The former Iranian Team Melli player who traveled to Russia to watch Iran and Spain play, commented favorably on the team's performance and said: "So far, we have been very good and I hope like all the people of Iran, that we do qualify for the next round this time.”

Mahdi MahdaviKia, speaking to Mehr correspondent, said: "We have bagged three points with the win against Morocco and we still stand a chance of qualification, all depending on the last round. The vital match was the one against Morocco, which, thankfully, we won.”

He said: "We have defended absolutely from the beginning of the match. This cannot be denied and from the perspective of those who follow international football, it was a 9 man defense. But after conceding the goal where we needed to attack, we went ahead and played an admirable game. In fact, we showed that there is potential in the offensive line and we can create dangerous attacking moves.”

The former midfielder was positive and confident about Portugal game: "We will hopefully win that game. It is a hard task to achieve, but it is not beyond us. We can do it”

MahdaviKia spoke about the widely covered criticism of the national team's defensive style: "Many say they play defensively, it is a legitimate strategy, but in the second half of the game with Spain we have also displayed the potential for attack. We excelled up front when we needed to"

The former midfielder of Team  Melli who scored Iran’s goal against the United States in the 1998 World Cup in France also commented on the criticism directed at Sardar Azmoun’s performance: "There are critics everywhere in the world. Those who criticize must know what role the coach wanted him to play. Some players seem to perform below expectations, but the same player on the pitch would have done an excellent job of what the coach has asked him to do. I think all Team Melli players played well and surpassed expectations. This is the quality that we have at the moment, we can’t ask for something that is beyond their capabilities.”

MahdaviKia commented on Cristiano Ronaldo's facing Iranian defense “Portugal's biggest strength is this player who has scored 4 goals for Portugal , in fact all their goals. But it is football, and a team is a set of players it is a team game. For example, you see, Messi cannot do everything by himself, he needs his teammates support. If we need to win then we have to restrain Ronaldo so we can qualify by achieving the desired result.”

Iran and Portugal will face each other FIFA Russian World Cup on Monday. With two players missing from Portugal training session today.

Portuguese players Joao Moutinho and Raphael Guerreiro both missed the team training session today.

According to the news, Moutinho is suffering from cold while Guerreiro has a knock on one of his legs and therefore were absent and did not attend Portuguese training..

A billboard in Iran which supported the nation's World Cup team has been replaced after it was criticised for not featuring any women.

The previous billboard, in Tehran, showed men of different ethnicitiescelebrating around a trophy.

It has been replaced with a different design in which several women are visible standing side-by-side with men.

A line next to the image reads in Persian: "Together we are champions: one nation, one heartbeat."

The original billboard caused uproar, with the front page of the Qanun newspaper carrying an image with the caption 'We lose without women'.

Social media users in Iran criticised what they saw as implied gender discrimination by excluding women from the picture.

Since the Iranian revolution of 1979, women have not been allowed inside sporting venues.

In April, several women disguised themselves as men so they could watch their team, Persepolis, play rivals Sepidrood at the Azadi stadium in Tehran.

The authorities have cancelled a plan to allow women to watch the national team's World Cup matches on a big screen in Tehran's Azadi Stadium.

The Iranian females athletes have won many medals in different sports including Asian & Olympics Games. The latest achievement was the Iran female futsal team which won the continental crown after beating japan in the final.

Morocco lost its bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2026 and much of the blame seems to be shouldered by Saudi Arabia, according to the Moroccans.

Rabat and Riyadh had very cordial and close relations for decades. The wealth of the Saudi's has played a major part in those so-called brotherly relations. The Gulf Arab Kings, Emirs and princes have made Morocco their favorite playground. Buying properties and palaces, investing in joint ventures and pouring billions in the country's economy in form of economical aids have kept the economy of the population of 36 million afloat. But it all comes at a price. Morocco, despite its claim of independence and sovereignty in political decision making, has practically turned into a Gulf Country colony in recent years fearing the wrath of the ruthless Saudi kings and are expected to follow the Saudi policies. Lately, without any proof or shred of evidence, Morocco suddenly cut its diplomatic relation with the Islamic Republic of Iran on the behest of the big brother and paymaster Saudi Arabia.

When the national federations convened for the 68th FIFA Congress, politics and geostrategic calculations quickly transformed the sporting experience into an exercise of usurpation and heavy politicizing.

Not satisfied with casting its own ballot for the United Bid, the US-led North American trio, Saudi Arabia used its financial resources and spiritual authority to convince it allies and some other Muslim-majority countries to back North America at the expense of Morocco 2026!

What was started as a competition between two bids promising to serve the interests of the game and fans has become a venue for permanent extortion and backstage diplomatic tricks, exposing the toxic politicization of sport. FIFA as it is now common knowledge, is prime example of corruption and politics with billions of dollars at stake.

 “This feels like being stabbed in your back by a brother,” some diplomatic sources have been quoted as saying, referring to news that the Gulf kingdom(s) actively lobbied for the United bid on June 11 and 12.

Bristling with Riyadh’s intense efforts to undermine the Moroccan bid in Muslim circles, some Moroccan officials have explained that although the Saudis are entitled to their decision to endorse the United bid, it is much less comprehensible that “a fellow brother” could go to such lengths to turn other Muslim countries against a bid representing shared values and traditions.

“The muscular Saudi lobbying” has already succeeded in changing the position of about ten national federations who were either wavering or considering a Morocco 2026 vote at the FIFA congress it was claimed by top level Moroccan official..

Arabophone outlet Goud, for example, quoted Moroccan diplomatic sources and representatives in Moscow as saying that Saudi lobbying for the North American bid was far more significant than Canada’s entire campaigning efforts.

Tension between Saudi Arabia and Morocco

Though Riyadh is known for being America’s most strategic ally in the Muslim world, it is now a known secret that that the Gulf country’s anti-Morocco 2026 agenda has much to do with Rabat’s position in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It is understood that Saudi Arabia is frustrated with Rabat’s “objective neutrality” in the Gulf crisis.

Others have also pointed out Morocco’s reluctance to send troops to Yemen despite numerous requests from Saudi authorities. As a result, they argue, Riyadh has chosen to vent its frustration on the North African’s dream to host the footballing world’s most prestigious tournament.

On social media, the outrage caused by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation’s last-minute intrusion into the pre-voting procedures cannot be overstated. Many Moroccans appeared to have had it with the Saudis’ disregard for their “national cause.” Some went as far as asking Moroccan authorities to review the country’s diplomacy towards a “circumstantial ally.”

“It is just a matter of time. Rabat is taking its time to know the intention and priorities of the new Saudi authorities. In the end, Morocco’s national interests will always prevail,” a source at the foreign affairs ministry said under conditions of anonymity.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are believed to be among the ten Muslim countries whose change of heart is said to have come about as a result of Saudi Arabia’s pro-United 2026 lobbying. And since FIFA will make public the vote of each national federation, it remains to be seen the full extent of the Saudi damage to Morocco 2026

Iran , did not vote for either. Neither Donald Trump not the King of Morocco are too popular with the Islamic republic at the moment.

But the effects of this Arab infighting has reached the Iran vs Morocco match albeit on the lighter side. After the 5-0  drubbing of Saudi Arabia by the Russians, Moroccan football fans in St. Petersburg, European cities and back home rejoiced while the social media have turned into a war of words between the Moroccans and Saudis’.

Now the funny and the odd part

Saudi fans and some other gulf states are praying for an Iran win against Morocco. The social media is buzzing with messages of support for the arch enemy Iran to beat the Moroccans in retaliation for the North African nation’s fans celebrating Saudi Arabia’s defeat. Sounds complicated?

Outsiders might find it extremely odd for fans to think politically to that extent, although even in Europe and Latin America politics has some effect on football support fan base. However, governments in the Persian Gulf States have their own discreet agents who spread their messages and political views in disguise. The so-called electronic flies are extensively deployed on the internet by countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain for political purposes.

Whether the Saudi prayers for Iran to win will have any effect, remains to be seen.