Year: 2022

Latest on Team Melli

Dragan Skocic recalled two players from the standby list while including a previously unlisted Perspolis midfielder to the squad.

  • Farshad Faraji was called by Team Melli to fill in for the absent players while Aghasi, Rafei, and Kamiabinia have been added to the party. While Taremi is on the squad, his flight was disrupted as the airplane taking him from Portugal to Istanbul was diverted after the icy weather in the airport closed the runway. Taremi’s flight landed at Dalman Airport in southwest Turkey near Bodrum and he like the other passengers are stranded there awaiting a flight and weather improvement.
  • The match on Thursday will be refereed by the Australian Christopher James Beath.

  • There is still no confirmation on whether the spectators will be allowed or not for the Iraq match. Most probably, a 20% max number of spectators may be allowed in provided the passengers are vaccinated according to the latest requirements of health protocols.
  • Tuesday’s training session was attended by 17 players and was carried out in Azadi Stadium.
  • The Iraqi squad had 5 positive PCR tests on arrival at Imam Airport in Tehran. After protesting the results, another test was carried out with one positive result. Further request to repeat the test was not entertained again. Iraq has a new coach in the Montenegran  Željko Petrović. This will be Iraq’s third coach in the qualifiers after Katanec (Slovenia) and Dick Advocaat (Netherlands).
  • The revised list of invited players:
    • Goalkeepers:
  1. Alireza Biranvand
  2. Amir Abedzadeh
  3. Payam Niazmand
    • Defenders:
  4. Sadegh Moharremi
  5. Hossein Kananizadegan
  6. Shoja’a Khalilzadeh
  7. Omid Nourafkan
  8. Milad Mohammadi
  9. Siavash Yazdani
  10. Saleh Hardani
  11. Aref Aghasi
  12. Farshad Faraji
    • Midfielders:
  13. Saeed Ezatollahi
  14. Milad Sarlak
  15. Soroush Rafiei
  16. Kamal Kamyabinia
  17. Vahid Amiri
  18. Mehdi Torabi
  19. Saman Ghoddos
  20. Ali Gholizadeh
    • Forwards:
  21. Karim Ansarifard
  22. Alireza Jahanbakhsh
  23. Kaveh Rezaei
  24. Mehdi Ghaedi
  25. Shahab Zahedi
  26. Mehdi Taremi (Not available)

 

the Standby List: Mohammadreza Akhbari, Danial Ismailifard, Zubair Nikonfs,

AFC Women Asian Cup Chinese Taipei v Iran

Navi Mumbai: Chinese Taipei and Iran are set for a collision course in their final Group A fixture of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022™ at the D.Y. Patil Stadium on Wednesday.

Both sides are still chasing their first win, with Iran falling to a 7-0 defeat against China PR, while Chinese Taipei opened their campaign with a 4-0 loss to the Steel Roses.
At stake will be the runners-up spot, which will confirm the second team from Group A into the quarter-finals.

Despite starting their campaign with a defeat, Chinese Taipei head coach Kazuo Echigo is optimistic of his team’s chances of advancing into the quarter-finals.

“This is a very tough competition, and the Chinese team was very well prepared, but we did what we could do,” said Echigo. “Everybody gave their best efforts throughout the game, we made a point of that.
“Looking ahead, I believe we can make some improvements for our next match. I’m sure the players will be eager to show what they are capable of.”

#WAC2022 – Group A | China PR 4 – 0 Chinese Taipei

“This is a very tough competition, and the Chinese team was very well prepared, but we did what we could do,” said Echigo. “Everybody gave their best efforts throughout the game, we made a point of that.
“Looking ahead, I believe we can make some improvements for our next match. I’m sure the players will be eager to show what they are capable of.”
Meanwhile, Iran head coach Maryam Irandoost wants her team to be focused on the match despite their heavy defeat against China on Sunday.
Iran held their own against China before conceding the opener in the 28th minute and the eight-time champions went on to score six more goals to seal the win.

#WAC2022 – Group A | Islamic Republic of Iran 0 – 7 China PR

“It was a very tough game, but my players tried hard until the last minute,” said Irandoost. “We have seen, even in the men’s World Cup, some great teams can concede seven goals. It’s the first time we’ve participated in this tournament, and it is a great experience for us.
“After the final whistle, I gathered my players and told them we had finished that match. I told the players to promise me that they would put it behind them. We have two training sessions left, and we will shift our focus towards the Chinese Taipei match and be prepared for it.”

The heavy weather in Turkey affects WC Qualifiers of the Asian Teams!

The Lebanese Football Association announced the cancellation of the flight of the South Korean delegation, which is scheduled to arrive in Beirut this evening, due to a snowstorm in Turkey.

Lebanon is preparing to face Korea, on Thursday 27th January, at Rafic Hariri Stadium in Sidon, in the final qualification rounds of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.  The Federation said, through its official account on Twitter: “The South Korean team’s trip has been canceled, Which was scheduled for today, due to bad weather, and work is underway to find a second flight as soon as possible.” The Korean team delegation was supposed to arrive this evening, at 6:30 Beirut time. The failure to find a second flight to Lebanon in a quick time threatens to play the match on schedule”.

Team Melli is also affected by the same as several players who have chosen Turkish airport as transit airports to Tehran, are stuck without being able to leave Istanbul. Amongst those players are Mehdi Taremi.

The exciting young forward linked with a move to Hull City

Hull City are expected to complete the signings of Aleksandar Pesic and Allahyar Sayyadmanesh as new owner Acun Ilıcalı looks to strengthen the squad before the January transfer deadline.

The Turkish businessman finalised his purchase of the club last week and he made it clear that he will invest to improve the current group.

Therefore, it’s expected to be a very busy final week for the Tigers in the market and it appears that a few moves are already lined up.

That’s after reporter Yağız Sabuncuoğlu revealed that Pesic is set to join from Karagumruk in a 2.5m euros deal, whilst Sayyadmanesh is expected to link up from Fenerbahce.

Both are forward players, with Pesic having enjoyed a fine individual campaign in the Turkish top-flight, scoring 12 goals in 21 games. The 29-year-old has been prolific at different stages of his career, having also shone with Red Star Belgrade, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, and Seoul.

Meanwhile, 20-year-old forward Sayyadmanesh is an Iran international who is contracted to the Istanbul giants but he has had two successful loan spells in Ukraine with Zorya. Hull City are working on a £5 million deal to lure the youngster to the MKM Stadium before the end of the transfer window.

City supporters have seen their side linked with a host of names in the aftermath of Aseem Allam’s departure as the new regime looks to keep the club in the Championship.

One player reportedly attracting interest from the Tigers is Allahyar Sayyadmanesh, with Hull Live understanding Grant McCann’s side and Anderlecht are vying for his signature.

HullLive profiles the youngster ahead of his potential switch to the MKM Stadium…

Background

Sayyadmanesh is 20-years-old and has already been capped four times for Iran, making his debut in 2019.

The striker is contracted to Fenerbahce but spent last season on loan to Ukrainian outfit Zorya Luhansk – bagging 15 goals.

In December 2020, he even bagged the decisive goal in a 1-0 win to defeat Leicester in the Europa League at just 19-years-old.

Playing style

The Iranian is described as a physically imposing striker who has an instinct for finding the net.

At six-foot-tall, he possesses the strength to outmuscle defenders but prefers to run in behind and score the majority of his goals from inside the penalty area.

He averaged a 28 percent conversion rate while on loan at Zorya Luhansk, highlighting his ability to finish.

Sayyadmanesh’s flaws are seen as his dribbling but, at 20-years-old, there is plenty of time for him to work on his game.

Where does he fit in?

Grant McCann has played 3-5-2 this season but rarely has his frontline consisted of two strikers, with Keane Lewis-Potter occasionally operating out of position.

Tom Eaves – despite bagging his second goal of the season against Blackburn on Wednesday – has struggled to find the net, and Josh Magennis has left for Wigan.

Sayyadmanesh’s arrival would see him given one of the two starting berths upfronts and allow Lewis-Potter to play in his most effective role out wide.

Contract situation?

Sayyadmanesh is contracted at Fenerbahce until 2024, meaning any permanent deal would command a considerable fee.

Sayyadmanish will not be in Tehran on time for Iraq match!

It seems that Team Melli will not be able to have any of its forward against Iraq.

Taremi is still at large waiting for a flight out of Turkey with hundreds of flights grounded due to severe weather, Sardar Azmoun out of the squad due to positive test result, and Karim Ansarifard still in transit not able to join, now it is announced that Allahyar Sayyadmanish does not have his passport and unable to travel to Tehran.

  Ahmad Noorullahi,, Majid Hosseini, and Ehsan HajSafi are also out due to PCR test positive results.

The absence of Allahyar Sayadmanesh, who is due to leave Fenerbahce for Hull City in England soon, is due to administrative work for a trip to England. Mojtaba Khorshidi, the Manager of the Iranian national team, said in this regard: “Sayyadmanesh announced that he does not have his passport because he is going to transfer to the English team and he will be unable to come to Tehran.”

As it is, the team is experiencing a serious depletion of its force with the main strikers out.

There are still a few good options for Dragan Skocic though, as Karim Ansarifard, should be available despite not taking part in any group training, Mehdi Ghaedi, Kaveh Rezaei, and Alireza Jahanbakhsh who can operate as a winger or central forward. Shahab Zahedi may also play his first match under the circumstances.

Fourth Team Melli player drops out of squad!

 The defender Majid Hosseini left the Team Melli camp due to a positive PCR test.

According to reports, Turkish club Kayseri Spor player, who joined the camp yesterday, was tested positive, and for this reason, this player left the camp. Hosseini is the fourth player to be infected with the Coronavirus and thus will not be able to accompany Iran in the match against Iraq.

Prior to this Azmoun, Nourollahi and Hajsafi tested positive.

It is expected that Esteghlal defender Aref Aghasi to replace Majidi in the squad.

The Iraqi team loses further players for the matches in the qualifiers.

The Iraqi Football Federation announced that the results of PCR tests of Bashar Rasan and Ayman Hussein in Tehran were negative, but the key player of the team, Amjad Atwan, lost the chance of playing a game versus Iran because of the Positive result.

 The Iraqi national football team will face Iran on Thursday in one of the most crucial qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup for both teams, As soon as the Iraqi convoy arrived in Tehran, they were tested for corona, which resulted in 5 positive results, but the Iraqi convoy objected to this result. The Iraqi Football Federation announced that the results of the second PCR test taken from the team’s squad in Tehran were different, so that in the second test, only the goalkeepers’ coach, doctor, and accountant tested positive.

The Iraqi Football Federation hopes that the third test will be taken from the team’s convoy today (Tuesday). According to the Iraqi Football Federation, the results of the PCR test of Bashar Rasan and Ayman Hussein, who recently arrived in Tehran from Qatar, were negative, but Amjad Atwan was positive. Bashar Rasan received a warm and special welcome when he landed in Imam Airport with many fans waiting for him for signatures and selfies. Basha was a Perspolis player and a popular one amomh=gst the fans before he transferred to Qatar Star League.

Iraq has lost several players to injuries where some players invited late, refused to join the camp.

Iraq has undergone extensive changes in the format of the team since the last meeting with Iran with the newly-recruited coach.   Montenegro’s coach Zeljko Petrovicه, who previously served as Dick Advocaat’s assistant in the Iraqi coaching staff, has left the Montenegrin coach took over the Iraqi national team.

 

Petrovic, who has recently been involved in the FIFA Arab Cup, has set new goals for the match, and there are generally a number of inexperienced but European footballers who have joined the national team due to their Iraqi citizenship.

They have come. This Montenegrin coach has invited 21 players to play against Iran and in the absence of many famous players of his team, as follows: Ahmad Farhan, Hassan Abdolkarim, Hossein Ali, Mohammad Ali Abboud, Yasser Qasim, Hassan Raed, Shirko Karim, Manaf Younes, Mustafa Nazem, Ahmad Ibrahim, Saad Abdul Amir, Hossein Jabbar, Bashar Rasan, Amjad Atwan, Ali Faez, Mohannad Jaz, Amir Al-Amari, Frans Zia, Ali Al-Hamadi, Zidan Iqbal and Ayman Hussein.

The 13 legionnaires in the Iraqi national team are Mustafa Nazem (Al-Najma Bahrain), France Putres (Weiburg, Denmark), Zidane Iqbal (Manchester United), Ali Al-Hamdi (Wycombe Wanderers England), Ali Faiz (Al-Qadisiyah Kuwait), Amjad Atwan Al-Shamal, Qatar), Bashar Rasan (Qatar Qatar), Ayman Hussein (Umm Salal Qatar), Mohannad Jaaz (Hammarby Sweden), Elmir Al-Amari (Gothenburg Sweden) and Hussein Ali (Safaqi Tunisia) are employed. 13 players with less than 8 national games As mentioned, the process of generational change in the Iraqi national team has been keyed with Petrovich, and this coach, by selecting Iraqi football talents from all over the world, seeks to rejuvenate and prepare his team for future seasons.

As a result, 13 players with less than 8 national games can be seen in the current line of this team, which has reduced the experience level of the Iraqi national team on the eve of the match against Iran. Dick Advocaat and then Zeliko Petrovic’s missions and the absence of two players from the Iraqi squad from the last match of the Iraqi national team against Iran, which was held on September  Qatar and was accompanied by a 3-0 victory of Iran against this team. The team of this team was invited and at present Iraq is not available for various reasons in the recent meeting with Iran. Mohammad Daud, Alaa al-Mahawi, Safa Hadi, Hammam Tariq, Alaa Abdul Zahra, Jalal Hassan, Saad Nategh, Justin Maram, Mohannad Ali, Zargham Ismail, Rabin Solaka, and Ahmad Basil are among the well-known people.

Positive cases 3 and more bad news for Team Melli ahead of the crucial qualifiers.

A number of legionnaires invited to Team Melli training camp and the subsequent matches versus Iraq and UAE have not yet been able to join their teammates at the team’s camp in Tehran.

Mojtaba Khorshidi said “the latest situation of the legionnaires is as follows: Mehdi Taremi is still stuck in that small town in Turkey due to snowfall and poor flight conditions, and it is not yet clear what time he will leave for Iran. Karim Ansarifard has also recently arrived in Dubai after changing his flight route from Turkey to the UAE.  Sardar Azmoun has not yet traveled from Paris to Dubai.”

The Manager of Team Melli in response to the fact that these legionnaires will not arrive in time at the national team camp said: “Even if they leave now as we speak, they will be absent from training because they need to follow the health protocols process as they will have to quarantine first until the corona test result is proved negative. After the negative tests can join the squad and start training. As a result, they will be absent from today’s (Wednesday) practice. Regarding Azmoun, Nourollahi and Hajsafi, they can join the team’s camp after their corona test is negative: ‌ You know that the course of contracting Omicron is 3 to 7 days. We have to see what happens in the coming days.”

Khorshidi also mentioned the situation of 13 players who have joined the national team yesterday: “The PCR test results of these players has not arrived yet. This will probably happen in the next two hours, and after the tests are negative, they can start training. :

The Manager of the national team commented on the addition of new players to the national team camp from the waiting list: “The coaching staff has not decided yet.”

According to ISNA, since yesterday, the PCR test of three key players of Team Melli has been positive. Nourollahi, Azmoun, and Hajsafi are the players who will be absent from this camp.

Only Kamal Kamiabinia has been added to the squad from the waiting list as a replacement for Nourollahi.

Team Melli will face Iraq in two days’ time in a match that could be the qualification prize for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Iran needs three points from the next two games to book its place to Doha, Qatar

Ahmad Nourollahi is out of the camp and Mehdi Ghaedi to be PCR tested again.

On the first day of the training camp of Team Melli, the PCR test returned a positive result for Shabab Al-Ahli player, Ahmad Nourollahi which also prompted the medical team of Team Melli to retest his club teammate Mehdi Ghaedi.

Nourollahi was immediately replaced with Kamal Kamiabinia.

Meanwhile, Sardar Azmoun’s PCR test has not arrived from St. Petersburg, which has alarmed the Team Melli coaches. This means he will miss one day of training until his PCR test in Iran is conducted.

In a statement to Mehrnews, Mahmoud Reza Rezaei, the media director of the Iranian national team, confirmed the news about the Covid19 issues of the Iranian national team camp.

There are 5 players on the standby list for Team Melli.

 

Team Melli commences the training camp.

Team Melli started training camp as of today in preparation for the matches against Iraq and the UAE at the Olympic Hotel.

 On the first day of the camp, the players from the domestic league, along with Ahmad Nourollahi and Mehdi Ghaedi both members of Shabab Al-Ahli of Dubai, began with initially going through the strict health protocols and underwent PCR testing with the technical staff of the national team. The whole camp will be quarantined until the negative results them being part of the squad.  After the test results are confirmed, the teamwork will start and the rest of the players and legionnaires, according to the schedules, will introduce themselves to the technical staff this morning and will go to quarantine to find out the results of the tests.

The Squad will be holding two sessions of training on daily basis in two groups from 15:00 to 17:00. After the legionnaires’ tests are out and assumed to be negative, the first training of the national team will be held tomorrow with the presence of all the players. According to the rules and requirements of the Asian Football Confederation, in compliance with health protocols, the national team will train behind closed doors.

Dragan Skocic has named a list of 27  players for these two matches, although the regulation allows a squad of 23 players for the match. It is announced that no players will be sent home but a list of 23 players as required by the regulation will be announced for each of the two matches.

Shahab Zahedi, who plays for Zorya in  Ukraine has finally been selected for the first time. His recently departed teammate Allhtae Sayyadmanesh is also named in the squad. The list includes one legionnaire player who is under suspension by the Federation’s disciplinary committee the case of Hossein Kanani-Zadegan was charged with offenses not related to a match but to derogatory remarks he made,  which has gone viral on social media. When quizzed about this, a spokesperson for Team Melli said that “unless we receive specific instruction from the concerned department of the federation, any player can be selected for Team Melli.”

The squad welcomes back Mehdi Taremi, another player who was in trouble after he created unnecessary problems for himself and hence left out of Team Melli’s last two matches both of which Iran has won.