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FIFA warns against crowd misbehaviour.

In what is expected to be a politically inspired encounter by the Iraqi side, FIFA has issued a warning against any Iraqi fans expression of political opinions by any means.

The International Football governing body warning to the Iraqi fans after before Iraq's sensitive it had mandated a venue change and a move out of Iraq because of protests and insecurity currently prevailing in Iraq, FIFA warning to the Iraqi side included the players, as well as several, have been reported taking active participation in the protests or by the means of social media.. Admission of banners and flags (except for Iraq's flag) or banners expressing a political view or even sympathy to a party or persons are strictly forbidden, an Iraqi Sport website wrote.

It is also rumoured that the Iraqi team is awaiting clearance from FIFA to agree to a one minute silence in respect to over 280 people who lost their lives in Iraq recently in the clashes between demonstrators and security forces. FIFA also refused Iraqi players wearing a black armband. The Jordanians are taking no chances as they have prepared around 3,350 security personnel and anti-riot brigades to secure the match on Thursday.

Iran vs Iraq, a crucial match for Team Melli.

After climbing to Group C’s summit on Matchday Four, Iraq are set to host Team Melli in a game that looks set to provide yet another major test for both the foreign coaches. Iraq's  Srečko Katanec’s and Iran's Marc Wilmots.

Both the coaches had differing issues to deal with it be it with their federation or the players. Katanec time with Iraq has been uneasy, to say the least. There was a rumour of a half-hearted revolt in the squad with some players that Katanec did not pick for these qualifiers going on the social media and bad-mouthing the Slovenian coach.

However, with a history of managing three national teams (UAE, Slovenia and Iraq), Katanec is using his vast experience to deal with the difficult situation including the clause in the contract that will see him being terminated if he does not qualify from this group.

Marc Wilmots is quite safe and solid for Team Melli except for the small matter of paying his wages. The Iranian Federation, like before, procrastinate in paying the Team Melli coaches. There is always one or more justification and they wait until the last minute before paying the coach. This delay, however, meant that Wilmots was not willing to work with the squad until the finances were settled. The Belgian had very few training session with the squad (2 sessions before departure to Amman). His absence from Iran meant that the selection of players was trusted to his assistants although Wilmots have seen enough good performances by the two Belgian based players (Rezaei and Gholizadeh) to include them in the squad.

IRAQ vs IR IRAN

The two teams know each other quite well. They have met 27 times since their first encounter in Amjadieh Stadium in June 1962.  Iran has a clear edge in the head to head meeting with 16 wins, 7 draws and 4 defeats. 38 goals were scored by Iranians while Iraq has managed 19.

History aside, this meeting, although not a must-win for Team Melli, a defeat will make the task of the qualification so much difficult with Iraq having a 4 points advantage. Riding high following their last month’s 4-0 win over Cambodia, Iraq will be eager to add yet more momentum to their campaign

Marc Wilmots is sure to be acutely aware that his side can ill-afford a repeat of their Matchday Four defeat to Bahrain if they are to maintain their push to progress. That disappointing loss in Manama has left the Iranians – who after their trip to Jordan will not be in Asian Qualifiers action again until next March – occupying third place and needing to rebound in style so as to avoid slipping further off the pace.

The Loss in Manama exposed some tactical vulnerability in Wilmot's line up and those shortfalls need to be addressed.

Iraq’s success came after an opening day draw with Bahrain and a 2-0 defeat of Hong Kong at home, results that have left the 2007 AFC Asian Cup champions well placed to progress from what is proving to be a closely contested Group C.

The regional rivals last met during the group stage of this year’s AFC Asian Cup where they drew 0-0, and while maintaining their current unbeaten record is sure to be at the forefront of Iraqi minds, head coach Katanec will be viewing Thursday’s fixture as an ideal opportunity to put yet further distance between his table-topping team and the chasing pack.

IRAQ vs IR IRAN Venue: Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan Kick-off: 17:00 (UTC +3)

Nervous Iraqi federation fear spell over of politics and unrest in the match.

On Thursday, Iraq will be hosting Iran in Amman after FIFA ordered the match to be played outside the country due to security concerns.

However, the match in the Qualifying Round 4 of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the AFC Asian Cup in Amman, is far from a being a safe and secure event as predicted by the Iraqi officials.  The match has become politically sensitive because of the riots and protests in Iraq,  in addition to the traditional rivalry between the national teams of the two countries. Officials of the Iraqi Football Federation are seeking to prevent any political and racist issues from affecting the match to avoid further sanctions by FIFA.

Fresh clashes between Iraqi security forces and anti-government protesters broke out on Friday in Iraq killing at least three people, despite a call for calm by the country’s top Shi’ite cleric, as authorities grapple with the nation’s biggest crisis in years. More than 280 people have been killed since the protests started over what looks on the surface as protests against corruptions and unemployment but instigated and induced by foreign and Arab secret services to destabilize the country.

According to the Iraqi al-Ghad Press website, a trilateral meeting will be held today with officials from the Iraqi Football Federation, the Jordanian Federation and the Iraqi Embassy in Amman to assess the security conditions of the match as well as Iraq's next match hosting Bahrain in the same qualifiers. In addition to monitoring the crowd entering the stadium and full security implementation like body searches, the meeting will examine Iraqi officials calls on social media networks for support by its people, including wearing masks during the match.  Banners that have political or racial slurs against one another will be prevented from entering into the stadium. All efforts to de-politicize the match have been taken.

"The Iraqi federation and the embassy in Jordan are trying very hard not to allow political slogans, dissent and sectarian chants to be demonstrated in the arena because FIFA has always been intolerant to politics and racism and anything that causes spreads and promotes hate," the Al-Ghad website continued. The Iraqi Federation and its embassy are also trying to keep politics away from the stadium in fear of possible consequences on the Jordanian people and the sensitivity of Jordan itself which saw recent riots of its own.

"There has been a lot of effort over the past three days to ensure the fans to be in the stadium just to support the Iraqi team." it added

Kaveh Rezaei's revival in Belgium

The Belgian publication Le Soir posted an article about Team Melli's forward highlighting his revival at Charleroi.

The scorer of the only goal of the game against Eupen on Saturday, Kaveh Rezaei seems to have regained the level and confidence that allowed him to be revealed to the Pro League in his first season at Sporting Charleroi.

Culture a success gleaned against Eupen after pushing on the accelerator at the end of the game, the successful performance of Kaveh Rezaei, punctuated with a nice winning goal, was one of the big positives in Charleroi, Saturday night.

Back this summer from Bruges in the form of a loan with no option to buy, the Iranian has shown in recent weeks, and once again facing the Pandas despite a reworked device, all that for what he had become in a few months an idol of Mambourg, after his arrival in summer 2017.
After enduring a tough season with Brugge, marred by injuries Kaveh never managed to establish himself, however, with his current performance, Rezaei proved that he has lots of qualities and can make it at the bigger clubs.
Rezaei has been added to the squad for the first time in 2019 after a long absence from Team Melli. He will be in the squad for the match vs. Iraq. With Taremi not fully fit, Kaveh Rezaei will be the prime candidate to accompany Sardar Azmoun upfront.

Team Melli departs to Amman for Thursday's match vs. Iraq

Team Melli squad left Tehran this afternoon heading to Jordanian Capital, Amman in preparation for the Thursday match against Iraq in the fourth round of the FIFA World Cup 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 combined Qualiifers

This morning, the last training session of the team took place at the National Football Center before leaving for Jordan. The training session started at 8 pm on the grounds of the National Football Center. In this session, Majid Hosseini and Milad Mohammadi also joined the national team after arriving from Turkey and Belgium respectively. With the last two arrivals, the squad was at full strength and the team carried out a training exercise with everyone available for the first time

 At the start of the training, players under Kevin, the physical training coach, went through warm-up exercises. Marc Wilmots repeatedly reminded players of this part of the training. The following exercise consisted of a tactical switching between defence and attack, transition and pace. The goalkeepers also did their own specifical training. In the final part of the training, the squad was divided into two groups that played against each other.

The match against Iraq will take place at Amman International Stadium on Thursday, November 14 at 17:30 pm Tehran Time

Asghar Sharafi, severly criticized FFIRI over failure to honor Wilmots contract.

After all the fuss about football federations failure to pay Wilmot's wages, a great number of sporting personnel and media in Iran attacked the head of the federation and accused him of shortfalls and failures which has put Iran's name in disrepute.

Asghar Sharafi, Iran's veteran footballer , former Team Melli star and assistant coach is one of those who strongly criticized the performance of the Football Federation in the aftermath of the disgrace leading to a threat by Coach Wilmots to leave.

"if you did not have the money, why would you employ and upset a foreign coach?" Sharafi questioned.  "in reality, Team Melli has no working head coach. How can that be? Aren't these people ashamed? Those who claim to be managing and running football affairs in our country are only embarrassing the nation and making a mockery out of us in front of the world. They are playing with the dignity of this nation. Aren't they thinking even a little that their poor actions have an effect on the reputation of this country?  Why don't they care to think about the country's reputation ?"  Sharafi added:

Asghar Sharafi Team Melli Iran 1972
Asghar Sharafi Team Melli Iran 1972 winger

"Is it not in the class of Iranian football not to have a working coach for Team Melli? We are the 25th richest country in the world. Also, if we don't have the money as they claim all the time,  then why hire a foreign coach? We have so many good young coaches right now. Our football is very beautiful. When speaking, negotiating or cutting deals, that person must have knowledge."

" Some times ago, our football was not so good, but who can criticize the progress of Yahaya Golmohammadi's team which he built on the tightest of budgets, or Amir Ghalenoei? Who can question Esteghlal and Persepolis? Our football has changed. to the better" said Sharafi who was the assistant coach of Heshmat Mohajerani in Iran's first participation at the FIFA World Cup1978.

"I blame the football federation100 percent for their incompetence.  They're not worthy of the posts that they cling to.  These are people who would not even be employed in their previous organizations but somehow, they turned up as experts in sporting organizations like football. I am not seeking controversy or start a fight with someone. I have accomplished many honours across the world representing Iranian football. The World Cup , Olympics Games and Asian Games? I've reached all of this. Everyone has his days but a person can not be there at the top all the time. It is not always Asghar Sharafi's day. So I'm not talking about jealousy. It really hurts me to witness the ridicule that these people have put upon us. Show me a country that doesn't have a coach when it and goes to play a game" Sharafi added.

"It's a real shame they didn't pay the coach his dues or any money for that matter, a real shame. Why hire a foreign coach? Extend your foot to the size of your carpet. Wilmots has the full rights to refuse to work with this lot " said Sharafi. "He has a contract with us, he gets ten times as much as a local. How much we gave to Queiroz and Branco. Whose money is this? It's yours and mine, it's people's money. Then they take two photos for their family album and say, look, I wasn't in football but I was the president of the federation." Sharfi taking a dig at the head of the federation. Mehdi Taj.

Iran U19 qualifies for the finals with a perfect record.

the-afc.com

Tehran:

Iran qualified for AFC U-19 Championship Uzbekistan 2020 as group winners, confirming their place among Asia’s elite with a 2-0 win over the United Arab Emirates at PAS Stadium on Sunday.

Iran, UAE and the Kyrgyz Republic all came into Matchday Three still in contention, but Iran’s win and Kyrgyz Republic’s 0-0 draw with Nepal meant the group hosts booked their ticket to the Finals.

UAE 0-2 IR Iran

IR Iran confirmed their qualification for Uzbekistan 2020, defeating UAE 2-0 to emerge as group winners after winning all three matches on home soil.

UAE’s defeat to the Kyrgyz Republic 48 hours earlier meant Team Melli required only a point to secure top spot in the group, but they went one better with Aria Barzegar and Mahdi Hashemnezhad Rahimabadi scoring to extend their perfect winning record.

While Iran celebrated a completed qualifying mission, UAE’s defeat confirmed their elimination, with Ferdo Milin’s side finishing a disappointing third in the group.

Iran was in touching distance to qualification, while nothing short of a win would suffice for the UAE, and, perhaps as a result of those high stakes, the opening minutes were cagey. Iran had one of the better chances of the half when Mohammadmahdi Ahmadi found space following a corner kick, but his header was directed straight at Emirati goalkeeper Rakaan Al Menhali.

While that chance was missed, the all-important breakthrough did come, with Persepolis signee Aria Barzegar doing his growing reputation no harm as he pounced on a loose ball with a terrific half-volley which left Al Menhali rooted to the spot in the dying moments of the first half.

With their 1-0 lead intact, Iran continued to prosper after the interval, although it didn’t immediately translate into goals, with Hossein Nokhodkar spurning a terrific opportunity when he picked out Al Menhali despite a number of teammates offering support.

UAE’s chances were dwindling by the minute, and their card looked marked when substitute Eisa Khalfan Al Harasi pulled one of their best chances wide after finding some rare space behind the Iranian defence with 20 minutes remaining.

Their fate was sealed with 10 minutes remaining, with substitute Hashemnezhad making the most of his introduction three minutes earlier to score a second, putting Iran’s win, and place in the finals, beyond any doubt.

Iran returns to the AFC U-19 Championship having missed out on the 2018 edition, while UAE will be absent from the Finals for the first time since 2004.

AFC U-19 Championship Uzbekistan 2020

Qualification Rounds

Group D

Standings
P W D L F A GD PTS
1
ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
 IRAN 3 3 0 0 9 0 9 9
2
KYRGYZ REPUBLIC
 KYRGYZ REPUBLIC 3 1 1 1 2 3 -1 4
3
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 3 1 0 2 4 4 0 3
4
NEPAL
 NEPAL 3 0 1 2 0 8 -8 1

Wilmots wages resolved, claims Mehdi Taj.

Mehdi Taj, the President of FFIRI has confirmed that Team Melli's coach salaries have been paid in full. During a reception ceremony for Iran's Beach Soccer team which has just clinched the Intercontinental Cup for the 3rd time, Taj was asked  by a reporter if Marc Wilmots' wages problem has been resolved or not,"  Mehdi Taj said, "Yes, it has been resolved, and we paid him his dues plus three to four months in advance!" There is no confirmation on the wages of other foreign coaches. Marc Wilmots himself never discussed the financial problems publically. It is not clear whether he will comment on what Taj has said to the media. In the same interview, Taj said that his federation is actively seeking a friendly game in FIFA day right after Iraq's game. "Nothing is certain, though," Taj said.  

Marc wilmots back in Tehran after a long absence.

Team Melli coach Marc Wilmots, who is seeking terminate his contract with FFIRI due to non-payment of his salaries by the Football Federation, will arrive in Iran on Monday to take control of the training session of the squad.

It is quite possible that this will be the last time the fans will see the Belgian Wilmots accompanying Team Melli unless the FFIRI forks out his salary and respects the signed contract. Wilmots faces a similar situation that Carlos Queiroz and before him, Branko Ivankovic has faced coaching Team Melli. Iran football federation is a notorious bad paymaster and has always blamed sanctions for not paying its employees.

On Sunday, the selectors released a new squad list which had several changes from the previous list that played Cambodia and Bahrain. Belgian based players Kaveh Rezai and Ali Gholizadeh were called up for the first time by Marc Wilmots.

Vouria Ghafouri's returns to the squad while defender Siavash Yazdani has been called up again after recovering from injury. Omid Noorafkan, who was invited as the 24th player on the previous Wilmots list, has not been called for Iraq match. Ashkan Dejageh Tractorsazi midfielder is out due to injury

One of the highlights of the list is the absence of the Portuguese based midfielder Mehrdad Mohammadi who played against Cambodia and Bahrain. Wilmots still has no positive opinion on English club Brighton's outcast Alireza Jahanbakhsh because of the loss of form and his exclusion from Brighton's squad. Mehdi Torabi, who has done well in Persepolis colours, has not been called up for the second time running. Persepolis, however, continue to have five players (Alireza Biranvand, Vahid Amiri, Ahmad Noorollahi, Mohammad Naderi and Hossein Kanani Zadegan) in the new roster and have the highest number of players in Team Melli.

Esteghlal and Tractorsazi Tabriz have 3 players each that is scheduled to face Iraq. Sepahan, with the omission of Omid Noorafkan and Morteza Mansouri, has only 2 players Piam Niazmand and Mohammad Mohebbi in the final list. Portuguese based striker Mehdi Taremi was also is on the list, is said to have suffered an injury and the possibility of losing the game to Iraq is quite likely.

Team Melli is facing Iraq this Thursday as FIFA decides to play change the venue from Basra to Amman in the wake of security concerns.

Iran beat Spain to clinch third Dubai Beach Soccer Cup crown

The Iranian Beach Soccer Team defended its title and won the Dubai Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup title for the second time in a row after a gallant performance against the powerful Spanish Team. The full house match in Dubai ended 6-3 for Iran after a thrilling match that saw both teams engaging in an offensive match. The holders outplayed their rivals in the final played at Jumeirah’s Kite Beach in Dubai on Saturday.

In the first period, Mostafa Kiani and Saeed Piramon scored for Iran, but Spain managed to equalize by scoring two quick goals to end the period 2-2.  In the second period, Spain scored the third goal with a penalty kick, but Iran's goalkeeper Hamid Behzadpour and Mohammad Ali Mokhtari scored to make the score 4-3 in favour of Iran.

In the final period, Iran's captain Mohammad Ahmadzadeh scored a spectacular overhead goal to increase the margin to two goals.. Ahmadzadeh was soon sent off by an agitated and nervous referee after Iran's Captain strong protest for what looked like a blatant foul on him but the free-kick was given to the Spanish team!

With the score standing at 5-3, Spain's pressure intensified to cut the two-goal deficit which left them vulnerable. It was Mohammad Masoumezadeh who took the opportunity to score the next goal for Iran and make it impossible for a Spanish comeback. Spain also was one player down after one of its players awarded a second yellow card and a dismissal. ]

In the end, Iran deservedly won a tough match against a strong opponent 6-3 win for Iran. Iran also won the championships in 2013 and 2018.

Iran Scorers

Mostafa Kiani (penalty), Saeid Piramoun, Mohammad Mokhtari, Hamid Behzadpour, Mohammad Ahmadzadeh Mohammad Masoumizadeh.