The list of 25-man squad was announced by Iran’s Futsal technical staff. This list is required by FIFA ahead of the commencement of the FIFA Futsal World Cup that is scheduled to be held in Thailand.

 The two main surprises in the list was the elimination of the Vahid Shamsaei and the recall of Mostafa Nazari after he was excluded from the AFC Asian Futsal Championship earlier this year.

 Vahid Shamsaei , (born 21st September 1975) currently a member of Dabiri Tabriz after transferring from Foolad Mahan where he played since 2008 , is the world top futsal scorer in addition to being the most celebrated futsal player in Iran. Shamsaei had differences with the federation and the coaching staff recently, however , there is no indication that this exclusion is a disciplinary measure.

According to AmirHossein  Poormohammad, national futsal team Media & Communication manager, the names of the players are as follows:

Mojtaba Nasiriniya, Mahmoud Lotfi, Sajjad Bandi Saadi, Mohammad Keshavarz, Hamid Ahmadi, Javad Asghari Moghaddam, Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh, Mostafa Tayebi, Masoud Daneshvar, Mohammad Taheri, Mehdi Javid, Mostafa Nazari, Ahmad Ismailpour, Ali Rahnema, Hossein Tayebi, Qodrat Bahadori, Afshin Kazemi, Farhad Fakhim, Saeed Kiaei, Alireza Samimi, Farid Namazi, Sepehr Mohammadi, Hamid Yousefi, Majid Tikdarynezhad and Mohammad Koohestani.

The final squad for FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012 matches, to be held between 1st to 18th November 2012 will only comprise of 14 players.

Tehran.

Football Federation’s Futsal committee chairman, said:  We have multiple plans for Jesus Candelas Rodrigo , the new Technical Director of Iran’s Futsal team and have considered several different plans for him.

Abbas Torabian in a press conference stated that the record of the 55 years old Spaniard is immaculate in Spanish Futsal. He said: Jesus Candelas Rodrigo has been in the sport for 23 years.

He won five Premier League futsal titles in Spain, six FA Cup, two European titles and two Intercontinental titles. He also received Medal of Merit from the King of Spain in 2009, also on 4 occasions , he was awarded the title of Best Spanish futsal.

Futsal Committee chairman commented on the objectives of hiring the Spaniard and said “our goal is not only for Candelas to work with the senior team. He will also be working with the U23 team which will be dispatched to Korea next year and also the U-19 teams. Candelas will monitor the league matches and will set up coaching classes for the Club’s coaches. He will be one busty person”
Torabian continued “The contract with Candelas is for one year and is renewable. We hope that he makes a difference in Iran’s futsal”

In response to a question on his duties with Team Melli Futsal current team coach Ali Sanei, he said “the main goal is for Candelas to be present with the team and with Sanei be to guide him. Before he traveled to Iran Candelas has spoken with Sanei in detail. When I was sure of Sanei satisfaction of this arrangement and Candelas role beside him, I followed up signing the Spanish coach.”

About the cancellation of the friendly match with Ukraine , Torabian said that everything was arranged and we were ready to host them , but suddenly they canceled and did not honor the contract. This is the second time the Ukrainians have done such unprofessional act and it is becoming a nasty habit with them canceling matches in short time. At this stage , it is a bit difficult for us to find a quality team to play against to  prepare for the World Cup in Thailand.

“During the Asian Futsal championship, the Egyptians have suggested a series of friendly matches with us before the two teams proceed to Thailand. We provisionally agreed on two dates 27th and 28^th Oct. for those matches for the friendlies with Egypt, but the Egyptian FA have not yet responded or confirmed this commitment yet” Torabian added.

Torabian admitted that the federation was in the process of attracting the Uzbek national team coach Josè Maria Pazos Mendez, ” but the negotiations fell through and we could not agree terms. This why we had to go elsewhere and our research in this matter lead us towards Spain. “

“I went to Spain and even talked to Mr. “Javier Lozano” the former coach of Spain’s national futsal team, who was one of the Candelas students who recommended Candelas.”

Asked why the TV did not broadcast the Russia friendly match played in Esfahan , especially as many fans are eagerly following Team Melli Futsal team as they get closer to participation in FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012, Torabian said. “There was an agreement to do so. IRIB was prepared to broadcast the match live on Shabakeh 3. I even confirmed with them twice and was assured of a live telecast.  After this confirmation, we arranged with the advertising companies to have their boards round the arena in Esfahan , but we were shocked that on the day of the game they told us that the game will not be broadcast live!!!  We always have problems with IRIB when it comes to Futsal broadcasting. Nobody seems to listen to us or take us seriously when we complain about such acts! The Football Association has to pay penalties and incur losses on these issues.”

TEHRAN – Jesus Candelas Rodrigo has been appointed as technical director of Iran futsal team on Sunday.

Jesús Candelas Rodrigo Futsal Coach
	Date of Birth: 07/10/1957 Place of Birth: Madrid (Spain) Citizenship: Spain
Details: Name: Jesús Surname: Candelas Rodrigo Date of birth: 7/10/1957 Place of birth: Madrid (ESP) Height (cm): 170 Weight (kg): 68 Hair colour: Black Eyes colour: Brown Particular signs: black moustache Profession: IVECO Spain Manager and Professional Futsal CoachCareer: Futsal (as a coach) 2004/2005 Interviu Boomerang – LNFS Division de Honor – Champion, Intercontinental Cup Champion, LNFS Best Coach 2003/2004 Interviu Boomerang – Super Cup Winner 2002/2003 Interviu Boomerang – LNFS Division de Honor – Champion and Super Cup Winner 2001/2002 Antena 3 Boomerang – LNFS Division de Honor – Champion and Super Cup Winner 2000/2001 Antena 3 Boomerang – LNFS Division de Honor – Cup Winner 1999/2000 Boomerang – LNFS Division de Honor 1998/1999 Boomerang – LNFS Division de Honor – Cup Runner-up 1997/1998 Caja Segovia – LNFS Division de Honor – Regular Season Winner and Cup Winner 1996/1997 Caja Segovia – LNFS Division de Honor – Genk Tournament Runner-up 1995/1996 Mejorada – LNFS Division de Honor 1994/1995 Mejorada – LNFS Division de Honor – Play-off 1/2 Finals 1993/1994 Mejorada – LNFS Division de Honor – Cup 1/2 Finals 1992/1993 Mejorada – LNFS Division de Honor 1991/1992 Algon – LNFS Division de Honor 1990/1991 Algon – LNFS Division de Honor – Play-off 1/2 Finals 1989/1990 Algon – LNFS Division de Plata – Promotion in Division de Honor 1988/1989 Marsanz – Cup Winner (Coach Assistant and Physical Trainer) 1987/1988 Marsanz – 1/2 Play-Off (Coach Assistant and Physical Trainer)

Yemen 1-4 Iran

Source: the-afc.com

Tehran: Hosts Iran fough back from conceding an early goal for the second time in the 2012 AFC U-16 Championship on Monday, recording a 4-1 victory over a Yemen side left counting the cost of having a player sent off in first-half stoppage-time.

Mohammed Al Dahi put Yemen 1-0 up with just three minutes at the PAS Stadium played but after defender Alawi Fadaaq was red-carded for a violent tackle in first-half stoppage-time Iran made the most of their extra-man early in the second-half through Ali Rigi’s equaliser.

Free-kicks from Saeid Ezatolahi (60th) and Sasan Jafari (65th) put Iran firmly in the driving seat and after Iran twice hit the woodwork substitute Reza Karmollachaab scored number four with eight minute remaining to seal the win that guarantees Iran’s place in the quarter-finals.

Iran showed two changes from the side that defeated Laos 3-1 in their tournament curtain raiser with Danial Kazemni replacing Seyedsajjad Seyed in goal and Rigi spearheading the attack in place of Reza Karmollachaab while Yemen coach Amin Al Suanini brought in Mahdi Majfan at the expense of striker Abdulrahman Al Kumaim alluding to what might be a more defensive strategy against the tournament hosts.

But it was Yemen’s attack that had the early impact with Mohammed Al Dahi, scorer of the 79th minute penalty that earned Yemen a share of the spoils against Kuwait, shrugging of the attention of two Iran defenders to fire a low angled drive past Kazemni in the third minute as the hosts conceded an early goal for the second time in the tournament following their second-minute setback in the opener against Laos.

Iran were asking questions of the Yemen as they sought to get back in to the game but the Yemeni defence was holding strong with half-time approaching.

But Iran were handed the numerical advantage for the second-half when Alawi Fadaaq was red carded for a studs up challenge on Mohammadreza Bazaj in first-half stoppage time.

It was an over-exuberant and certainly unnecessary action from the Yemeni defender and Iran’s extra-man advantage told eight minutes after the restart when Rigi latched onto a defence splitting pass and lifted the ball coolly over Yemen keeper Abdulwahib Ebrahim for a deserved equaliser.

Five minutes later Rigi’s neat pass fashioned an opportunity for Amirmohammad Mazloum, who displayed some nimble footwork to before unleashing a powerful shot that was well saved by Ebrahim.

Iran got the lead their pressure deserved on the hour-mark when Saeid Ezatolahi’s free-kick deflected past a helpless Ebrahim before the hosts extended their advantage five minutes later when another free-kick, this time from Sasan Jafari found its way through a forest of players in a crowded area and straight into the back of the net.

Substitute Karmollachaab, who replaced Rigi in the 70th minute, made it 4-1 for Iran in the 82nd minute to cap a deserved victory for the home side.

Despite the defeat Yemen are still in with a chance of joining Iran in the last eight but they will need to beat Laos and hope that the host nation does the same in their final match against Kuwait.

Group A reaches its climax on Wednesday when Iran take on Kuwait at PAS Stadium while Yemen face Laos over at the neighbouring Rah Ahan Stadium with both games kicking-off at 1700 Tehran time.

“Football is like chess and the smallest of mistakes can cost you the game.”

– Ali Doustimehr

Tehran: Iran may have booked their place in the last eight of the 2012 AFC U-16 Championship with a 4-1 win over Yemen but head coach Ali Doustimehr expressed his concerns over his side conceding a goal in the first few minutes of a match for the second game in a row.

After being breached by Laos with just two minutes of their Group A opener played, Iran were again playing comeback in their second fixture when Mohammed Al Dahi put Yemen 1-0 up with just three minutes played at the PAS Stadium .

Yemen were more than a match for the tournament hosts up until stoppage-time in the first-half when Yemen were reduced to ten men with the sending off of defender Alawi Fadaaq.

Iran made the most of their extra-man early in the second-half through Ali Rigi’s equaliser before free-kicks from Saeid Ezatolahi (60th) and Sasan Jafari (65th) and a fourth from Reza Karmollachaab eight minutes from time comfortably sealed the hosts’ place in the quarter-finals.

For the fans, a win is a win, and the four second-half goals will serve as a fillip for the young Iranian players but for Doustimehr alarm bells are already ringing.

“I must apologise to the Iranian fans and media because we didn’t play well in the first-half and just as we did against Laos we conceded an early goal,” reflected the Iran coach.

“Yemen are a very good team and I knew it would be a tough game and after we didn’t play well in the first half I spoke to the players and was able to motivate them for the second-half and we scored four times.

“I agree it might be the pressure of the occasion because they are young players and they don’t have much experience. But we need to talk about this issue of conceding early goals as this will cause greater problems for us during the later stages of the tournament when we are up against the much stronger teams.

“Football is like chess and the smallest of mistakes can cost the game. We are not thinking about Yemen, Kuwait or Laos and we will do what we have to do achieve our goal of qualifying for the World Cup.”

Yemen’s dreams of a place in the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in the UAE are now out of their hands with 2002 runners-up needing Iran to defeat Kuwait in addition to a victory for them over Laos when Group A reaches its climax on Wednesday.

But before Yemen coach Ali Al Sunaini turns his attention to the must win clash against the ASEAN side that surrendered the lead three times and conceded two stoppage-time goals to lose 4-3 to Kuwait in Monday’s earlier match at the PAS Stadium, he reflected on what might have been against Iran.

“As you saw we were leading the match and there is no doubt that the red card completely changed the game,” he said, referring to Fadaaq’s over-exuberant studs up challenge on Mohammadreza Bazaj that left his team-mates playing a man-short for the entire second-half.

“Our players didn’t adapt to this situation as they don’t have the experience.

“I don’t think we deserved the 4-1 result and it wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t receive the red card but this is football and we have to accept everything that happens.

“We still have a chance to qualify and Inshallah we will but we don’t know what will happen. Nobody expected Iran would score four times in 45 minutes in this match.

“We will look to recover from this game and do our best to qualify but nobody knows what will happen.”

Group A concludes on Wednesday when Iran take on Kuwait at PAS Stadium while Yemen face Laos over at the neighbouring Rah Ahan Stadium with both games kicking-off at 1700 Tehran time.

With just about 22 days to go to the defining match for Team Melli against South Korea , Carlos Queiroz, Team Melli’s coach is in dilemma after seeing many of his main players or those he has named in the squad, tumble in one way or another.

Perspolis Club of which the Portuguese coach has selected no less than 7 players in his squad (Karimi , Ghazi , Ansarifard , Nouri , Hosseini , Pooladi and Mahini) on regular basis and also has named Gholamreza Rezaei in this list whenever he was fit , is struggling near the end of the league table.

The most popular club in Iran , has been going through turmoil on and off the field with lackluster performances. On Sunday , they lost to the current champions Sepahan Esfahn by 2-0 to register their fourth losses in 9 matches while lingering at the bottom of the table one point away from the lowest ranked club, Zob Ahan. To add insult to injury, the star studded team has played the match against Sepahan without Ali Karimi , a player Queiroz has depended on so heavily in his line up in Team Melli. Karimi was dropped from the Perspolis squad by Coach Manuel Jose due to his poor form and disciplinary issues. Furthermore, the Portuguese coach of Perspolis also dropped Karim Ansarifard , another of Queiroz men , due to poor form. Ansarifard was the league top scorer last season with Saipa last season, but has scored one goal this season with Perspolis.

Outside of Iran, the Team Melli legionnaires did not fare much better either. Masoud Shojaei who has only recently recovered from a long term injury, yet used by Carlos Queiroz in the last two matches for Team Melli, did not even feature in the 18 man squad for Osasuna this weekend. The bottom team of the La Liga registered its fourth loss in 5 matches with 1 point only. Neither of the two performances of Masoud Shojaei was encouraging as the Osasuna man looked heavily lacking match practice and out of sync with his teammates.

The recently transferred Ashkan Dejagah , did not have much better luck with his team Fulham. The Ex-Wolfsburg player and undoubtedly one of the better current Team Melli players, was not included in Fulham’s 18 player squad for the visit to Wigan where the Londoners won the match 2-1.  With 9 points and a solid looking team, Dejagah will have a difficult time gaining a regular starting position in Martin Jol’s team thus being deprived of competitive match practice which is so crucial at international level.

Further closer to home, Teymourian and Aghli play in the QSL (Qatar Star League). Aghili was quite unfortunate when he was injured chasing a long ball which eventually resulted in a double whammy for him. Not only his slip cost his team a goal, he also injured his thigh in the process and will be off football for an estimated 1 month ruling him out of the Korea match.

Ando Teymourian who has also played his first official match for Al Kharitiyat , was not much luckier than his compatriot as his slip and misguided wayward header reached the opposition forward player who utilize the mistake by Team Melli midfielder and scored the only goal of the match.

 Such events does not augur well for the Portuguese Carlos Queiroz who has been heavily criticized for selecting players from weak performing teams or sticking to players regardless to their current form.  His selection of several players for Team Melli while they are not even in their club’s regulars or not even in the squad, has been a source of concern. With such sort of selection , it is no wonder that Team Melli has performed so poorly under Queiroz, as various experts have been quoted. Recently , even Ali Daei , a staunch supporter of Team Melli who has been rarely critical of the team spoke out at Queroz selections , yet the ex-Team Melli coach has demanded that the public support the team and the coach.

While the Football Federation has publically announced their support for Queiroz , it remains to be seen how long this support will last in the current football atmosphere and the tension around Team Melli. Ali Kaffashian , the beleaguered head of Iran’s football federation who himself is in the center of controversy and demands for his removal circulating in the league , has a track record of announcing strong support for a Team Melli coach, yet such verbal support did not prevent him firing the coach. This happened during the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 2010 when under fire Ali Daei was sacked after the home loss to Saudi Arabia despite the earlier declaration of total support by Kaffashian for Team Melli coach!!

After the series of poor results by Team Melli , the players have boycotted the media and none of them is willing to be interviewed or talk to the press citing unfair criticism of the players. Queiroz ,. Himself has also refrained from answering questions by the press and keeping a low profile. However, he has always maintained his stand that he and Team Melli needs full and unconditional support by everyone.

It remains to be seen what , if any , changes Queroz would do in the players’ selection after these hard times for the current squad and whether Karimi and Ansarifard would be selected again.

Last week , Iran’s national TV Legal Adviser accused the Singapore based World Sport Group of extortionate policy over the broadcast right of FIFA World Cup qualification matches. WSG is an Asian Football Federation partner and has the right to sell the matches under a long term agreement which includes Asian clubs competitions in addition to the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Gholamreza Rafiee, the jurisconsult of IRIB, discussed the recent problems between Iranian television and World Sport Group over buying broadcasting rights of Iran’s national football team in World Cup qualification matches. In the weekly popular program hosted by Adel Ferdowsipour , Rafiee accused the other side of ask far too much for broadcasting rights which is breaching international rules.

“Four years ago at the same time we paid $4 million to broadcast Team Melli matches in World Cup qualification. But now World Sport Group wants to charge us over $40 for the same service. We paid $7.5 to broadcast World Cup 2010 and we bought the London 2012 broadcasting right for only $1 million. World Sport Group is trying to swindle Asian countries for broadcasting World Cup qualification matches.” Said Gholamreza Rafiee during the live TV show watched by million of Iranian TV viewers.

“Lebanese television also didn’t buy the broadcasting right of the match between Iran and Lebanon. The same problem has occurred for South Korea.” Gholamreza Rafiee added.

World Sport Group angered many Asian football fans by increasing the price of the broadcasting rights for the AFC World Cup Qualifiers 2014.

Veteran journalist and soccer scholar James M. Dorsey has recently published a report about the controversial $1 billion contract between AFC and World Sport Group. Dorsey has revealed an unexplained payment of $14 million to Mr. Bin Hammam by one of the company’s shareholders. His statements are backed by formal and reliable documents. WSG has filed a complaint against the reporter in Singapore High Court.

WSG reacted to those accusations by sending a formal statement on this subject to Kabir News, in which  Shyamala Velappan, Communications Manager of WSG, said:

“World Sport Group strongly refutes the claims made by Mr. Gholamreza Rafiee in the media this week with regards to the cost of broadcast rights for the FIFA World Cup 2014 – AFC Qualifying Rounds.   The information Mr. Rafiee has presented is incorrect and misleading.   Firstly, the previous agreement to broadcast various AFC events for the period 2009 – 2012 was valued at US$4.5 million.  The broadcast rights fee which we are negotiating with IRIB for the new cycle is US$11 million for all AFC national team and club competitions, which consist of approximately 1,300 matches over a four year period, not just the FIFA World Cup 2014 AFC qualifying matches.  To put this figure into context, it represents only a tiny fraction of the rights fees being paid by other countries in the Middle-East for the same number of matches.”

Despite the refusal to pay for the broadcast rights, Iran’s national TV broadcast the 30 minutes delayed match by using Al Jazeera Sport TV signal.

WSG Nature of Business

Singapore-based World Sport Group is Asia’s leading sports marketing, media and event management company. WSG manages almost 600 days of sports events and produces more than 5000-hours of sports programming annually in 30+ countries across the region including the Barclays Singapore Open, AFC Asian Cup and AFF Suzuki Cup. It also owns the global media rights for the Indian Premier League and is a member of the Singapore Sports Hub Consortium.

Queiroz: I love this job

© AFP

Portuguese Carlos Queiroz is one of the most recognisable faces in world football thanks to his spells in charge of some of the most prestigious sides on the planet. Much praised for his work as right-hand man to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, he went on to coach Real Madrid and Portugal after leaving Old Trafford, and he is now focusing his talents on leading Iran to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.

FIFA.com met up with the respected tactician to discuss his brilliant career, which got off to a magnificent start when he led Portugal to consecutive triumphs at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 1989 and 1991.

FIFA.com: Let’s start by discussing your role as Iran coach. How do you rate your side’s chances of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup?
Carlos Queiroz: The signs are promising, but I’m well placed to know that it’ll be very difficult to qualify directly. For me, the top two spots will be contested between Iran, South Korea, Uzbekistan and Qatar. I have a lot of respect for Lebanon, who have what it takes to spring a few upsets and have a chance of finishing third.

What strategy have you adopted for the qualifying campaign? What will you ask of your players?
We know the qualifiers are difficult and that each match requires the best possible preparation. Since arriving in Iran, I’ve endeavoured to change the mentality of the players. I want them to understand that every game is important. All the teams are competitive and whoever you’re playing against, there are always three points at stake. They need to fight to win those three points, both at home and away. Beyond that, there’s always luck and other factors you can’t control. I would also point out that our schedule is tough. It’s a veritable obstacle course getting from one end of Asia to the other, and not every team has a private jet. I hope that changes because it’s a real hindrance for us.

Since arriving in Iran, I’ve endeavoured to change the mentality of the players. I want them to understand that every game is important.

Iran coach Carlos Queiroz

Turning back to your campaign with Portugal at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, how do you explain your side’s loss in the last 16?
Before that disappointment, we’d played a lot of games – a total of 21 in 2009 and 2010. We only lost the very last one, against Spain, who knocked us out of the competition before becoming world champions. Still, I’d also like to point out that we weren’t at our best. After a long season, we had to prepare in a hurry. Because of that, we lost players due to injury, such as Nani, on the eve of the competition. Others were just coming back and the rest of the team wasn’t at its highest level technically or physically. You only have to look at the performances of Cristiano Ronaldo, who usually shines at big events. That said, overall I’m satisfied with our campaign.

Portugal are always one of the favourites in major competitions but they have yet to win a world or European title. Why is that?
That’s the way football is. I think the major reasons have to do with resistance to change and a certain stagnation. We have a small country and our choices are limited. We need to strengthen our squad to find more solutions on the pitch. The final of EURO 2004, which we lost and will unfortunately never forget, was without doubt the high-water mark of a generation. Football is sometimes ungrateful towards the big teams. The Netherlands know all about that too as they’ve never won the World Cup.

What can you tell us about your experience at Real Madrid?
We suffered because of a bad policy on the part of the President, which consisted of selling players without addressing the technical needs of the team. He refused to listen to [former general manager Jorge] Valdano and me. The emphasis was placed on recruiting stars, which destabilised the squad, cost the club millions and led to the sacking of several coaches. I’m delighted with the policy of the President now, who listens to the coach and heeds advice. As a result, the club have won two important titles in the last two years.

My favourite moments are on the pitch, with the players.

Carlos Queiroz

What are your thoughts on the intense rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona and their stranglehold on Spanish football in the last few years?
They’re two radically different entities. Barcelona have great players like [Lionel] Messi, Xavi [Hernandez] and [Andres] Iniesta, who’ve allowed them to collect a lot of titles in the last few years – and in style too. Once Real rediscovered their identity, though, they were able to dominate Barcelona, thanks also to excellent players. I think they’re the best two teams around at the moment. Messi and Ronaldo are the kings of football. They’re exact opposites, but our sport needs them both. As a coach, you don’t want to come up against them, but that doesn’t stop you feeling treated every time you see them.

You served as assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson, who recently oversaw his 1,000th match for Manchester United in just over a quarter of a century. Do you have a message for him to mark that occasion?
It’s difficult to talk about him. I’d say that whereas the rest of us each make up a small part of football, he embodies football because of his exceptional personality. He’s made from the same stuff as Pele, [Diego] Maradona, [Alfredo] Di Stefano and [Ferenc] Puskas. In football, there are men who inspire respect. When they walk into a stadium, you can’t help but applaud them – and Ferguson is one of them.

Lastly, you have coached at club and international level. Which do you prefer?
They’re two different jobs. I love the role of national coach at the start of a preparation phase or the start of a match, but I miss being a club coach during the long periods without any competitive activity. I love the day-to-day work, going to the stadium and leading training sessions. My favourite moments are on the pitch, with the players. It’s different with national teams as that requires another type of commitment. You’re working for the supporters of all the clubs, which is very difficult. You can go from heaven to hell in the space of one match. When you lose, you’re as low as it gets because the whole country holds it against you. That said, I don’t know why but I love this job.

Tehran: Iran came from a goal down to defeat a Laos side that made the AFC U-16 Championship hosts work hard for the 3-1 victory in their Group A opener on Saturday.

Anousay Noyvong stunned the hosts when he put the South East Asians one-up with just two minutes on the PAS Stadium clock but Iran quickly gained the ascendancy with Amirmohammad Mazloum bagging a brace with goals either side of a Seyedmajid Hosseini effort after his initial spot-kick had been saved.

Iran, champions in 2008 and runners-up in 2000 in Vietnam, where the clear favourites going into Saturday’s second Group A fixture following Kuwait’s 1-1 draw with Yemen, but remarkably it was Laos that took the lead after just two minutes played through midfielder Anousay Noyvong.

However, parity was restored in the 17th minute when Amirmohammad Mazloum equalised at the second time of asking after Vathana Keodouangdeth had saved his initial effort.

The luckless Laotian was beaten again two minutes later when Seyedmajid Hosseini drilled home the rebound after Vathana had blocked the Iran skipper’s 19th minute penalty, awarded after midfielder Mohammadreza Bazaj was fouled in the box.

Iran were in the ascendancy but couldn’t add to their tally in the remainder of the first-half but just two minutes after the interval Mazloum got his second and the tournament hosts third as Ali Doustimehr’s side continued to assert their authority.

Iran dominated possession and with 15 minutes remaining Saeid Ezatolahi’s bullet header drew a fine reflex save from Vathana before Sasan Jafari headed wide from the resultant corner.

The pattern of the game continued but the earlier exertions of the players started taking their toll with numerous misplaced passes and mistimed tackles as Iran emerged with the three points that took them to the top of the Group A table after the first round of matches.

Iran coach Ali Doustimehr : ” think that we have the potential to be champions of this tournament.”

  Ali Doustimehr is confident that the 2012 AFC U-16 Championship hosts will get better as the tournament goes on following their sluggish start in their 3-1 win over Laos on Saturday.

Iran went into the match as favourites but the two-time U16 champions made heavy weather of their Group A opener, with Laos taking a shock second minute lead through Anousay Noyvong before the hosts quickly gained the ascendancy with Amirmohammad Mazloum bagging a brace with goals either side of a Seyedmajid Hosseini effort after his initial spot-kick had been saved.

The early goal stunned the home crowd at the PAS Stadium but Doustimehr brushed off the early setback as part-and-parcel of the game.

“This is the excitement of football. We lost the early goal but we didn’t lose our concentration,” the Iran coach said at the post-match press conference.

“I said before that the game against Laos would be very tough as it is the first game and the first game of every tournament is always difficult.

“I must say sorry to all the supports and the media who came to the stadium because we didn’t play at the level of champions.

“But hopefully we will get better game by game and I think that we have the potential to be champions of this tournament.”

Laos gave a brave account of themselves despite being under the Iranian cosh for the majority of the match and despite citing a number of logistical setbacks that effected the build-up to their Group A opener Laos’ North Korean coach Han Hyung-il was magnanimous in defeat.

“Our players’ technique is not as good as the Iranians,” he admitted.

“Nobody wants to lose and we will do our best in the remaining two matches.”

Source: the-Afc.com

Cairo

In a surprise announcement from Cairo , Amer Hussain the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) acting president said on Friday in a statement to the daily Al Ahram that Egypt will be playing Iran in a venue in the UAE on 12th October. Egypt was scheduled to play against Brazil on that day , however , financial dispute has resulted in cancellation of that match , although Hussain mentioned that the reason for the cancellation of the Brazil match was the busy schedule of the South American team !

Al Ahram statement mentioned that Egypt will play against Iran on 12 October after their scheduled friendly against Brazil was cancelled,  The national team will face Iran on 12 October and Tunisia four days later in the United Arab Emirates,” Amer Hussein told Al-Ahram’s Arabic language sports website.

“The contracts for both games will be signed within two days,” he added.

Egypt will hold a training camp in the UAE next month as they prepare for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

There was no word of confirmation from Tehran on that news. Team Melli are supposed to meet North Korea in preparation for the crucial match against the South Koreans , however , after the loss to Lebanon , it is reported that Carlos Queiroz had cold feet about that match and murmurs of cancellation has been reported in the media.

The Egyptians have unilaterally canceled a match against Team Melli in 2008 due to political reasons. The Iranian Football Federation  said that it will complain to football world governing body FIFA over Egypt’s decision to cancel that  friendly match because of a controversial film.

“This is a political issue and we will mention to FIFA that the Egyptians are mixing political issues with sports.” the head of Iran’s Football Federation, Ali Kafashian was quoted as saying by the state run television news website.

Iranian coach  at the time of the scheduled match , Ali Daei told the ISNA news agency: “Whether we like it or not sport has become intertwined with politics and sport is being used as an instrument in the hands of politicians.”

The Egyptian Football Association said that the match, scheduled for August 20 in the United Arab Emirates, had been cancelled due to tensions over an Iranian film on the assassination of former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat.

The film, entitled “Assassination of a Pharaoh”, says Sadat was killed for signing the 1978 Camp David Accords that led to a 1979 peace treaty with Israel, the first by an Arab country.

“We have decided to cancel the match because of tensions in relations” between Cairo and Tehran following the airing of the documentary on the 1981 assassination, federation president Samir Zaher said.

“We have been in contact with the (Egyptian) foreign ministry during the last 10 days regarding the situation and we finally decided to cancel the match so it did not provoke in one way or another, further tensions,” he said.

Relations between Iran and Egypt have warmed after the fall of Hosny Mubark, with both countries signalling a willingness to restore ties.

The venue mentioned by the Egyptian for the match against Team Mellli is in itself an intriguing one as the United Arab Emirates cancelled a friendly match against the Islamic republic earlier this year  in a protest  against  a visit by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Tomb Bozorg and Tomb Kochik islands in the Persian Gulf claimed by UAE to be their territory.

Tehran: Hosts Iran are kicking off their AFC U-16 Championship campaign against underdogs Laos at the PAS Stadium on Saturday but head coach Ali Doustimehr is wary about the unpredictable nature of the game when it comes down to the age category.

Meeting Laos, who are participating for the first time after the tournament was changed to U-16 from AFC U-17 Championship in 2008, would definitely give them more chances to collect all three points but Doustimehr is not seeing those three points in bag before kicking the ball.

“There are advantages and disadvantages of being hosts as the entire country is watching you closely and want you to lift the title. But it won’t be easy given the qualities of the opponents,” Doustimehr said during the pre-tournament press conference. “We are waiting for this time immediately after the qualifications and now it’s the time to show the people how much we have progressed,” he said.

Being the hosts, the Iran Football Federation has left no stone unturned by organizing and participating at various competitions over the months. According to Ali who led Iran to the title in 2008, Iran toured Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, Abu Dhabi (to participate in a tournament), Georgia and Kazakhstan as part of their preparation. In Kazakhstan where they were up against six teams including four European countries they emerged winners.

As defending champions, Iran failed to progress through the group stages in 2010.

In a relatively balanced Group A, Kuwait and Yemen are other contenders who will face each other on Sunday. Kuwait also failed in the group stages like Iran in 2010 but this time around they are determined to progress further.

“Our aim is no different than other 15 countries who are here in Tehran,” Kuwait’s Serbian coach Goran Matkovic said. “We played a total of 11 matches in Egypt, Hungary and in Kuwait so we are prepared for this championship. On the top of that, we are also happy to rub shoulders with the best of Asia in this championship.

“We expect to play good football and produce results and will see what unfolds,” he added.
Matkovic’s counterpart Amin Alsunami rues the lack of preparation his team had but he stressed the quality of Yemen team.

“Our only preparation was Arab U-17 Championship apart from that unfortunately we did not compete in any friendly international,” said Alsunami. “But we have some promising footballers and I hope they will try their best to win matches,” he added.

Yemen were impressive in the Arab U-17 Championship held in Tunisia where they managed to progress in the semi-finals after winning their group matches against Algeria and Morocco.

Source: afc.com