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Iran Omid team defeats Oman 2-1

Iran’s Omid Team (U-23) defeated its host Oman 2-1 in the friendly match played at Sultan Qaboos Stadium, in Muscat Oman.

Zlatko Krancjar started the match with Shahab Adeli, Omid Darreh, Omid Noorafkan, Abolfazl Razzagpour, Mohammad Aghajanpour, Ali Taheran, Mohammad Khodabandelo, Mehdi Ghaedi, Reza Bachari, Mehdi MehdiKhani and Allahyar Sayadmanish.

The first half ended 1-0 for the host after Oman scored on the 40th minute of the match.

Iran's Omid Team had many good scoring opportunities but the Omani goalkeeper saved them all, at times with heroics.

In the second half, Krancjar sent on Abolfazl Jalali, Amir Roustahi, Hamid Taherkhani, Hassan Saki and Isma'ili to the field. In the 52th minute, Ali Taheran scored the equalizer from a perfect cross by Taherkhani. Two minutes later, Mehdi Ghaedi scored the winner from a set piece.

Iran draws Venezuela

Team Melli drew 1 - 1 with Venezuela as part of the preparations for the AFC Asian Cup 2019. The friendly international match was played in Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar today (Tuesday).

The Venezuelan scored first through Darwin Machis on the half hour. Ali Gholizadeh equalized just before Half time for Iran.

First half:

The best chance to score was wasted by Iran as early as the 10th minute by Sardar Azmoun, after some brilliant work on the right flank by Ali Gholizadeh. Azmoun hit the ball which was nicely delivered to him by Gholizadeh at the Venezuelan keeper who blocked its path and deflected over it the bar for a corner thus depriving Azmoun from scoring a certain goal.

The first goal was scored in the 35th minute by Machies for Venezuela as the player easily dribbled passed the out of form Rezaeian and shoot passed him. A weak reflex  by Abedzadeh in goal allowed the ball to pass underneath his body to announce the first goal of the match. It was an awful goal to concede and a blunder by the defender and the keeper..

In the 43rd minute, Ali Gholizade, who was the star of the Iranian national team in the first half, with a series of skillful moves and dribbling of two opponents, shot a diagonal ball that beat the keeper to score level the score.

Second half:

in the 49th minute, Mehdi Taremi robbed the ball from a defender just outside the box. While he had two players in much better position than him to score, decided to go a lone a shoot weakly outside the post.

In the 53rd minute, the referee announced a penalty kick after Taremi was tripped in the box. but after referring to the VAR system, the Qatari referee changed his mind and reversed the penalty call.

The Venezuelan player manged to put the ball into Team Melli's net in the 65th minute, but the referee disallowed it fo roffside. In the next few minutes, the two teams committed far too many fouls as the game turned into a physical battle, as it normally does with South American opposition.

There was yet another penalty call for Iran this time for handball inside the box. Once again the referee decided to check the VAR and once again he cancelled the penalty although the replays from many angles shows a definite and clear contact of the ball with Venezuelan defender.

With 15 minutes left, the substitutions started by both team and like it always does, the momentum and the excitement of the match was lost on both sets of players.

Team Melli lineup:

Amir Abedzadeh, Ramin Rezaian (Sadegh Moharrami), Omid Ebrahimi, Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh, Hossein Kanan-Zadegan, Milad Mohammadi, Vahid Amiri (Mehdi Torabi), Ali Gholizadeh (Ashkan Dejagah), Sardar Azmoun (Karim Ansarifrd), Mehdi Taremi (Kaveh Rezaei ) and Saman Ghodoos (Masoud Shojaei)    

Key Iraq player out of AFC Asian Cup 2019

Iraq, grouped with Team Melli in the AFC Asian Cup 2019 has lost a key player through injury The Iraqi national football team is the main opponents of Team Melli in Group D UAE which also includes Vietnam and Yemen. Justin Hikmat Meram, has been declared unfit and will be on the injury list for a few weeks. He is doubtful for the Asian Cup as it seems to be a long recovery path for the midfielder. It is bad news for the Iraqi team losing one of the important players who was assured of a spot if he was fit for Asian Cup, The 29 years old, American born Meram spoke of the severity of his injuries by posting in the social media and emphasized that he could not make it to the Asian Cup The Iraqi Football Association also confirmed this news. Justin Meram plays for the Columbus Crew SC  in the American league and his absence in the Iraqi national football team could have an impact. Iraq and Iran will meet on 16th January in the final match of Group D in Al-Maktoum Stadium, Dubai. It is expected of both teams to qualify for the next round.

Omid Team list for Oman match is announced.

Zlatko Kranjcar has announced the list of 22 players who will join the U23 team for the friendly match against Oman on 20th November.  The match will be held in the Omani Capital Muscat and is a part of the preparation for the upcoming challenge at continental level and the qualifying for the Olympics.  

the squad

  Abol Fazl Jalali (Saipa) Abolfazl Razzaghpour, (Peykan) Ali Taheran (Tractoration Tabriz) Allahyar Sayadmanesh (Esteghlal Tehran) Amir Roustaei, (Peykan) Aref Aghasi (Foolad Khouzestan) Hamid Reza Taherkhani (Persepolis) Hossein Saki (Sanat Naft Abadan) Mehdi Ghaedi (Esteghlal Tehran) Meiraj Ismaili (Zob Ahan) Mohammad Aghajanpour (Padideh Mashhad) Mohammad Khodabandehlo  (Peykan) Mohammad Mehdi Mehdikhani (Padideh Mashhad) Mohammad Reza Azadi (Tractoration Tabriz) Nader Mohammadi (Peykan) Omid Darreh (Saipa) Omid Noorafkan  (Chareloi ) Reza Jebeireh  (Sanat Naft Abadan) Reza Karimi (Esteghlal Tehran) Reza Shakari (Rubin Kazan) Shahab Adeli (Sepahan), Sina Zamehran (Padideh Mashhad)

Major crises averted in Iran's football.

Finally, the potential major crises and suspension of Iranian FFIRI was defused, after a government spoke person confirmed that the Football federation is a special case under the international governing Body and is except from parliament or government orders.

Therefore, Mehdi Taj will remain as the President of Iran's football federation and can only be replaced by the processes governing elections after the end of term. The retirement laws will not apply to Mehdi Taj who has repeatedly declared that he will follow government or parliament laws, but in private, he has informed both AFC and FIFA of the prevailing situation and the impact of the ruling on him prompting AFC to issue a hands-off warning to Iranian authorities.

However, the rest of the personnel of FFIRI who are on government pension scheme but also members of FFIRI various committees are not as lucky as Mehdi Taj. Mohammad Reza Saket, Secretary General of the Football Federation, Abdol-Kazem Taleghani, Haidar Baharvand, Mahmoud Islamiyan, Fereydoun Esfahanian and Ali Kaffashian  must resign because of their retirement. These people are supposed to announce their resignation at the Football Federation Assembly in order to identify their successors.
The 58 years old Mehdi Taj has replaced Ali Kaffashian on 7th May 2016. The latter is serving as his deputy in a role reversal!

Venezuela match to be played in Doha

According to IRIFF's official website, the Iranian national team will fly to Doha, Qatar right after the match against Trinidad and Tobago, in preparation for another international friendly on the 20th November 2018 day at Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium against Venezuela.

This match was supposed to be played in Tehran, but the Venezuelan federation had a change of mind and refused to travel to Tehran.  Negotiations between the two resulted in a midway solution as the match venue was changed to Doha.

Venezuela is ranked twenty-ninth and in FIFA Ranking one above Iran. The match will be held Tuesday, November 29, 18 (local time) in Doha.

AFC warns Iran on government interference!

Kuala Lumpur: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is closely monitoring the current issues faced by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) with regard to the announcement of a Law by the Republic Parliament designating the FFIRI as a Non Government public body and prohibiting the engagement of retired personnel.

The FFIRI stresses that it is a non governmental Organisation and the AFC state that all Member Associations must fulfil their duties without any third-party interference either from the Government or the Parliament. The AFC is closely working with the FFIRI, whose current board was elected for four years in May 2016, to prevent any outside interference. The AFC has a zero tolerance policy towards any third-party interference in their Member Associations and hopes that, with less than two months to the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, the FFIRI can maintain its independence and avoid any sanctions.

Trinidad and Tobago trains under unusually cold weather for the Caribbean players

Trinidad and Tobago’s National Football Team underwent its first training session in wet and chilly conditions on Monday morning in Tehran as head coach Dennis Lawrence conducted a one-hour session at the Iran Football Federation headquarters training pitch. Lawrence and members of the squad arrived in Tehran on Sunday night following the 14-hour journey to Dubai from Fort Lauderdale before the one hour, 45 minute flight to Tehran.

It rained for much of the day and temperatures reached 15 degrees during the midday session and dropped to a further 11 degrees by 6pm.  The Iran national team, coached by Carlos Quieroz also trained at the facility prior to T&T’s session ahead of Thursday’s international friendly at the Azadi Stadium,

On Saturday it was a historic moment for the female football fans of Iran as hundreds of them, separated from male supporters, watched home team Persepolis going down to Japan’s Kashima Antlers after putting up a tough fight in the Asian Champions League. Women were allowed 300 seats at the 90-000-seater venue and it is left to be seen how many will show up at Thursday’s friendly.Some 100 women attended last month’s friendly against Bolivia at the national stadium here. Women have been barred from attending matches since the 1979 Islamic revolution, with authorities saying they must be protected from the masculine atmosphere. But  female fans were permitted to cheer on their team  versus Bolivia with horns and national flags from a separate stand inside the stadium.

Queiroz named a 24-man squad on the weekend to prepare for the two upcoming friendlies with T&T and Venezuela. The squad includes star forward Karim Ansarifard, who played at the 2018 World Cup.

The striker, who scored the equaliser for his country in their 1-1 draw with Portugal at the World Cup, recently joined Nottingham Forest from Olympiacos. Club Brugge forward Kaveh Razaei, experienced 34-year-old captain Masoud Shojaei and Kazan-based striker Sardar Azmoun who has 23 goals from 37 matches have all been included in the home team’s roster.

T&T will be captained by Khaleem Hyland, Charleston Battery’s US-based midfielder Ataulla Guerra and German-based winger Joevin Jones and Kazakhstan-based defender Sheldon Bateau are in the T&T line-up along with Saudi Arabia-based duo Daneil Cyrus and Lester Peltier who is back in the team after a three-year absence.

Hyland said it was clear that  game against Iran would be one of T&T’s biggest assignment in some time.

“We know the quality that Iran has. They have a huge coach and they are just coming off a strong showing at the World Cup” Hyland told TTFA Media at the Parsian International hotel in Tehran on Monday.

“We played against them before the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and I think this is a huge game for us to see what level we are at and where have to go. I expect a tough game and the conditions changes just the same as Saudi Arabia. One minute it can be very humid and then very cold. We are over here to get a job done and we’ll try to stay focused and go out and do what we are here for and try to get a positive result on Thursday,” Hyland added.

With T&T preparing for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup and CONCACAF Nations League, the former Belgium-based midfielder  stated, “These are important games and you can only get better playing teams like these because they play in World Cup every four years and I think it’s a great opportunity to finally get ready for the Gold Cup and Nations League next year by playing teams of this high quality.

“We knew when Dennis took over the team it was a very difficult period. He was trying to patch up things and it was not the easiest of positions for any coach to come in under. Right now we are at a great level since then. We had to take it step by step since to fix things and so far we are getting there. Everyone has taken Dennis on board and he he is trying to implement what he wants us to do and how he wants us to carry about ourselves. I think he is a role model for a lot of the guys. He scored to take us to the 2006 World Cup and he has a lot of experience coaching under huge coaches. I think he can only help us and hopefully we can put every puzzle together and get ready for the upcoming tournaments,” Hyland added.

Trinidad & Tobago roster

Team Melli will be facing T&T on Thursday in Azadi Stadium as part of its long preparation for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2019 in the Emirates. The Trinidad side roster has been announced and it includes National Under 20 Men’s Team forward Isaiah Lee who was in Bradenton, Florida with the T&T Under 20 team. Lee is T&T’s top scorer with three goals at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship.  Earning a recall is Saudi Arabia-based player Lester Peltier and Cordell Cato, while Levi Garcia, Shahdon Winchester and Neveal Hackshaw are all missing due to injury. Also among the new call ups is 25-year-old Danish-born goalkeeper Nicklas Frenderup who plays for Norwegian First Division club Sandes ULF.  

Trinidad & Tobago Squad

 
NAME
PLAYERS CLUB #
1 SHELDON  BATEAU F.C. KAIRAT, KAZAKHSTAN 4
2 CORDELL  CATO CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE, USA 7
3 DANEIL  CYRUS AL-OROBAH F.C., SAUDI ARABIA 5
4 AUBREY  DAVID VAASAN PALLOSEURA F.C., FINLAND 2
5 NICKLAS  FRENDERUP SANDNES ULF, NORWAY 21
6 ADRIAN  FONCETTE POLICE F.C., T&T 22
7 CURTIS  GONZALES DEFENCE FORCE F.C., T&T 15
8 ATAULLA  GUERRA CHARLESTON BATTERY, U.S.A. 10
9 TRISTON  HODGE W CONNECTION F.C., T&T 18
10 AKEEM  HUMPHREY CLUB SANDO F.C., T&T 12
11 KHALEEM  HYLAND AL FAISALY F.C., SAUDI ARABIA 8
12 ALVIN  JONES W CONNECTION F.C., T&T 16
13 JOEVIN  JONES DARMSTADT 98,  GERMANY 3
14 KESTON  JULIEN AS TRENCIN FUTBAL CLUB, SLOVAKIA 6
15 ISAIAH  LEE MONROE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, USA 17
16 NATHAN  LEWIS INDY  ELEVEN F.C., USA 9
17 DUANE  MUCKETTE CENTRAL F.C., T&T 13
18 LESTON  PAUL CENTRAL F.C., T&T 23
19 LESTER  PELTIER CLUB AL MUJAZZAL, SAUDI ARABIA 11
20 MARVIN  PHILLIP CENTRAL F.C., T&T 1
21 JOMAL  WILLIAMS W CONNECTION F.C., T&T 20

24 players called to Team Melli camp.

24 players have been summoned for Team Melli training camp by head coach Carlos Queiroz. After the Venezuelan team reversal and refusal to travel to Tehran, Team Melli has one opportunity now in FIFA day and that match will be against Trinidad. Notable long-term absentees are Saeed Ezatolahie who might only recover in December , Morteza Pouraliganji and Pejman Montazeri. Alireza Jahanbakhsh also has a slight knock but might make it to the match in Azadi.  

THE SQUAD

# Player Post Club Country

GOALKEEPERS
1 ABEDZADEH, Amir GK C.S. Marítimo
2 BIRANVAND, Alireza GK Persepolis
3 HOSSEINI, Hossein GK Esteghlal

DEFENDERS
4 CHESHMI, Rouzbeh DF Esteghlal
5 GHAFOORI, Vourya DF Esteghlal
6 HOSSEINI, Majeed DF Trabzonspor
7 KANANI-ZADEGAN, Hossein DF Machine Sazi
8 KHANZADEH, Mohammadreza DF Al Ahli
9 MOHAMMADI, Milad DF Akhmat Grozny
10 MOHARRAMI, Sadegh DF Dinamo Zagreb
11 REZAEIAN, Ramin DF Al Shahaniya

MIDFIELD
11 AMIRI, Vahid MF Trabzonspor
12 DEJAGAH, Ashkan MF Tractorsazi
13 EBRAHIMI, Omid MF Al Ahli
14 GHODDOS, Saman MF Aimes
15 HAJSAFY, Ehsan MF Tractorsazi
16 NOORALLAHIE, Ahmad MF Persepolis
17 SHOJAEI, Masoud MF Tractorsazi
18 TORABI, Mehdi MF Saipa Alborz

FORWARDS
19 ANSARIFARD, Karim FW Nottingham Forest
20 AZMOUN, Sardar FW Rubin Kazan
21 GHOLIZADEH, Ali FW Charleroi 
22 JAHANBAKHSH, AliReza FW Brighton & Hove Albion
23 REZAEI, Kaveh FW FC Brugge
24 TAREMI, Mehdi FW Al Gharrafah