Tag: 2018 FIFA World Cup

Iran chances at FIFA world Cup 2018 draw

On 1 December, the Final Draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup will take place at the State Kremlin Palace in the heart of the country’s capital. The tagline of the event is “Where the stars align”, which refers not only to the glow of the best footballing nations in the world but also perfectly alludes to the idea of destiny as the road to the coveted FIFA World Cup Trophy is unveiled.

Iran will be represented in the ceremony by Mohammad Reza Saket and the head coach Carlos Queiroz.

 

By tomorrow, all of the 32 teams would have been identified and the pots will be filled as seen in the table below.

Team Melli will be in POT 3 and as customary , the draw attracts wide attention across the globe. Looking at the possibilities  for Team Melli, the best draw would be a group formed as follows. Most probably it will be Group A

 

   Russia  Croatia    Iran    Panama

The worst possible draw for team Melli will be :

   Germany    Spain    Iran    Serbia

 

The List of Qualified Teams

Ranks Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
1 Russia (Hosts) Spain (8) Denmark (19) Serbia (38)
2 Germany (1) Peru (10) Iceland (21)* Nigeria (41)
3 Brazil (2) Switzerland (11) Costa Rica (22) Australia (43)
4 Portugal (3) England (12) Sweden (25) Japan (44)
5 Argentina (4) Colombia (13) Tunisia (28) Morocco (48)
6 Belgium (5) Mexico (16) Egypt (30) Panama (49)
7 Poland (6) Uruguay (17) Senegal (32) South Korea (62)
8 France (7) Croatia (18)* Iran (34) Saudi Arabia (63)

 

 

 

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.

Shojaei left out of Team Melli squad.

Team Melli arrived in Korea well ahead of the clash against South Korea at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Thursday 31st August.

The Taeguk Warriors have a poor record against Iran of late, losing their last four meetings 1-0. For the Koreans this match is more than beating Iran as their qualification to the finals is in doubt if they lose.

Iran, who have already booked their berth in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, will also play Syria five days later in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium.

“South Korea are one of Asia’s most powerful teams. It will be a good opportunity for us to learn and to continue our progress,” Carlos Queiroz, the former Real Madrid coach told the reporters at Incheon International Airport.

“I’ve never lost a game to South Korea yet and we are going to keep our unbeaten record against them. We will do our best in this match,” Queiroz added.

“Iran will not defend against South Korea and we will display our best performance. Team Melli have already qualified for the 2018 World Cup but we are going to defeat South Korea because I believe that the best way for learning is victory,” he stated.

When asked about the ban on Team Melli Captain Masoud Shojaei and his club and country teammate Ehsan Hajsafy, the Portuguese head coach refrained from answering.

Team Melli to play Russia

 Team-Melli , the second team to qualify for the World Cup is schedule to play in a friendly match against 2018 FIFA World Cup host, Russia on October 10th, 2017.

Carlos Queiroz announced the news during Iran-Uzbekistan post-match conference. The two teams last met in Abu Dhabi in 2011 just before Queiroz took the job as Head coach.

Team-Melli secured their qualifications to Russia 2018 with a 2-0 victory over Uzbekistan. Iran remains on top of Group A in Asian qualifiers with 20 points, following by South Korea and Uzbekistan. Team Melli has also been dominating FIFA Ranking for Asia for the last 4 years.