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QUEIROZ: "Team Melli's ship has sunk to the bottom"

Carlos Queiroz continued his crusade of doomsday scenarios for Iran's Team Melli and once again expressed his pessimistic viewpoint on the team fortunes, unless all concerned listen to his demands and abide by his rules!

"Team Melli's ship has sunk to the bottom" is how he describes the fortunes of the National Team with millions of die-hard fans inside and outside of Iran! In an interview with Radio Varzesh, the head coach of the team, added that " It is going to be a very difficult job to float the team  once again. Of course, I hope that Mehdi Taj and the other management committee members are capable of saving the team!"

In his usual antagonistic and aggressive gloves off attitude Queiroz continued to criticize and blame the administrations and authorities for lack of some basic facilities and dearth of resources for Team Melli predicting struggling and shaky paths towards the World Cup.

Carlos Queiroz leading Team Melli training.
Carlos Queiroz leading Team Melli training.

Queiroz continued his claims about how he is trying to lead Team Melli towards success while how the rest are not doing their job properly by failing to provide funds and facilities. Queiroz even criticized his staunchest backer in FFIRI the former President Ali Kaffashian. "Kaffashian did not listen to me, and now it is too late. We have wasted one and a half years due to lack of preparation and failure in obtaining a proper high class training facilities for Team Melli. My only apprehension now is to think of how to win the next match and then think of the next one after that”

Queiroz also took a swipe at some unnamed journalist who has lied about him (Queiroz) turning down an opportunity for a friendly match against Italy and Greece and labeled that person a dishonest fabricator.

Team Melli line up vs Kyrgyzstan announced.

Carlos Queiroz announced a new look line up for the match against Kyrgyzstan this evening Tuesday.

After the thrilling  3-1 win against Macedonia in Skopje , the Portuguese head coach has opted to use many reserves players  in the hope of finding more choices among his squad. As such  , many players who have not featured in Team Melli at international level will have the chance to impress Queiroz and his assistants. It is a good and wise move by the head coach and will surly open up the competition for first team choices amongst the reserves. Mohammad Tayyebi and Danial Mahinin will earn their first cap against Kyrgyzstan .

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Expected Team Melli Line Up

Iran vs. Kyrgyzstan

  KYRG line up      

Team Melli returns to Tehran to prepare for Kyrgyzstan.

Team Melli landed in the early hours of  Sunday morning in Tehran returning from Skopje , Macedonia via Istanbul airport. After the 3-1 win against Macedonia , Team Melli stayed in the country and continued training and preparation for the upcoming friendly international against Kyrgyzstan. So far , all the squad members are in a good condition with no injury reported. The squad will stay in the hotel until the match day on Tuesday 7th June. The match will be played in Azadi Stadium at 21:00 local time (15:30 GMT).

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HEAD2HEAD

The two neighboring countries have a very few number of games between them and no friendly matches at all. This is the first time the two teams are meeting in a friendly. The only two matches played were during the FIFA World Cup 1998 Asian Zone qualifiers were Team Melli came out comfortable winners in both matches.

Karim Bagheri tops the scoring against Kyrgyzstan with 3 goals in 2 matches while Khodadad Azizi has two goals.

Kyrgyzstan had a bit of a revival recently and despite failing to make the top 10 teams in the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers, their performances were good enough to worry the opponents and never were the punching bag team of the group as some predicted. Their best achievement was defeating Jordan in the qualifiers 1-0 , the goal scored by Anton Zemlianukhin.

Kyrgyzstan never qualified for any major tournament since independence from the Soviet Union in 1992. Their biggest defeat remains the 7-0 drubbing by Iran in Damascus.

one of the promising players emerging in Kyrgyzstan  is the young  Akhlidin Israilov who is playing for the second string team of mighty Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine. There are several national team players who play their football outside of Kyrgyzstan but none at major teams.

 
IRAN KYRGYZSTAN
Kyrgyzstan_FA.svg
FIFA Ranking
39 111
Current Form
Last 5 matches
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Matches

Venue Matches W D L Goals + / -
H 1 1 0 0 3 - 1 +2
A 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 +0
N 1 1 0 0 7 - 0 +7
Total 2 2 0 0 10 - 1 +9
Date Comp. venue  score Stadium Attendance
09.06.1997 WC Qualifier H 3 - 1 Azadi - Tehran 50000
04.06.1997 WC Qualifier N 7 - 0 Abbasyeen Stadium , Damascus 25000
 

VOLLEYBALL HEROES : Iran achieve first-ever Olympic qualification

Tokyo, Japan, June 4, 2016 – Iran achieved a historic feat as they earned their first-ever Olympic Games qualification, after they handed Poland their first defeat in the tournament 3-1 (25-20, 25-18, 20-25, 34-32) at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Saturday. Shahram Mahmoudi once again delivered a superb scoring performance. Mahmoudi had 24 points, including 20 attacks, two blocks and two aces. Poland opposite Dawid Konarski, who started in the match, topped all scorers with 29 points, while team-mate Artur Szalpuk logged 21 markers. Although Poland had more attacks in the match, but Iran limited their errors to a minimum of 18.
Poland coach Stephane Antiga opted to use his reserves in the opening set, which allowed Iran to have a spirited run. Poland led briefly in the first set at 6-4 then Iran levelled the score at 10-all. The Iranian players Shahram Mahmoudi and Seyed Mohammed Mousavi had an upsurge and stole the show from the European side as they led at 16-12 at the second technical timeout. Iran safeguarded their lead then reached set point, until Konarski’s serve went long that concluded the set 25-20. Iran continued to have excellent rhythm, while Poland blundered on their serves and attack. Farhad Ghaemi served two aces that stretched the Iranian lead to 22-15. Then the next few plays were a point-by-point exchange that favoured Iran as they closed the set 25-18.

Iran played a very fast-paced game in the third but Poland had set-up better offensive patterns for Konarski and Szalpuk. Poland gained a three-point cushion that made it easier for them to make a run and take the set 25-20. Iran recovered from their third set loss and led 8-3 and 16-13 at the technical timeouts. Poland gave them a strong challenge after and tied the score at 19-all. Bartosz Kurek was sent in to help out Poland and his presence gave Poland the strength to comeback. Iran struggled to close set and match, as Poland pushed to play extra points. Finally, Iran got a break as Michal Kubiak’s spike went out of bounds and his faulty reception enabled a free ball for Iran to counter with strong hit down the line at 34-32.

Macedonian match report

Moment of the second half; photo: Filip Zdraveski

After the win against Azerbaijan, Macedonia was put back on ground by the Asian giant who recorded a comfortable win in Skopje.

Macedonia made a small glimpse of hope with the 3:1 win over Azerbaijan on neutral ground in Austria on Sunday, but all that was quickly erased by the disastrous performance against Iran on Thursday. The many mistakes in the back line gave the Iranians lots of chances and only thanks to keeper Dimitrievski the final result wasn't a humiliating defeat.

Sardar Azmoun was a hat-trick hero for the visitors scoring all goals for his team. He broke the deadlock after only 8 minutes of play, but Macedonia quickly equalized through Aleksandar Trajkovski in the 10th minute. Ten minutes later Azmoun brought back Iran the lead, a score that remained for the entire first half.

Macedonia tried to create some chances after the break, but Azmoun destroyed all the hopes for a positive result with his third goal in the 60th minute. The Iranians could have easily win with 5 or 6:1, but keeper Dimitrievski managed so make some great saves.

The small crowd at the Philip II Arena once again booed the players, except Dimitrievski who earned ovations on several occasions.

Iran continues at the top of Asian FIFA ranking

Iran Climbed 3 steps to 39th in the world in the monthly published FIFA Ranking for April 2016. Latest FIFA ranking table which was published on 2nd June 2016 , shows Iran  with 688 points comfortably maintain its top rank ahead of its closest rival South Korea  with 603 points while  Japan follows with 581 and Australia with 563 in fourth at continental level. In addition to South Korea , Iran's opponents in the World Cup qualifiers group are ranked as Follows: Uzbekistan (66) China (81) , followed by Qatar (84) and Syria (101).

FIFA ranking

May 2016

 
Asia World Rank Team Total Points Previous Points +/-
 [1] 39 IRNIran 688 (688.17) 672 3
 [2] 50 KORKorea Republic 603 (603.04) 591 4
 [3] 53 JPNJapan 581 (581.15) 577 4
 [4] 59 AUSAustralia 563 (562.81) 601 -9
 [5] 65 KSASaudi Arabia 545 (545.17) 559 -5
 [6] 66 UZBUzbekistan 544 (543.56) 549 0
 [7] 70 UAEUnited Arab Emirates 517 (516.74) 521 -2
 [8] 80 JORJordan 434 (434.37) 418 2
 [9] 81 CHNChina PR 423 (423.24) 423 0
 [10] 84 QATQatar 407 (406.56) 416 -1

Iran's golden boy scores a hat trick against Macedonia

Sardar Azmoun scored a hat trick, his first at international level to lead Team Melli 3-1 against Macedonia in the match played At Philip II stadium at Skopje.

Azmoun scored early in the 8th minute from an assist by Dejagah , however the host quickly replied back and scored the equalizer in the 10th minute by A. Trajkovski assisted by I. Tričkovski

The parity however did not last long as once again Sardar Azmoun pounced on an easy opportunity to beat S. Dimitrievski with an easy shoot from Hajsafy's assist.  The half time finished 1-2 for Iran although Team Melli could have still added another goal.

In the second half Macedonia rested their star player Pandev and made a few changes but to no avail as The star of the Team was on a roll. Assisted by the fine pass of Saeed Ezatollahei , Azmoun found himself one on one from the through ball with only the keeper to beat. The FC Rostov top scorer finished immaculately to make it 3-1 for Team Melli. Azmoun was subbed in the 64th minute with Karimi Ansarifard who had a good season in the Greek League himself. Ansarifard managed to score a goal but it was disallowed for offside.

The result was never in doubt as Queiroz stuck to his game plan of building a solid defense and packing the midfield to feed the brilliant Azmoun. The result was a fine win for Team Melli against a European opponent , albeit not a very high ranked team. On the other hand South Korea was humiliated by Spain  6-1 in their international friendly in Switzerland.

Team Melli's next friendly is against Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday.

 

Macedonia vs. Iran

 

Team Melli carried out its last practice session on Wednesday in Skopje's main Stadium Philip II in preparation for the game against host Macedonia in the friendly international on Thursday.

The training session led by Carlos Queiroz was mostly light drills including acceleration practise, shooting and group passing. This was the only practise for the match stadium which will kick off at 1730 local time  (20:00 Tehran Time)

Macedonia played against Azerbaijan on Sunday winning 3-1 with goals scored by M. Radeski, Goran  Pandev and  Nestorovski .  The 32 years superstar of the team and Captain Goran Pandev  is the most senior player and plays in Italy with Genoa. 

Team Melli will be playing with the same usual line up possibly with two attackers, Azmoun and Taremi. However , Queiroz might find it more appropriate to solidify his midfield which could relegate Taremi to the bench while leaving Azmoun to spearhead the attack.

The absence of Teymourian could be significant loss , however there are plenty of good options for Queiroz in the midfield area although none has the experience of Teymourian. Ashkan Dejagah will be leading from the midfield.

Goalkeeping remains the most critical of the lines with 3 options that have not been performing up to a satisfactory level. Queiroz will be working extra to ensure a solid defense line featuring  Hosseini , Montazeri in the middle of the defense while Hajsafy will occupy the left back position and Rezaeian on the right. 

This will be the 4th match between Macedonia and Iran at full international level. The honors are even between the teams with a win each and one draw.

CURRENT FIFA WORLD RANKING

MACEDONIA  141        -       IRAN   42

FYR of MACEDONIA  Squad

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Club
GK Stole Dimitrievski 25 December 1993 (age 22) Spain Granada B
GK Igor Aleksovski 24 February 1995 (age 21) Republic of Macedonia Makedonija Gj. P.
DF Vanche Shikov 19 July 1985 (age 30) Austria Austria Wien
DF Stefan Ristovski 12 February 1992 (age 24) Croatia Rijeka
DF Kire Ristevski 22 October 1990 (age 25) Hungary Vasas
DF Leonard Zhuta 9 August 1992 (age 23) Croatia Rijeka
DF Darko Velkovski 21 June 1995 (age 20) Republic of Macedonia Vardar
DF Egzon Bejtulai 7 January 1994 (age 22) Republic of Macedonia Shkendija
DF Gjoko Zajkov 10 February 1995 (age 21) Belgium Charleroi
MF Ivan Trichkovski 18 April 1987 (age 29) Cyprus AEK Larnaca
MF Aleksandar Trajkovski 5 September 1992 (age 23) Italy Palermo
MF David Babunski 1 March 1994 (age 22) Serbia Red Star
MF Enis Bardhi 2 July 1995 (age 20) Hungary Újpest
MF Bojan Najdenov 27 August 1991 (age 24) Republic of Macedonia Rabotnichki
MF Nikola Gjorgjev 22 August 1997 (age 18) Switzerland Grasshopper
MF Boban Nikolov 28 July 1994 (age 21) Republic of Macedonia Vardar
MF Dejan Peshevski 5 August 1993 (age 22) Slovakia Podbrezová
FW Goran Pandev (Captain) 27 July 1983 (age 32) Italy Genoa
FW Ilija Nestorovski 12 March 1990 (age 26) Croatia Inter Zaprešic
FW Marjan Radeski 10 February 1995 (age 21) Republic of Macedonia Shkendija

Head2Head

Venue Matches W D L Goals + / -
H 3 1 1 1 5 - 4 +1
A 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 +0
N 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 +0
Total 3 1 1 1 5 - 4 +1

Matches

Date Comp. H / A / N Final score Stadium Attendance
18.11.2009 Friendly H 1 - 1 Azadi Stadium - Tehran 1000
11.11.2005 Friendly / Tehran Intl. Tournament H 1 - 2 Azadi Stadium, Tehran. 27000
09.06.2000 Others / LG CUP H 3 - 1 Azadi - Tehran 40000

Squad to play Macedonia announced

The final list of 23 players selected for the match against Macedonia on 2nd of June has been published.

Ando Teymourian, the Team Melli captain is not amongst the final 23 so are Zob Ahan and Esteghlal players who are not available for selection due to their commitment with their clubs for the Final of Hazfi Cup.

Two players who are under Military Service are also barred from leaving Iran. Soroush Rafei and Bakhtiyar Rahmani are not permitted to leave the country , however , it is unclear how both players were allowed to travel to Dubai and play against Al Nasr for their club Tractorsazi while still under military Service. Such permit was not granted for the players while serving their country as Team Melli players!!

  Another match against Kyrgyzstan on 7th June in Azadi Stadium.  

Team Melli Squad

No Player Name  Posn. Club
1 AKHBARI, Mohammad Reza GK Tractorsazi
2 AMIRI, Vahid FW Naft Tehran
3 ANSARIFARD, Karim FW Panionios FC (GRC)
4 AZMOUN, Sardar FW FC Rostov (RUS)
5 BIRANVAND, Alireza GK Naft Tehran
6 DEJAGAH, Ashkan MF Al Arabi (QAT)
7 EZZATOLLAHI, Saeid MF FC Rostov (RUS)
8 HAGHIGHI, Alireza GK CS Marítimo (POR)
9 HAJSAFY, Ehsan DF FSV Frankfurt (GER)
10 HOSSEINI, Jalal DF Naft Tehran
11 JAHANBAKHSH, AliReza MF AZ Alkmaar (NED)
12 KAMYABINIA, Kamaleddin DF Persepolis
13 MAHINI , Danial DF Esteghlal Khuzestan
14 MOHAMMADI, Milad DF Rah Ahan
15 MONTAZERI, Pejman DF Al Ahli (QAT)
16 POURALIGANJI, Morteza DF Al Sadd (QAT)
17 POURGHAZ, Ezzatollah DF Malavan Anzali
18 REZAEIAN, Ramin MF Persepolis
19 SHOJAEI, Masoud MF Al-Gharafa (QAT)
20 SHOJAEIAN, Dariush MF Gostaresh Foolad
21 TAREMI, Mehdi FW Persepolis
22 TAYYEBI, Mohammad DF Esteghlal Khuzestan
23 TORABI, Mehdi MF Saipa

Queiroz "We will request to move Qatar match to Tabriz"

Team Melli head coach suggested that the first match against Qatar in the final rounds of FIFA World Cup 2018 should be moved to Tabriz'z Yadegar Imam  stadium because of friendlier atmosphere!

"I have asked Mr. Taj to move our match against Qatar to Tabriz because they treat us much better there."  Queiroz said in a statement to the press after the conclusion of the Team Melli practise session in Azadi this afternoon.  Iran has always played major Team Melli games in Tehran's Azadi Stadium. The last time a match was played in Tabriz was 16 years ago. A decision to move to Tabriz, would should surely antagonize Queiroz fans in Tehran. Queiroz did not mention how he figured out the friendlier atmosphere in Tabriz while he never experienced playing there with Team Melli.

Queiroz who is never far from controversy , hostility and a battles against his alleged enemies, also had some harsh words for the Manager of Azadi sport complex. He accused the person without naming him of being an enemy of Team Melli  and treating his squad with contempt.! 

It is believed that this idea of moving to Tabriz is more directed to the alleged bad treatment of the stadium  management rather than the fans sentiments.

Queiroz said that he will be taking 24 players to Macedonia for the friendly international in Skopje. The final list has not been produced yet pending health report and injury condition on couple of the players.

Queiroz also said that he will present a comprehensive report on the new Team Melli kit to Mehdi Taj , the head of IRIFF , however he declined to disclose any details. Team Melli has just changed its kit to a little known Italian kit supplier.

When confronted by a journalist about his broad and repetitive accusations, a defiant Queiroz admitted that but said "I know that I have been repeating the same things over and over again for a few years now, but as long as these people (...) are there and acting hostile , I will talk. No body can stop me from talking against them and exposing them!"

It is clear that no one seems to dare to stop the Portuguese from trash talking , and it is also clear that many are tired of his rhetorics, however , what really matters is how he will lead his team in the World Cup qualifiers. The competition is tough but Iran is well capable of making the trip to Russia if the Portuguese plays his cards right and not come up with the excuses such as Qatar and China are rich and investing!