Year: 2015

Team Melli through to AFC Asian Cup quarter finals

Team Melli have clinched a berth in the AFC Asian Cup quarter finals after beating Qatar 1-0 in ANZ Stadium ,Sydney.

The only goal of the match was scored by Sardar Azmoun in the 52nd minute after brilliantly turning his marker and beating Burhan Qassim in Qatar goal.

With UAE beating Bahrain 2-1 earlier , Iran and UAE will be competing for the table lead in the final match on Monday. UAE have a 1 goal better goal difference and need only a draw to top the group.

# Team MP W D L F A D P Last 5 matches H2H
1 Previous rank: 4 UAE 2 2 0 0 6 2 +4 6 WW
2 Iran 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3 6 WW
3 Previous rank: 1 Bahrain 2 0 0 2 1 4 -3 0 LL
4 Previous rank: 3 Qatar 2 0 0 2 1 5 -4 0 LL

 

Sardar Azmoun starts against Qatar.

Carlos Queiroz has opted to start with the young Team Melli striker Sardar Azmoun instead of Reza Ghoochannejad up front against Qatar in otherwise unchanged team.

this will be the first official match for the 20 years old Rubin Kazan player. Azmoun has already opened his scoring account with Team Melli scoring lately against Iraq in the final friendly game before the Asian Cup.

Sardar Azmoun waiting for his chance.

 Barely 20 years old , but with a confidence of a veteran.

Sardar Azmoun, the young Team Melli players stunned the football circles all over Iran by being recruited by the Russian Club Rubin Kazan while he was 18 years old. The Russian were tipped by their scouts about this brilliant young Iranian playing for Iran’s national youth team and decided to take him aboard from such early age hoping to produce a quality striker and a big investment.

Azmoun soon found himself in the city of Kazan and way far from home. Unlike countless Iranian footballers who could not truly settle outside their domiciles, Azmoun soon became familiar with the surroundings and liked what he has seen.

sardar azmoun 2

Playing for the youth team for almost two seasons, Azmoun was slowly introduced to the full team. The young man did not disappoint either, scoring goals and assisting for his team.

Azmoun was picked by Queiroz in the preparations for the World Cup; however he did not make the final list of 23 players to Brazil. Quite disappointed by this, Azmoun however, did not show any disrespect or contempt for that decision. He said, with confidence that his turn will be coming one day.

No sooner than the next big tournament for Iran, the Asian Cup. Once again Queiroz picked Azmoun for the Asian Cup campaign. Celebrating his 20th birthday in the South African training camp, Azmoun was one of the most hard working player in the camp. Under the professional environment of the Russian league, Azmoun has picked up quite a few things that is giving him a world of good towards his future career and the most important of it is confidence, diligence, professionalism and dedication.

All those attributes are not much good without the talent and skills. Fortunately, Sardar Azmoun has plenty of both. A strong physique, skillful carrier of the ball who has a elusive skills in turning defender, quick thinker, good header of the ball and lethal finisher are some of the skill that Azmoun has and developing.  Although Azmoun has not had enough opportunities to display such skills at top level for Iran, it was evident during his earlier years while playing for Iran national youth teams, that he is an exceptional talent and a star in the making.

Azmoun had one opportunity to stake a claim with a big exposure, when he played for Team Melli in their last Friendly against Iraq in Australia. The solitary goal that he scored had the combination of many of his inherit skills and the finishing was simply marvelous for the 20 years old striker.

sardar-azmoun-4

Carlos Queiroz has already shown that is brave enough to introduce young players at top level, being himself an old hand in training young players and winning 2 world titles for his country’s youth team. Whether he will give Azmoun his real chance in Australia is dependent on several circumstances one of which is the match results. Azmoun accepts the realities “As a young player that with low experience, I and my younger teammates must really work hard to gain the trust of the coach for a place in the lineup.”  His expectations are low in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 in Australia but ambitions quite high. He is also known to be a enduring character.

List of Team Melli players in AFC Asian Cup 1968 to 2015

List of Team Melli appearances in AFC Asian Cup

* Limited to players with  5 or more games.

Yellow background indicates current players

 

Seq Name Start Subst. Goals Caps
1 MAHDAVIKIA, Mehdi 14 3 0 17
2 DAEI, Ali 16 0 14 16
3 KARIMI, Ali 11 3 5 14
4 NEKOUNAM, Javad 14 0 4 14
5 ABEDZADEH, Ahmadreza 10 2 0 12
6 GHLEECHKHANI, Parviz 12 0 2 12
7 BAGHERI, Karim 10 0 4 10
8 ABDOLLAHIE, Nassrollah 9 0 0 9
9 AZIZI, Khodadad 7 2 2 9
10 ESTILI, Hamidreza 8 1 2 9
         
11 GHAYEGHRAN, Sirous 9 0 1 9
12 HEJAZI, Nasser 9 0 0 9
13 MINAVAND, Mehrdad 9 0 1 9
14 MOHAMMADKHANI, Nader 9 0 1 9
15 MOHARRAMI, Mojtaba 8 1 0 9
16 ZARINCHEH, Javad 9 0 0 9
17 ALIDOUSTI, Hamid 7 1 3 8
18 ARAB, Mostafa 8 0 0 8
19 BEHZADI, Homayoun 6 2 4 8
20 DERAKHSHAN, Hamid 7 1 0 8
         
21 FONOONIZADEH, Mehdi 8 0 0 8
22 HOSSEINI, Jalal 8 0 1 8
23 JABBARI, Ali 7 1 5 8
24 KALANI, Hossein 8 0 7 8
25 KASHANI, Jaffar 8 0 0 8
26 KERMANI-MOGHADAM, Morteza 7 1 0 8
27 PEYOUS, Farshad 8 0 3 8
28 REZAEI, Rahman 8 0 0 8
29 TEYMOURIAN, Andranik 8 0 1 8
30 ARABSHAHI, Zia 7 0 1 7
         
31 KAEBI, Hossein 6 1 0 7
32 NOSRATI, Mohammad 6 1 1 7
33 PANJALI, Mohammad 7 0 0 7
34 ROWSHAN, Hassan 6 1 3 7
35 BARZAGARI, AbdulReza 5 1 2 6
36 BAVI, Karim 6 0 1 6
37 BAYANI, Shahroukh 6 0 3 6
38 CHANGIZ, Abdolali 6 0 0 6
39 DANAEIFARD, Iraj 5 1 1 6
         
40 DINVARZADEH, Mehdi 6 0 0 6
41 FARIBA, Behtash 6 0 7 6
42 FONOONIZADEH, Morteza 6 0 0 6
43 GOLMOHAMMADI, Yahya 6 0 0 6
44 HAJILOO, Asghar 6 0 0 6
45 HAQIQIAN, Mahmoud 6 0 0 6
46 KHABIRI, Habib 6 0 0 6
47 MANSOURIAN, Alireza 5 1 0 6
48 MIRZAPOUR, Ebrahim 6 0 0 6
49 PEYROVANI, Afshin 6 0 0 6
         
50 SOLTANI, Behrouz 6 0 0 6
51 ASHTIANI, Ebrahim 5 0 0 5
52 BAYANI, Shahin 5 0 0 5
53 HAJSAFY, Ehsan 5 0 1 5
54 MOHAMMADKHANI, Nasser 5 0 3 5
55 OSTADASADI, Ali Akbar 5 0 0 5

Iran vs. Qatar : “keep it tight at the back”

14th January 2015

In addition to being the match that could decide Team Melli qualification, the match against Qatar on Thursday, will also be another test of Carlos Queiroz’s defensive game plan. A win by Team Melli will take it to the sixth consecutive quarter finals appearance of the Asian Cup. Iran’s proud record started in 1996 edition , in which Team Melli played in 5 consecutive tournament and never losing a match in regulation time.

Iran will be facing a wounded Qatar, and that could be a two edged sword. The multi-National team of Qatar could have already conceded although publically they are putting up a brave face and a defiant attitude. On the other hand, they still believe that there is nothing to lose, they still stand a chance for qualifying and end up playing their best football, the one that we have seen they can excel in, in front of Team Melli.

Ismaeel Abdulatif batteling with Morteza Pouraliganji

Djamal Belmadhi has assembled a decent team including many new faces. He dispensed with the Latin American contingents as they were failing to deliver and instead he picked a few North Africans and players from his native Algeria to replace the likes of Fabio Cesar, Andrés Sebastián Soria. Neutralizing foreign players is a fundamental standard procedure in Qatar sport including the National Football team.

The result against UAE was hardly an indication of Qatar weakness neither was it in any way and sign of the might of the UAE team. The difference between these two Gulf nation teams are minimal hence a 4-1 result was a freak result that should not be read too much into.

The reality remains that Qatar is strong opponent for any team and still stands a chance in the tournament. The Qataris will be hoping that Thursday’s match will be the turnaround point in their fortunes.

On the other hand, Iran is placed comfortably in the table. A win will be a perfect result, but a draw is not going to be a disaster either. No Team Melli fan should hold his breath hoping that Team Melli will be going to the jugular either. Carlos Queiroz will stick, and religiously so , to his strong defensive ideology regardless to the opposition.

 Since the World Cup and the term parking the bus was associated with Team Melli , even the offensive minded Iranians are becoming convinced with the Queiroz ideology in a classic bandwagon effect. The reality is that Team Melli does not have the ingredients of an lethal offensive team , so why play some tactics that the coach does not have the right resources for it? It makes sense to everyone even with a stronger position and a few field advantages over Qatar, for Team Melli to play the same old game plan hoping for a low margin win.

If you do not have the players like Khalatbary to run havoc on defenders , or a schemer such as Mojtaba Jabbari or Ali Karimi to masterfully orchestrate the midfield and feed your forwards, then offensive plans have to be shelved and Queiroz stick to “keep it tight at the back” approach.

Carlos Queiroz has to be credited with introducing the new players in the defense line, hopefully he would give more playing time to Azmoun and Jahanbakhsh instead of the inert Shojae, whose selection remains an enigma with his pathetic and lethargic performances.

also It will be a tight match but surprises in football can be expected. We hope those would be in the shape of a handsome victory for Team Melli.

Reza Ghoochannejad chased by Hussain Ali Baba of Bahrain

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Head 2 Head

This will be only the second time that Iran and Qatar meet in the Asian Cup. The first was in Doha in 1988 edition when Team Melli beat the host nation Qatar 2-0 with goals from Karim Bavi and Farshad Peyous. That match was also the first official game between the two teams.

H / A / N Matches W D L Goals + / –
Home 6 4 2 0 16 – 4 +12
Away 13 7 3 3 15 – 11 +4
Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 +0
Total 19 11 5 3 31 – 15 +16
Date Comp. H / A / N Final score Stadium Attendance
04.06.2013 World Cup Qualifier A 1 – 0 AlSadd Stadium , Doha 11872
12.06.2012 World Cup Qualifier / Round 4 H 0 – 0 Azadi Stadium , Tehran 80000
29.02.2012 World Cup Qualifier / Round 3 – Group E H 2 – 2 Azadi Stadium , Tehran 55000
06.09.2011 World Cup Qualifier / Round 3 – Group E A 1 – 1 Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium , Doha 8125
28.12.2010 Friendly A 0 – 0 Khalifa Stadium , Doha 3000
28.12.2009 Friendly / Qatar Intl. Friendly Tournament A 2 – 3 Suhaim Bin Hamad-Doha Qatar Stadium 3000
09.11.2008 Friendly A 1 – 0 Al Saad Stadium , Doha 5000
11.08.2008 WAFF H 6 – 1 Takhti Stadium , Tehran 5000
10.01.2008 Friendly A 0 – 0 Al Saad Stadium , Doha 2000
24.03.2007 Friendly / Friendly A 1 – 0 AlGharafah Stadium , Doha 7000
13.10.2004 World Cup Qualifier / WCQ A 3 – 2 Doha 3000
18.02.2004 World Cup Qualifier / WCQ H 3 – 1 Azadi – Tehran 0
01.08.2001 Friendly / Friendly A 1 – 2 Doha 0
27.09.2000 Friendly A 2 – 1 Al Sadd Stadium , Doha 5000
07.11.1997 World Cup Qualifier / WCQ A 0 – 2 Doha 20000
03.10.1997 World Cup Qualifier / WCQ H 3 – 0 Azadi – Tehran 70000
01.06.1996 Friendly / Friendly A 1 – 0 Khalifa Stadium , Doha 10000
17.05.1996 Friendly H 2 – 0 Takhti Stadium , Tabriz 30000
02.12.1988 Asian Cup / Group 1 A 2 – 0 AlAhli FC Stadium , Doha 20000

QATAR DETERMINED TO BOUNCE BACK

www.afcasiancup.com

14 January 2015 Michael Church

Sydney: Djamel Belmadi is hoping his Qatar team can put their disappointing 4-1 loss at the hands of the United Arab Emirates behind them as they prepare to take on three-time AFC Asian Cup winners Iran at Stadium Australia on Thursday evening.

The Algerian coach was still at a loss to explain the Group C defeat in Canberra on Sunday as the Gulf Cup champions prepared for the crucial meeting with Team Melli off the back of their first defeat in 11 games.

“We lost the opening game because we played (it) like a friendly game,” said Belmadi. “It was not our day or our real level, especially after the good competition in the Gulf Cup.

“We expected something different. But now it’s the past and we have to make a reaction. Of course we are all disappointed. They have got the ambition to make a different game tomorrow.

“My main job was to work more psychologically than something else. Of course, we had to analyse what happened in this game and to correct it.

“But I know this group that I have. I have chosen them and I know that we are able to change things and we can do much, much better even when things look difficult, even for some people impossible. But for us, it’s not impossible and we’ll try to show it tomorrow.”

The Qataris face an Iran side that won their first game 2-0 against Bahrain and for whom victory in Sydney on Thursday evening would mean securing a place in the quarter-finals.

With Carlos Queiroz’s side having impressed at the FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil in June, Belmadi knows his team face a tough challenge to pick up their first win of the tournament.

“It will be a decisive game against a big team that qualified for the World Cup and who played against strong teams at the World Cup. We are prepared and we know it’s going to be a tough game,” he said.

“But we’re also used to playing against teams that are stronger on paper than us, like Morocco and Australia. The team is relatively young and the average age is 23 years old and even though we’re here for the competition we’re here to learn and to learn fast. The same team played at the Gulf Cup and we ended up winning the competition.

“We have a plan and like always we will try to find the solution because it’s a good team, well organised, really aggressive and they don’t give you too much space, so we will have to find a solution. Every team has some weakness, like the others. We will try to find this weakness and try to find the way to score and to win this game.”

No serious injury fears in Team Melli squad.

Amir Hossein Sadeghi , Andranik Teymourian and Masoud Shojae carry  slight knocks that is not considered to be too serious according to Team Melli medical staff.

Teymourian & Shojae played against Bahrain and both received a slight knock in the game , while Sadeghi is believed to had these knocks during the training sessions in Australia. Amir Hossein Sadeghi was an unused substitute in the Bahrain game which Team Melli won 2-0.

All the three players are being given special treatment and recovery training.

Dr. Khanlori also confirmed that Hashim Beigzadeh , who was replaced by Khanzadeh is suffering from a broken bones in his palm. “We could have placed a special protective element as a precaution in order to make him ready for playing , but at the end we decided not to take a risk.” The head of Medical staff of Team Melli announced.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Hossein Haymathi , who is in-charge of Team Melli squad security,  a task which involves keeping an eye on Team Melli players whereabouts and movements , denied that any players have been reprimanded or cautioned for indiscipline, according to his statement to ISNA.   The security section ensures that tight measures are implemented to deter the squad from meeting undesirable personnel from abroad especially opposition figures and remind everyone that they are being closely watched. However, the official declared tasks of this security apparatus is ensuring discipline and conforming to curfew hours , routine tasks that are assigned to Team Mangers in every other squad.

“As you might have witnessed, other squads like Oman and Bahrain have quite a lot of freedom of movements  and their players are seen to be coming and going out at will. Our team is much more disciplined and abide by the rules” . Haymathi said.

About the rumors of the caution for 3 players “That is totally false. We have not cautioned any player no singled out any squad member for disciplinary issues. Amir Hossein Sadeghi, Andranik Teymourian and Masoud Shojae have left the hotel for some medical treatment with the approval of Team Manager.”

It is not clear if Mr. Haymathi is attached to the FFIRI the Iranian Government Security and intelligence system.

Alireza Haghighi and Amir Hossein Sadeghi

Kaffashian leaves Team Melli in Australia and returns home!

Ali Kaffashian , the head of FFIRI has decided that he has seen enough of Team Melli after one match and will return back to Tehran to attend to “Important issues” according to him !

Kaffashian also attended the AFC congress in Australia.

While it is customary for the highest rank officials in the football federations of countries to head the delegations in important tournaments like the FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup , Ali Kaffashian , prefers to differ and does not share the same enthusiasm of other football fans or officials in watching and being close to Team Melli in their quest to win the Asian Cup.

In a short quote to the press in Australia, Kaffashian said “Mohammad Nabi is more than capable to handle all the issues with the team and manage the squad.” It has to be noted that a couple of weeks back , Kaffashian has fired Mohammad Nabi from his post for few hours and announced his decision to the media, before discovering that Team Melli will be without a Manager a few days before flying to Australia. A sudden U-turn allowed Mohammad Nabi to return to his post, although it seems to be a temporary measure .

Team Melli started the Asian Cup confidently with a win against Bahrain, will be playing Qatar 15tth Jan and UAE 19th Jan in Group C.

Iran vs. Bahrain match reports.

Iran floor Bahrain in Asian Cup thriller
Published: 11 January 2015

Ehsan Hajsafi struck with a sumptuous volley in first-half stoppage time to propel Iran to a 2-0 victory over Bahrain in a tempestuous Asian Cup dust-up today.

Iran, seeking to end a 39-year wait for a fourth title, effectively sealed the points in their Group C opener when Masoud Shojaei added a second in the 71st minute to end Bahrain’s brave resistance in Melbourne.

Asia’s top-ranked side, Iran almost opened the scoring after 20 minutes when the dangerous Ashkan Dejagah forced a smart stop from Sayed Abbas in the Bahrain goal.

But Bahrain had already served notice that they were not about to simply roll over as their bulldozing Nigerian-born striker Jaycee Okwunwanne blazed just wide during the frenetic early skirmishes.
Sayed Shubbar then squandered a golden opportunity by heading over as Bahrain threatened to capitalise on a sluggish start from highly fancied Iran.

However, Hajsafi produced a moment of magic with almost the last kick of the first half, expertly trapping a looping clearance with his left foot before instantaneously smashing it past Abbas with the outside of his right boot from just outside the box.

Reza Ghoochannejhad appeared to be incorrectly flagged for offside for a second time when through on goal shortly after the interval, before Okwunwanne almost emulated Hajsafi with a ferocious drive that Iran goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi did brilliantly to keep out.

Tempers flared when Haghighi barged into Faouzi Aaish, Bahrain’s waspish playermaker with a menacing-looking mohican who was a thorn in Iran’s side the entire game.

But moments later Shojaei popped up to steer a right-foot shot just inside the post from another corner to trigger wild celebrations from a crowd of 17,000 – most noisily supporting Team Melli.

Iran’s Asian Cup drought dates back to 1976, when they won the third of three successive titles.

Earlier, the United Arab Emirates laid down a marker by thrashing Qatar 4-1 to go top of the group on goal difference. – AFP, January 11, 2015.

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11 January 2015
Match video highlights

Melbourne: Ehsan Hajsafi scored an early contender for goal of the tournament as Iran made the perfect start to their bid to finally land a record-equalling fourth AFC Asian Cup title after posting a hard-fought 2-0 win over Bahrain in Group C on Sunday.

Bahrain had made a lively start to the contest, but after Iran improved as the half progressed, Hajsafi’s eye-catching strike opened the scoring for Team Melli in first half stoppage time.

And with Masoud Shojaei adding a second with 19 minutes remaining, 1968, 1972 and 1976 winners Iran joined the United Arab Emirates at the top of the Group C table after the opening round of fixtures following their earlier 4-1 win over Gulf Cup champions Qatar in Canberra.

Despite Iran’s supporters creating an electric atmosphere at a blustery Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Bahrain enjoyed the best of the early chances as Ismail Abdullatif tested goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi after just six minutes before strike partner Jaycee John acrobatically directed a back post volley wide two minutes later.

And Iran received a huge let off after 16 minutes as Sami Al Husaini’s chipped ball forward found Sayed Dhiya racing into the penalty area, but after beating a static offside trap, the midfielder headed over with only Haghighi to beat.

Iran, though, were presented with a golden opportunity to open the scoring four minutes later as Ashkan Dejagah raced in behind the Bahrain defence only for goalkeeper Sayed Mohamed Jaffar to crucially smoother his attempted chipped effort just outside the six-yard area.

But there was little Jaffar could do in first half stoppage time as Sepahan’s Hajsafi superbly found the top corner from the edge of the penalty area to the delight of the majority of the 18,000 crowd after taking one touch to control the ball after Andranik Teymourian’s corner had been punched clear by the Bahrain goalkeeper.

And Jaffar remained the busier of the two goalkeepers at the start of the second half as the Bahrain custodian gathered Reza Ghoochannejhad’s well-struck dipping shot from the edge of the area at the second time of asking four minutes after the break.

Iran goalkeeper Haghighi, though, had to be on his toes nine minutes later to beat away a rasping effort from Bahrain striker Jaycee John from underneath his crossbar.

But Bahrain’s hopes of a comeback were all put ended as Iran took full advantage with 19 minutes remaining as Teymourian’s corner found its way to Shojaei close to the penalty spot, and the midfielder saw his scuffed effort creep into the bottom corner despite a despairing dive from Jaffar.

Perfect start for Team Melli in AFC Asian Cup

 Team Melli defeated Bahrain 2-0 lead in the first match for the two teams in group C of the Asian cup. The goals scored in the dying seconds of the first half by Eshasan Hajsafi , while Masoud Shojaei made it 2-0 in the 71st minute in the second half..

Carlos Queiroz started with the nucleus of the world Cup team with two exceptions. Morteza Pouralganji and Vouriya Ghafoori were replacing Khosro Heydari and Amir Hossein Sadeghi in the defense line

hajsafy-scores-vs-Bahrain
Hajsafy’s strike seconds after his shoot floats over towards the goal.

The Iranian fans in the Melbourne created a wonderful atmosphere turning the Rectangle stadium into what the  Australian TV commentator called a “Mini Azadi”. The vociferous fans loud chant was only challenged by a very whistle happy Australian referee whose continuous whistling threatened to spoil what was an intriguing encounter. Both teams started lively sharing possessions without creating any serious scoring chances.

Ashkan Dejagah was by far the most active of Iran’s players on the right flank. He managed to give the Bahrain defense some real work out, however the ex- Fulham player delivery and finishing were quite poor in comparison to his skills and work rate . He missed a glorious chance to give Iran the lead when Hajsafy put him through with a brilliant pass in the box ,

Ashkan only managed to find Bahrain Keeper Seyed Jaffar’s legs instead while he had better options including squaring to unmarked Ghoochannejad,

The game went on with Iran having a strong grip on the match but the end product was lacking despite being the more controlling side.

And then came a brilliant piece of work by Ehsan Haj Safi from a corner kick in the finals seconds of the half.  Teymourian’s floating corner kick, was too close to   Bahrain Keeper Seyed Jaffar who ball punched  it away only to find Hajsafy. The Sepahan midfielder controlled the ball with a perfect touch before he chips a wonderful ball with side footing over a crowd of players in front of the goal into the net. A truly wonderful strike by one of the two best Iran players of the half.

 The first half ended 1-0

Shojaei sidefoots his shoot towards the far end of Bahrain keeper
Shojaei sidefoots his shoot towards the far end of Bahrain keeper

The second half continued with the rhythm of the first with both teams playing openly. The first real threat came from Bahrain on the stroke of the hour when Alireza Haghighi mad his first save of the match from a powerful strike by Bahrain’s Jessi John , whose ferocious shot was deflected by Iran’s keeper. However , 10 minutes later Haghighi left the crowd ins suspense and anxiety for a few seconds when he collected a ball and then ran into Bahrain’s Fouzi Aaish who dropped on the ground. The referee whistled for a foul, thankfully it was against Bahrain player who protested and was clearly upset at the decision. The replay clearly showed that it was in fact Haghighi who charged into Aayesh. Hs indiscretion and foolish act could have been quite costly except for the mercy of the Aussie referee.

Not long after that incident , Iranian fans were relieved to see Team Melli scoring again. in the 71st minute Masoud Shojaei , whose contribution to the team up to that moment was absolutely minimal , scored from another corner kick. The floating ball was sent to the left corner of the stretched arms of Bahrain keeper to end up in the net. 2-0 for Iran

With the 2 goal margin , Team Melli opted to control the match leaving the Bahraini team to venture forward. Queiroz introduced his new players , with Azmoun , Jahanbakhsh and finally Soroush Rafei coming into the game. Although their contribution were minimal , it gave the team a new look and certainly raised the confidence of the young players.

Despite Bahrain’s gallant attempts , except for one case where Haghighi had to deflect a shot into a corner, Iran defense remained solid and intact. The rookie Pouraliganji was superb in partnering the veteran Hosseini in the middle of the defense, Ghafoori on the right flank was also a revelation while Pooladi was the same solid defender of the World Cup games.

The lack of creativity on the midfield was quite evident. Nekounam and Teymourin doing their routine defensive duties and hardly venturing towards opposition territories. Masoud Shojaei , as poor as always and looked like a lost figure in the midfield simply walking the match off , while leaving the bulk of the offensive load on Hajsafy and Dejagah to feed Team Melli’s lone forward Reza Ghoochannejad who was trapped between 5 Bahrain defenders.

 Despite all the preparations problems and many side issues that the team and coach Queiroz had to endure with , this was perfect start for Team Melli . There was the obvious shortcomings but at the end of the day , Iran had the higher quality and experience to finish the match on winning all the 3 points and deservedly so.