando Hierro make changes for his second match in charge? He may not need to. By scoring a brace, Diego Costa showed that he belongs within the team’s system. Players moved the ball around in midfield with their customary ease, while David de Gea will be determined not to concede three goals next time around – something captain Sergio Ramos will be glad to support him with.

 

Possible line up

IRAN

Alireza Biranvand
Ramin Rezaeian Morteza Pouraliganji Pejman Montazeri Ehsan Haji Safi
Omid Ebrahimi Masoud Shojaei Saeid Ezatolahi Vahid Amiri
Sardar Azmoun Alireza Jahanbakhsh

 

 

SPAIN

David de Gea

Jordi Alba   Sergio Ramos  Gerard Pique Nacho
 Thiago Alcantara   Sergio Busquets Andres Iniesta David Silva
Isco  Diego Costa

 

Spain not a worry for Queiroz

Saint Petersburg: Carlos Queiroz is not one to dwell on the past and the Islamic Republic of Iran head coach is already planning to ensure his team remain ahead in Group B of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.

Iran lead the group after Matchday One, which saw the Persians scoring a heart-stopping 1-0 win over Morocco while Spain and Portugal played to a thrilling 3-3 draw in the other match.

Up next for Iran are 2010 world champions Spain, who must be hurting after Cristiano Ronaldo’s late free-kick not only gave him a hat-trick but salvaged a point for Portugal.

Queiroz, however, isn’t worried about what Spain have to offer as he is focused on his team and making sure they not only maintain top spot in the group but take a huge step forward in their bid to qualify for the Knockout Stage for the first time in five appearances at the FIFA World Cup.

“Top spot in the group is not for sale and neither is it for rent. Spain are a quality team but we want to keep top spot,” said Queiroz, who is leading Iran for a second successive FIFA World Cup.

The win over Morocco was Iran’s second World Cup victory in the country’s history and means Queiroz’s side head into their clash against La Roja on Wednesday with momentum and hope.

“If the game against Morocco was the World Cup final for us, the game against Spain (on Wednesday) will be the Universe Cup final,” Queiroz had said after Friday’s win.

 

It was win that sparked celebrations back home and Team Melli will now look to push harder against a Spanish side who were rocked by the sacking of head coach Julen Lopetegui, who was replaced by Fernando Hierro.

That aside, Spain’s quality is unquestionable as they twice came from behind to lead Portugal 3-2 and had it not been for Ronaldo’s superb late free-kick, the three points would have been for Hierro’s side.

Iran, however, also showed that they don’t stop till the final whistle and with their efforts against Morocco rewarded – courtesy of Aziz Bouhaddouz nodding into his own net deep in added time – Queiroz has every reason to believe that Team Melli can get a result against Spain.

Classy Adidas shows crooked Nike a lesson.

MOSCOW — Nike responded defiantly on Sunday following criticism over its refusal to provide cleats for the Iran World Cup team – due to United States sanctions against the country.

Shortly before the tournament, the Iranian team said Nike had pulled out of a commitment to supply its cleats. Following its dramatic opening game victory over Morocco, several players and head coach Carlos Queiroz criticized the American sportswear giant over its stance.

Iran’s World Cup jerseys are provided by German-owned Adidas. That company’s CEO, Kasper Rorsted, said Iran is one of 12 teams it sponsors.

“We equip the Iranian team because a lot of Iranians love football, and at the end of the day we believe in sport,” Rorsted told Russia’s RT.com. “We believe that through sport we have the power to change lives.

“If we start being a political engine then we don’t actually have the freedom to do what we want to do and that’s really making people’s lives better.”

However, in an e-mail to USA TODAY Sports, Nike claimed that it had been “complying with this legal requirement for many years,” and emphasized that due to government restrictions, being unable to send footwear to the squad was “not a choice.”

 “US sanctions mean that, as a US company, NIKE cannot supply shoes to players in the Iranian National team at this time,” a statement from Nike’s media relations team read. “Sanctions applicable to NIKE have been in place for many years and are enforceable by law.”

The saga has reflected poorly on Nike, leading to heavy criticism internationally, yet the company feels that the full story has not come out. Nike’s e-mail added that there had been no sudden change in its policy towards providing product to Iran and that “suggestions otherwise are misleading.”

Iran’s squad has been incensed by the situation and the story line has been the biggest talking point surrounding the team’s campaign.

“What Nike did to us was very wrong,” forward Karim Ansarifard told ESPN. “I can tell you, as a footballer, we don’t compare diplomatic and political problems to sports.”

Queiroz has long highlighted the struggles faced by the Iran team, which has a competitive and travel budget far lower than many teams in the tournament.

“Let them enjoy football like all the other football players in the world,” Queiroz said. “They are not against nobody or against nothing. They just want to express themselves and play football. It is totally unfair to 23 boys who just want to play football. They deserve to be treated like all the other players in the world.”

Political sanctions against Iran have long been in place, but there have been reports of them being implemented more rigorously in recent years. However, Nike was clear that its approach towards Iran had nothing to do with the Trump administration, as the relevant sanctions were implemented before the last election.

Nike pointed out that any player can buy Nike products, and that the company is also permitted to sponsor Iranian athletes who don’t live in their homeland. Nine members of the squad play in Iran, while the rest play for clubs abroad.

Isco “will have to fight to death to win against Iran”

Spanish National football team player Isco “Francisco Román  Alarcón” said that team will “have to fight to death” to win the upcoming World Cup game against Iran, during a press conference in Krasnodar, Monday.

“We will try to score during the first minute, as always. It’s not easy, obviously, but we have to fight to death with the style that defines us, we have to play, to touch the ball, to have possession, and if we play quickly from side to side, occasions will arrive and I hope we can score quickly”, he said.

When asked about new coach Fernando Hierro, Isco affirmed that “there haven’t been many changes because he knows that we work well with what we already have”.

Asked about new coach Fernando Hierro, after the sudden sacking of Julen Lopetegui, Isco affirmed that “there haven’t been many changes because he knows that we work well with what we already have”. Spain will face Iran on June 20 at the Kazan Arena.

Roozbeh Cheshmi out of the World Cup

FFIRI has announced that Roozbeh Cheshmi, Team Melli center-right defender, has suffered an injury during training yesterday and will no longer feature in the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia.

It is a real blow for the defender who has pivitol in the defence of Team Melli against Morocco.

With that injury, Carlos Queiroz equation changes for the second game against Spain. Iran edged Morocco 1-0 in the their first World Cup match at the St. Petersburg Stadium on Friday following a stoppage time own goal from Aziz Bouhaddouz.

“It was a great football match. Our strategy was exactly since the first minute to create a mental collapse in the Moroccan players. And now we tried to do that creating frustration and block all the playmakers, The players that can create something. The most open opportunities [to strike] in the first half belongs to Iran and since we were able to create panic in the defensive line of Morocco the game changed. Now it’s time to rest and think about the game against Spain,” Queiroz told at the press conference.

Roozbeh Cheshmi was in the heart of defence that frustrated the Moroccans.

In the game against Morocco, Cheshmi  alongside Morteza PouraliGanji in the middle of defense was able to protect and cover Alireza Beyranvand to keep a clean sheet. Now, with this injury, who should be seen as a substitute for a defender who has been labeled by Queiroz as “the most modern” defender of Iran in the past 10 years.

Queiroz , with all the criticisms that he sustained before the start of the Russian World Cup for playing from Roozbeh Cheshmi in the heart of the national defense, called him the most modern defender of the last 10 years in the national team. A strange claim since Queiroz has not been in Iran for 10 years. Now that Cheshmi is injured and can not play for the Team Melli, that piece of brief news has hit the team and considered as a great shock for some and certainly for the squad.

Majid Hosseini

However, it is not like a lost cause as Queiroz has three options for Cheshmi. Majid Hosseini, Pejman Montazeri and Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh.

Majid Hosseini, who was substituted in the final minutes of the game with Morocco, experienced his first appearance at the World Cup. The young defender of Esteghlal Tehran, who had developed quite rapidly from a youth team all the way to Team Melli senior team, was preferred to the much experienced of Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh, who has been playing for a long time at club and the national team.

Of course, Queiroz has proven that he has tricks up his sleeve and not shy from taking bold decisions such as using a player with one cap only, in an important match in the World Cup. That is what he did with Majid Hosseini. A surprise that no one guessed.

However, It’s unlikely that Queiroz will opt for young Majid Hosseini this time against Spain. Most likely he will use Khanzadeh and even Pejman Montazeri instead of his modern advocate.

Billboard in support of Team Melli changed to include women

A billboard in Iran which supported the nation’s World Cup team has been replaced after it was criticised for not featuring any women.

The previous billboard, in Tehran, showed men of different ethnicitiescelebrating around a trophy.

It has been replaced with a different design in which several women are visible standing side-by-side with men.

A line next to the image reads in Persian: “Together we are champions: one nation, one heartbeat.”

The original billboard caused uproar, with the front page of the Qanun newspaper carrying an image with the caption ‘We lose without women’.

Social media users in Iran criticised what they saw as implied gender discrimination by excluding women from the picture.

Since the Iranian revolution of 1979, women have not been allowed inside sporting venues.

In April, several women disguised themselves as men so they could watch their team, Persepolis, play rivals Sepidrood at the Azadi stadium in Tehran.

The authorities have cancelled a plan to allow women to watch the national team’s World Cup matches on a big screen in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium.

The Iranian females athletes have won many medals in different sports including Asian & Olympics Games. The latest achievement was the Iran female futsal team which won the continental crown after beating japan in the final.

Last minute narrow win for Iran in the World Cup vs Morocco.

An own goal in the 95th minute saw Iran beat Morocco 1-0 on Friday in Group B play at the 2018 World Cup. In the opener for both teams, the match looked destined for a draw in what was an entertaining and open game, but Aziz Bouhaddouz came on in the second half, tried to defend a late set piece and headed it into his own net:

It was a heartbreaking for Morocco as they were more active and solid during the match but also wasteful in front of goal and paid for it in the end.  Team Melli on the other hand was slightly nervous and could not display its normal smooth flowing football.

Sardar Azmoun wasted a golden chance to put Iran when he was sent through by the dynamo Omid Ebrahimi. Azmoun had only the keeper to beat but his shot was easily saved by the advancing Munir in the Morocco goals.

And as a result, Morocco are likely to be eliminated from the World Cup with Spain and Portugal still left on the slate. Meanwhile, Iran has its second win in World Cup history, and first since beating the United States in 1998. One more win over either Spain or Portugal and they’ll likely be through to the knockout stage for the first time ever.

The Moroccans could not penetrate the defence although there were a few close calls. When they did from long-range , Biranvand with full stretch save d the day for Team Melli.

It was a historic day for Masoud Shojaei. He is the only player who has played for Iran in 3 different World Cups , 2006, 2014 and 2018

Iran can count on Saudi fans support vs Morocco !!

Morocco lost its bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2026 and much of the blame seems to be shouldered by Saudi Arabia, according to the Moroccans.

Rabat and Riyadh had very cordial and close relations for decades. The wealth of the Saudi’s has played a major part in those so-called brotherly relations. The Gulf Arab Kings, Emirs and princes have made Morocco their favorite playground. Buying properties and palaces, investing in joint ventures and pouring billions in the country’s economy in form of economical aids have kept the economy of the population of 36 million afloat. But it all comes at a price. Morocco, despite its claim of independence and sovereignty in political decision making, has practically turned into a Gulf Country colony in recent years fearing the wrath of the ruthless Saudi kings and are expected to follow the Saudi policies. Lately, without any proof or shred of evidence, Morocco suddenly cut its diplomatic relation with the Islamic Republic of Iran on the behest of the big brother and paymaster Saudi Arabia.

When the national federations convened for the 68th FIFA Congress, politics and geostrategic calculations quickly transformed the sporting experience into an exercise of usurpation and heavy politicizing.

Not satisfied with casting its own ballot for the United Bid, the US-led North American trio, Saudi Arabia used its financial resources and spiritual authority to convince it allies and some other Muslim-majority countries to back North America at the expense of Morocco 2026!

Russia defeated Saudi Arabia 5 – 0 in the opening match

What was started as a competition between two bids promising to serve the interests of the game and fans has become a venue for permanent extortion and backstage diplomatic tricks, exposing the toxic politicization of sport. FIFA as it is now common knowledge, is prime example of corruption and politics with billions of dollars at stake.

 “This feels like being stabbed in your back by a brother,” some diplomatic sources have been quoted as saying, referring to news that the Gulf kingdom(s) actively lobbied for the United bid on June 11 and 12.

Bristling with Riyadh’s intense efforts to undermine the Moroccan bid in Muslim circles, some Moroccan officials have explained that although the Saudis are entitled to their decision to endorse the United bid, it is much less comprehensible that “a fellow brother” could go to such lengths to turn other Muslim countries against a bid representing shared values and traditions.

“The muscular Saudi lobbying” has already succeeded in changing the position of about ten national federations who were either wavering or considering a Morocco 2026 vote at the FIFA congress it was claimed by top level Moroccan official..

Arabophone outlet Goud, for example, quoted Moroccan diplomatic sources and representatives in Moscow as saying that Saudi lobbying for the North American bid was far more significant than Canada’s entire campaigning efforts.

Tension between Saudi Arabia and Morocco

Though Riyadh is known for being America’s most strategic ally in the Muslim world, it is now a known secret that that the Gulf country’s anti-Morocco 2026 agenda has much to do with Rabat’s position in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It is understood that Saudi Arabia is frustrated with Rabat’s “objective neutrality” in the Gulf crisis.

Others have also pointed out Morocco’s reluctance to send troops to Yemen despite numerous requests from Saudi authorities. As a result, they argue, Riyadh has chosen to vent its frustration on the North African’s dream to host the footballing world’s most prestigious tournament.

On social media, the outrage caused by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation’s last-minute intrusion into the pre-voting procedures cannot be overstated. Many Moroccans appeared to have had it with the Saudis’ disregard for their “national cause.” Some went as far as asking Moroccan authorities to review the country’s diplomacy towards a “circumstantial ally.”

“It is just a matter of time. Rabat is taking its time to know the intention and priorities of the new Saudi authorities. In the end, Morocco’s national interests will always prevail,” a source at the foreign affairs ministry said under conditions of anonymity.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are believed to be among the ten Muslim countries whose change of heart is said to have come about as a result of Saudi Arabia’s pro-United 2026 lobbying. And since FIFA will make public the vote of each national federation, it remains to be seen the full extent of the Saudi damage to Morocco 2026

Iran , did not vote for either. Neither Donald Trump not the King of Morocco are too popular with the Islamic republic at the moment.

Saudi fans in Russia

But the effects of this Arab infighting has reached the Iran vs Morocco match albeit on the lighter side. After the 5-0  drubbing of Saudi Arabia by the Russians, Moroccan football fans in St. Petersburg, European cities and back home rejoiced while the social media have turned into a war of words between the Moroccans and Saudis’.

Now the funny and the odd part

Saudi fans and some other gulf states are praying for an Iran win against Morocco. The social media is buzzing with messages of support for the arch enemy Iran to beat the Moroccans in retaliation for the North African nation’s fans celebrating Saudi Arabia’s defeat. Sounds complicated?

Outsiders might find it extremely odd for fans to think politically to that extent, although even in Europe and Latin America politics has some effect on football support fan base. However, governments in the Persian Gulf States have their own discreet agents who spread their messages and political views in disguise. The so-called electronic flies are extensively deployed on the internet by countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain for political purposes.

Whether the Saudi prayers for Iran to win will have any effect, remains to be seen.

Off-field troubles have united Iran, says coach Queiroz

ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) – The troubles that beset Iran before the World Cup have only served to unite the team, their coach Carlos Queiroz said on the eve of their opening Group B match against Morocco in St Petersburg.

Iran begin their campaign on Friday, but their preparations were disrupted by Nike’s late refusal to supply equipment to their players, citing ongoing U.S. sanctions against their country.

Two of Iran’s warm-up matches were also cancelled this month, but Queiroz said his side felt no pressure ahead of what he described as a must-win game for both teams.

“This is not the time or place to go into specifics of the difficulties in relation to the sanctions, everybody knows that,” he told a news conference on Thursday.

“We cannot use these issues as excuses, but we must use all of these situations as a source of inspiration to make our players stronger and more willing.

“They know we need to be a family and fight, play and show everybody we love the game like every other player around the world.”

The Portuguese added that starting on a winning note was what Iran’s players needed to push their off-field woes firmly from their minds.

“I’m sure you know some countries they feel pressure,” Queiroz said. “On our side, everything is the opposite. We are here to celebrate the sacrifices, the commitment and our efforts during four years to be part of this competition.

“The best medicine in football, it is to win…. What I can say is we are fully ready for this game.

“We’re going to try to go to sleep after doing our best, with three points under our belt.”

Queiroz conceded that history was not on Iran’s side.

The team have won one match at a World Cup in five appearances and have never got past the group stages.

Standing in their path to the last 16 alongside Morocco are European champions Portugal and 2010 World Cup winners Spain.

Morocco are making their first World Cup appearance in 20 years but have a larger number of players in the top European leagues than Iran.

“As a matter of respect we concede and we admit that the favourites are Morocco, Spain and Portugal due to the history, World Cup preparation, experience, maturity, and players playing in the best teams in Europe,” Queiroz added.

“We concede they are favourites, but we don’t tolerate anybody telling us we are not capable to win. Nobody can undermine our expectations and our hopes. We don’t tolerate anybody who tells us we are not able to do it.

“We are here to compete with the favourites and in the end we hope that the gods of football speak higher and they make the decisions.”

Saudi Arabia Humiliated. Morocco fans rejoice.

After the Saudi Arabia football team was in the wrong end of a drubbing, the Moroccan fans did not hide their joy and expressed their delight at the defeat of the fellow Arab country.

In St. Petersburg streets, while fans of both Iran and Morocco were having a jolly time taunting each other in a peaceful and light-hearted atmosphere, the Moroccan fans burst into extra celebration after hearing the result of the opening match between the host Russia and Saudi Arabia. The Russians scored 5 against the hapless Saudis.

Several reasons for the expression of joy by the Moroccan fans were mentioned depending on whom you talk to. The majority mentioned that the Saudis have betrayed their country Morocco in the competition for hosting the 2026  FIFA World Cup., “Not only Saudi Arabia, which claims to be a brother Arab country , did not vote in favor of Morocco, they actually lobbied for America  and influenced other Arab countries to do so as well. That is betrayal to me and they deserved to be humiliated and beaten”

“The least they deserved” said another laughing Moroccan fan who was holding Iran flag in addition to his own country’s.

Some fans targeted a Saudi Official Turki Al Shaikh for abuse.

Iranian fans joined the Moroccans in their celebration in a unique scene.