Category: World Cup 2018

Team Melli Head Coach

Quieroz ” Team Melli is highly adventurous at the present time”

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — First, they were picked in possibly the toughest group at the World Cup. Then they failed to attract any high-quality opposition in friendly matches.

Now in Russia, Iran has been hit with sportswear sanctions from the United States, preventing players from wearing their favorite soccer shoes.

No wonder Iran coach Carlos Queiroz spoke Thursday of the “hurdles” his players have to mount as they compete in back-to-back World Cups for the first time.

“We do not allow these problems to become justifications, excuses,” Queiroz said, a day before Iran opens play in Group B with a match against Morocco in St. Petersburg. “All these situations we’ve been facing, we have been using as an opportunity to develop and an inspiration to make our players stronger and full of will. We are sure that we have to be a family and keep united.”

Queiroz, Iran’s longest-serving coach and a former Real Madrid coach and Manchester United assistant, is popular with soccer fans in the Asian country but will be feted even more if he manages to guide the team out of a group containing European champion Portugal and Spain, one of the tournament favorites.

Queiroz said it was “disrespectful” to talk about Spain, which is in turmoil after firing coach Julen Lopetegui on Wednesday, but was more open in discussing Iran’s blighted World Cup build-up.

He has long complained about Iran’s lack of international exposure and the country’s problems — mainly for political reasons — with arranging matches against other countries. This month, a warm-up match against Greece in Istanbul was abruptly canceled, reportedly because of an ongoing dispute between the Greeks and neighboring Turkey.

Iran’s soccer federation threatened legal action, saying it inflicted “serious damage” to the team’s World Cup preparations, then saw Kosovo — the supposed replacement for Greece — also pull out.

Adding to the disruption, Nike said it would not be providing soccer shoes to Iran for the World Cup because of American sanctions currently in place against the country.

Queiroz was angered by the decision and has addressed his unhappiness with FIFA.

“Players get used to their sports equipment, and it’s not right to change them a week before such important matches,” he said. “We are using all of the hurdles as a source of inspiration.”

Iran was the first team to qualify for the World Cup — exactly a year ago Thursday — after topping Asian qualifying, and is looking to improve on a record that has seen it win only one of its 12 matches at World Cups.

The Iranians have a reputation for being defensively sturdy, conceding only two goals in 10 qualifiers — and those only came in the final match when qualification was guaranteed.

Queiroz said Thursday his team was “highly adventurous at the present time” and “a lot of young players with a high number of qualities, especially in the midfield and in attacking positions,” but didn’t discount adopting a defensive formation when needed, presumably against Spain and Portugal.

Iran is set to be without striker Mehdi Taremi because of an undisclosed injury.

“The first game is always something special,” Queiroz said. “For us and Morocco, it is a must-win game.”

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Nike will not outfit Team Melli

Nike will not provide cleats to the Iranian soccer team ahead of and during this month’s World Cup because of economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic as the American company shamefully claims

The move follows the Trump Administration’s decision to withdraw from the international nuclear deal made in 2015, though the sanctions that prevent the sportswear giant from working with the Iranian team have existed through multiple administrations, Nike said in a statement.

“U.S. sanctions mean that, as a U.S. company, Nike cannot supply shoes to players in the Iranian National team at this time,” the company said. “Sanctions applicable to Nike have been in place for many years and are enforceable by law.”

Some teams allow players to select their own cleats, including which brand, for competition. Some players, for example, may have sponsorship with Nike. Those deals, the company said, will not be affected. Other teams are sponsored by a particular brand — the main players in the international soccer scene are Nike, Adidas and Puma — and require players to wear a certain shoe.

Adidas, a Germany-headquartered company, provides Iran’s uniforms, but told CNBC it was not sponsoring the team, merely selling the kit at a steep discount.

Iranian players are free to purchase and wear Nike cleats during the tournament.

Still the sanctions have provoked the anger of international development groups critical of both the Trump Administration’s stance toward the Islamic Republic and Nike’s choice to abide by the sanctions, a violation of which could result in civil and criminal penalties.

The move by Nike highlights the ripe hypocrisy of the American politics and the double standards when applying policies. A boycott of an Israeli athlete is akin to anti-Semitism and flagrant interference of politics in sport, but Nike refusing to provide boots is seems to have NOTHING to do with politics !!!!

“We are disappointed that Nike has boycotted Iran’s World Cup players by refusing to provide shoes to the Iranian national team,” Jamal Abdi, the vice president for policy of the National Iranian American Council, a nonprofit focused on Iranian-American relations, said in a statement. “We call on the U.S. Government to take immediate steps to address this shameful situation and that Nike actively seek a resolution. FIFA should also take necessary steps to address this issue and ensure that none of the teams in the World Cup are subject to double standards.

“Governments that drag politics into international sporting events, including Iran itself when it boycotts matches with Israel, face well-deserved admonishment. This situation is unfortunately no different. Events like the World Cup and the Olympics are meant to rise above disputes between nations and serve as an example of what unites us.”

The Iranian national team has not commented publicly on the sanctions. Iran is set to face Morocco in the first round of the World Cup on Saturday in St. Petersburg.

Team Melli FIFA 2018: State of readiness.

Team Melli continued training in Moscow with a session at the FC Strogino training ground on Saturday.

That session revealed that Carlos Queiroz’s team has enough energy and motivation to play in the FIFA World Cup 2018 and embark on an exciting event, but is it enough to confront three big obstacles in form of Morocco, Spain and Portugal and deliver? The answer to this question becomes more complicated when considering all prevailing circumstances. It is reported that Mehdi Taremi and Ashkan Dejagah did not take part in training but were involved in a special recovery program and probably will not be involved with the team due to injury at this time!

However, Queiroz speaks highly and confidently about his team and he is not prepared to undermine, convey any sign of frustration or disappointment to his squad. He is still the no 1 hope of the Iranian national team to face Morocco, Spain and Portugal. As in the past World Cup, his tactics against Nigeria and Argentina and the skilled manner that he analyzed both the opponents, resulted in respectable results in the 2 matches.

Now that four-year has passed and the coach has gained more experienced and his knowledge of the players has improved, he has a few shortcomings in posts in comparison to the Brazilian World Cup. Just where he had peace of mind, the team has a weakness. Where in Brazil players in the class of Javad Nekounam and Andranik Teymourian gave the team great confidence and experience,  now Queiroz does not have that luxury.

Team Melli players greeting Ali Daei

This is perhaps the only clear dark spot of Team Melli. Queiroz has a great deal of concern in filling the area because the role of defensive midfielder in his strategy is a very vital one. This time Team Melli faces a big vacuum. Saeed Ezzatollahi is suspended for the first game and Omid Ebrahimi has not yet reached the ideal form since recovering from his longish injury.

That is why Queiroz is thinking of options and using of other players in this post to fill this gap. Perhaps Karim Ansarifrd might be asked to change his post from center forward to defensive midfielder. Rozbeh’s Cheshmi is another candidate; however it seems that Omid Ebrahimi’s can be better choice than any other despite his less than optimum form.

Queiroz, of course, has a much greater concern in the goal, but no matter what the circumstances are, his option are quite limited and it does not seem that he will have a better option than calamity Alireza Beiranvand. That makes both the players and fans quite nervous. The memories of him concede goals like confetti only weeks ago, is still quite clear in everyone’s mind. Despite that, the Persepolis goalkeeper’s experience makes him a better choice in Russia.

Training in Istanbul

Biranvand may be considered as the man in the goal for Team Melli in Russia, Queiroz however has shown that he is unpredictable. His pick for the same post in Brazil was Alireza Haghighi , not the no 1 choice, but Queiroz was spot on in 2014.  If Brunvand is to be the custodian of Team Melli, he certainly needs a lot of guidance from a good sports psychologist – who can be Queiroz himself – to talk to him and mentally prepare the unpredictable Persepolis keeper,  for a big time and they don’t come bigger than the FIFA World Cup.

In other posts, there does not seem to be a particular or a major problem. Team Melli has players who play major roles for their clubs outside of Iran and understand the status of the World Cup and its significance. So Queiroz is confident that of them and would not worry about other posts.

However, it seems that Queiroz will still take a surprise course  of action in the Iranian national team. Perhaps the change of posts of one or two players, and perhaps his technical thoughts and great ability to read the game, will make all the three great opponents ponder and fight to get satisfactory results. We should wait and see.

TEAM MELLI PLAYERS: Market Value

As the World Cup approaches, players values in the market fluctuates and is highly dependent on their performance on the field.

The latest Market Values for Team Melli players are listed here

 

PLAYER AGE MARKET VALUE
Sardar Azmoun 23 9,000,000 €
Alireza Jahanbakhsh 24 8,000,000 €  
Karim Ansarifard 28 4,000,000 €
Milad Mohammadi 24 2,800,000 €  
Mehdi Taremi 25 1,700,000 €
Saman Ghoddos 24 1,600,000 €  
Ehsan Hajsafi 28 1,500,000 €
Reza Ghoochannejhad 30 1,500,000 €  
Alireza Beiranvand 25 1,200,000 €
Omid Ebrahimi 30 1,200,000 €  
Saeid Ezatolahi 21 1,200,000 €
Vahid Amiri 30 1,200,000 €  
Ramin Rezaeian 28 1,000,000 €
Morteza Pouraliganji 26 950,000 €  
Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri 29 900,000 €
Mehdi Torabi 23 800 ,000 €  
Majid Hosseini 21 800,000 €
Roozbeh Cheshmi 24 800,000 €  
Ashkan Dejagah 31 800,000 €
Masoud Shojaei 33 700,000 €  
Amir Abedzadeh 25 500,000 €
Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh 26 500,000 €  
Pejman Montazeri 34 400,000 €

Americans plot against Team Melli !

Nike refused to supply boots to the Iranian national team, the coach turned to FIFA.

After Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran Nuclear deal, he has all guns blazing against supplying anything to Iran. backed by the Israeli Benjamin Netanyahou, Trump has started forcing the Amrican firms to step dealing with Iran due to what he claims to be Nuclear threat and support for terrorism. The boycott has not even spared football boots  produced by American company Nike , just in case those boots are utilized in the production of heavy water or Nuclear fuel.

Team Melli Head coach , Portuguese Carlos Queiroz asked the International Football Federation (FIFA) to intervene after the refusal of the sportswear manufacturer Nike to provide soccer boots to the Iranian team.

According to the coach, the replacement of the usual boots on the eve of the World Cup can be bad for the game of the team, Radio Free Europe reports .

“Players get used to their sports equipment, and it’s wrong to change it one week before such important matches,” said Queiroz after training in the Moscow region.

“We urge FIFA to help us in this matter,” he added.

The first match of the Iran in FIFA World Cup starting next week in Russia will be held on June 15 against the team of Morocco in St. Petersburg.

60% of the 32 teams participating in the championship use Nike boots.

The company explained its decision made in May by a statement by US President Donald Trump about withdrawing from a nuclear deal with Iran and restoring sanctions against Tehran.

Sanctions should come into force in a few months, but several European companies have already begun to wind down their business operations in Iran.

Late strike by Ansarifard gives Iran a narrow win against Lithuania

Karim Ansarifard scored a late winner to give Iran a 1-0 victory over Lithuania in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Friday.

Carlos Queiroz’s side, who will face Morocco, Spain and Portugal in Group B at the World Cup, went into the game on the back of a 2-1 friendly defeat against Turkey in Istanbul and struggled to create chances against Edgaras Jankauskas’ lively Lithuania side.

After going in goalless at half-time, Iran spent much of the second half pinned back by waves of Lithuanian attacks, with Justas Lasickas firing over the crossbar before substitute Povilas Leimonas failed to hit the target after a neat passing move culminated in a chance on the hour mark.

Iran came to life in the last 10 minutes of the game, piling forwards and creating a number of chances before Olympiacos striker Ansarifard tried his luck from the edge of the penalty area and found the net in the 88th minute.

While the result – Iran’s fourth victory in their last six international friendlies – will have pleased Queiroz, the manner of his side’s performance will have given him food for thought ahead of their group opener against Morocco on June 15.

This was the last friendly of Team Melli. Due to a mixture of issues, games against Greece and Kosovo were cancelled. At the last minute it was been able to arrange this game against Lithuania. The Iran was the first team to arrive in Russia and has been in Moscow for 3 days, where it will play. its fifth participation in the World Cup.

Lithuania is a fourth tier team of Europe, which has not played in any World Cup, nor is it expected to do so in the short and medium term. The team consists of local players who play in their country’s, infima league, where their first division players, would have problems playing in the third division of Spain, for example.

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Team Melli lands in Russia

Team Melli squad including 23+1 players landing in Moscow on a chartered flight from Istanbul Turkey.

An official FIFA delegation and organizing committee members were in the airport to greet the team. Mohammed Reza Saket was heading the delegation while the head of FFIRI is recuperating after his stroke in Istanbul.

Team Melli squad was also greeted by a good number of Iranian fans waving the tr-color flag.

The team then proceeded towards the special camp preparing for the last friendly match against Lithuania.

Team Melli spent over 7 days in camp at Besiktas club in Istanbul including a friendly game versus Turkey which Iran lot 2-1.

Team Melli top stars

When Team Melli kicks off the opening match in St. Petersburg against Morocco on June 15th, all eyes will be focused on Sardar Azmoun. Majority of websites and sport media profiling and analyzing Group B of this FIFA World Cup 2018 competition, single out the Rubin Kazan’s forward Azmoun as Iran’s best hope and the star player.

Of course, this is a compliment to the 22 years old who has an outstanding scoring record at international level and at such a young age. Azmoun could very well end up as the single most influential player in Team Melli and deservedly so. However, based on statistics and form, the Rubin Kazan forward is a distant third or even fourth in Team Melli top performers of the season.



The top performer accolade goes for Alireza Jahanbakhsh , the brilliant  AZ Alkamaar winger who has topped the Dutch league scorers chart, thus becoming the first ever Asian Player to do so in a major European league. An exceptional prospect and an all-round player, Jahanbakhsh can supplement Sardar Azmoun in the front but he is also well capable of outdoing Team Melli’s main striker and grabbing all the glory. The 24 years old Jahanbakhsh has what it takes to beat the Spanish and Portuguese defenses. He scored 21 goals for Alkamaar this season which is 10 more goals than his tally for last season.

On the other hand, Azmoun has scored only 5 goals for Rubin Kazan this season. He never hit double figure in scoring at club level in his professional career, a far cry from his record at Team Melli level which has a stunning 23 goals in 32 matches.

Two more plyers have better records than Sardar too. Karim Ansarifard, Olympiakos Piraeus striker who has scored an impressive tally of 17 goals in the Greek league, and Heerenveen forward, Reza Ghoochannejad who has scored 9 goals in the Dutch league, both have better return in the leagues than Iran’s golden boy Azmoun.

Although it is difficult to compare the league form to those at the highest level of football, as the World Cup definitely is, Alireza Jahanbakhsh’s impressive season and ability cannot be overlooked and the chances of him outshining his teammate is absolutely a possibility.

What all that means for Carlos Queiroz at the end of the day, is that he is spoiled for choices up front. Now if he can only sort out his fragile back line.

FIFA World Cup 2018 : Team Melli Final List

Team Melli final list for the FIFA World Cup 2018 Russia has been announced on the deadline date today.

There were various rumors that Jalal Hosseini and/or Veria Ghafouri will be included in the final list and two other defenders were heading out of the squad, but based on track record of Carlos Querioz , it was clear that he would not reverse his decision.

Carlos Queiroz announced his final list at the last hours of FIFA deadline, and only Ali Ghalizadeh was left out of the squad. Queiroz organized his team with 24 players so that if one of the players gets injured he can repalce him easily.

Following the release of the list, the coach sent a brief message to the soccer community saying “I would like to appreciate the efforts of all the players who helped the national team in the World Cup qualifying and preparation games, especially players such as Andranik Teymourian, Jalal Hosseini, Vouria Ghafouri , Kaveh Rezaie, Mohammad Ansari, Ali Karimi, Ezatollah Pourghaz, Saeed Aghaei and Sousha Makani , who have played a major role in qualifying Team Melli to the World Cup. ”

 

The 23 final players in the 2018 World Cup are as follows:

 

Persepolis

 

Jersey : 11

D.O.B: 02.Apr.88
Born: Darreh-ye Badam
Height: 191 cm
International Debut: Iraq 04.Jan.2015
Position:  Forward- Midfield

 

 

 

 

 

Olympiacos CFP (GRC)

 

Jersey: 10

D.O.B: 03-Apr-90
Born: Ardabil
Height: 175 cm
International Debut: Iceland 10.Nov.09
Position:  Forward
Age: 27

More ->

 

 

Rubin Kazan(RUS)

 

Jersey: 20

D.O.B: 01-Jan-95
Born: Gonbad-e Kavus
Height: 185 cm
International Debut: Montenegro 26.May.14
Position:  Forward
Age: 22

More ->

 

 

Persepolis

 

Jersey: 1

D.O.B: 22.Sep.92
Born: Khorramabad
Height: 195 cm
International Debut: Iraq 04.Jan.15
Position:  Goalkeeper
Age: 24

 

 

 

Esteghlal

 

Jersey: 4

D.O.B: 24.Jul.93
Born: Tehran
Height: 192 cm
International Debut: Korea Rep. 31.Aug.2017
Position:  Defender
Age: 24

 

 

 

Nottingham Forest

 

Jersey: 21

D.O.B: 05.Jul.1986
Born: Tehran
Height: 181 cm
International Debut: Qatar 29.02.2012
Position:  Midfield
Age: 31

 

 

 

 

Esteghlal

 

Jersey: 9

D.O.B: 16.Sep.1987
Born: Neka
Height: 177 cm
International Debut: Bahrain 12.Dec.12
Position:  Midfield
Age: 29

 

 

 

 

Amkar Perm (RUS)

 

Jersey: 6

D.O.B: 01.Oct.1996
Born: Bandar Anzali
Height: 190 cm
International Debut: Uzbekistan 11.Jun.15
Position:  Midfield

 

 

 

 

Saipa Alborz

 

 

Jersey: 24

D.O.B: 10.Mar.1996
Born: Namin
Height: 176 cm
International Debut: Sierra Leone 23.Mar.18
Position:   Midfield
Age: 22

 

 

 

 

SC Heerenveen (NED)

 

Jersey: 16

D.O.B: 20-Sep-87
Born: Mashad
Height: 180 cm
International Debut: Korea Rep 16.Oct.12
Position:  Forward
Age: 29

 

 

 

Olympiacos (GRC)

 

Jersey: 3

D.O.B: 25-Feb-90
Born: Kashan
Height: 168 cm
International Debut: Zambia 25.May.08
Position:  Midfield /Defender

 

 

 

 

AZ Alkmaar (NED)

 

Jersey: 18

D.O.B: 08.Oct.93
Born: Jirandeh
Height: 180 cm
International Debut: Lebanon 19.Nov.13
Position:  Midfield
Age: 23

 

 

 

 

 

Padidah

 

 

Jersey: 13

D.O.B: 11.May.91
Born: Tehran
Height: 184 cm
International Debut: Saudi Arabia 09.Dec.12
Position:  Defender
Age: 26

 

 

 

 

Terek Grozny(RUS)

 

Jersey: 5

D.O.B: 29.Sep.93
Born: Tehran
Height: 178 cm
International Debut: Uzbekistan 11.Jun.2015
Position:  Defender
Age: 23

 

 

 

 

Esteghlal

 

Jersey: 15

D.O.B: 09.Sep.83
Born: Abadan
Height: 186 cm
International Debut: China 19.Dec.08
Position:  Defender
33

 

 

 

Al Sadd (QAT)

 

Jersey: 8

D.O.B: 19.Apr.92 
Born: Babol
Height: 185 cm
International Debut: Iraq 04.Jan.15
Position:  Defender / Midfield
03.Sep.2015
Position:  Forward
Age: 25

 

 

K.V. Oostende (BEL)

 

Jersey: 23

D.O.B: 21.Mar.90   
Born: Sari
Height: 183 cm
International Debut: Guam 03.Sep.2015
Position:  Defender / Midfield
Age: 27

 

 

 

AEK Athens (GRC)

 

Jersey: 7

D.O.B: 09.Jun.84 
Born: Shiraz
Height: 184 cm
International Debut: Laos 17.Nov.2004
Position:  Midfield
Age: 33

 

 

Al Gharafa (QAT)

 

Jersey: 17

D.O.B: 18.Jul.92 
Born: Bushehr
Height: 186 cm
International Debut: Uzbekistan 11.Jun.2015
Position:  Forward
Age: 25

 

 

 

Saipa Alborz

 

Jersey: 16

D.O.B: 10.Sep.93
Born: Karaj
Height: 185 cm
International Debut: Uzbekistan 11.Jun.2015
Position:  Midfield
Age: 23

 

 

HEAD COACH

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Team Melli’s World Cup moments of glory.

1978: Danaeifard snatches a point against favoured Scotland

Iran qualified for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina after going unbeaten in their AFC qualifying campaign. They had failed to reach the tournament Finals in their first attempt four years earlier, but Ghafour Jahani’s solitary strike in a 1-0 win over Australia secured Team Melli’s World Cup berth with one match to spare.

Drawn into a difficult group containing Peru, the Netherlands, and Scotland, many believed that the Central Asians were simply there to make up the numbers. A 3-0 loss to eventual finalists Netherlands did not help matters, with Rob Rensenbrink storming to a hat-trick in the teams’ opening match. In their second game against Scotland, things went from bad to worse when Andranik Eskandarian bundled the ball past his own goalkeeper to give Scotland a first half lead.

Instead of letting their heads drop, IR Iran fought back and were eventually rewarded when Iraj Danaeifard skipped past Archie Gemmill and fired home from a narrow angle; the Iranians had finally scored in the World Cup. When the final whistle blew, there were jubilant celebrations, as Team Melli secured their first-ever point in a World Cup.

1998: First World Cup win

After a 1-0 defeat to Yugoslavia on Matchday One, IR Iran came into their tie against the United States knowing they needed a win to keep their qualification hopes alive.

An already-charged atmosphere ignited when Hamid Estili’s looping header over Kasey Keller gave his side the lead. Both teams then battled it out until the 83rd minute, when would-be Asian Footballer of the Year Mehdi Mahdavikia raced clear through on goal before firing past Keller to all but secure a win. Brian McBride then proceeded to pull one back for the US via a scrappy goal to set up a tense final few minutes.

In the end, IR Iran held out for their first World Cup win in five attempts. A 2-0 loss to Germany in their final Group F match saw Team Melli eliminated at the group stage yet again, but the night in Lyon will always be a fond memory for all Iranians.

2014: Heroic performance against Argentina

Team Melli’s return to the FIFA World Cup after missing out on the 2010 edition saw them pitted against eventual runners-up Argentina as well as Nigeria and debutants Bosnia and Herzegovina. After a stalemate in Curutiba against the then reigning African champions, it was time to face Lionel Messi and co on Matchday Two.

Going into the match as the clear underdogs, Carlos Queiroz’s men were not fazed by the opposition, matching the Argentinians in every area of the pitch in the opening period. Jalal Hosseini’s header just above the crossbar was as close as either team got to breaking the deadlock before the break.