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Queiroz disdainful interference in domestic politics and his insults.

Carlos Queiroz will use any trick up his sleeves to water down his shameful performance against England. Now he is deflecting the loss on the fans in the stadium and congratulating them for doing their job well. He has also found a useful tool for himself. Politics.

In the days that the country is suffering from hardship, agony, and repression, the so-called Hojat-o- Islam Haj Carlos Queiroz is poking his nose into affairs that has nothing to do with him except to side with his paymasters!  In a blatant interference in politics, and instead of focusing on his own shortfalls, his erroneous archaic tactics, his players' mistakes, and generally the physical shape and emotional condition of his players, he is sending condemning those Iranians who are critical of low standard, his team low esteem, and the regime.

 On the sidelines of the team's training in Doha today, Carlos Queiroz commented on the prevailing conditions of the squad before the match against Wales on Friday and the events of the England match. The Portuguese coach, who got the job on a plate of gold, after his predecessor, Dragan Skocic, did all the hard work, referred to the England match "I thank the media for their support. We never want to be on the pitch but not be able to win for the fans. We will learn from the result. We lost against a team that is probably one of the title contenders, and we should be ourselves with proper behavior and mental peace on the field (...). As I said before and in the message I sent, our players in the national team are not our enemies. I congratulate those who want to turn the players into enemies of the country because they did their job right. But I'm sure most people know that these players made people happy and proud for many years."

Queiroz added: "I want to fight against the idea that the national team players are our enemies. Our enemies are those who tried to disrupt our focus.  Those who think that playing in the World Cup against English or Portuguese teams and others is like playing on PlayStation are very wrong. This is a great responsibility on our shoulders. Congratulations to the people who did it. They should be happy because of what they have done. Carlos Queiroz criticized the media in this interview and stated that this media has reached the composition of the national team on the morning of the game against England! He said: You are a great hero and this showed that there is someone in my team who will inform you!

Don't hold your horses waiting for the local totally controlled government-owned and-run media to criticize the Portuguese for his rude insult to the Iranian fans. However, this man needed to be confronted with facts.

The first interesting note here is the sarcastic congratulatory note to the fans, who in case this Portuguese does not know, spend their hard-earned money to travel from across the world as far as Australia and America to see their beloved Team Melli. It is not like him who is being paid to do a job, these fans spend their own money. Wise up, Carlos! It is within their full right to criticize. They have not come to the stadium to watch losers, Team Melli fans maintain a high standard and like to see winners. But even if the team loses, they have been supportive, it is difficult to swallow this shameful, embarrassing drubbing. Lucky for Queiroz that he is coaching in Iran, if he was a coach of Saudi Arabia or any other Persian Gulf country, he would have been booted out before even leaving the stadium for shaming the country's name.

The second issue that Queiroz needs to address in his incoherent statement is that someone actually did a good job, his words not ours, and succeeded, though he himself failed and failed miserably. Perhaps, Queiroz needs to go back to these fans and learn lessons in success and how to achieve it.

It is so sad that the affairs of Team Melli have reached such a status, particularly with the presence of the ever-divisive Portuguese man who should have never been anywhere close to this post. Even if he wins against the next two opponents, which Team Melli deserves, it will never be thanks to him but to the efforts of the coaching staff and crew that have accompanied Team Melli since 2019 in the qualifiers namely Dragan Skocic and the likes of Karim Bagheri.

Team Melli vs England: Players and Coach ratings

Team Melli's Team Rating in the match against England ended a 6-2 for Iran Man of the Match for Iran: MEHDI TAREMI

Iran (5-4-1)

Ali Beiranvand (GK) Ludicrous that he was allowed to continue after a nasty head injury. Eventually carried out on a stretcher after 19 minutes.  He was confident while on the pitch and had no real threat to deal with. 6

Sadegh Moharrami (RB) was Overwhelmed by England’s raids down his flank. He could not contain Shaw. Not one of his good days. 5

Morteza Pouraliganji (CB) Formerly a defensive midfielder, the converted center-back was turned by Kane for England’s third. He partnered Hosseini and the duo just fell apart. Booked. 4

Roozbeh Cheshmi (CB) was One of the most unexpected names on the sheet when the starting lineups were announced. Away from Team Melli for a long time only recently recalled by Queiroz. Poor showing and lack of agility were evident. Overpowered by Maguire when the defender nodded down for Saka to score. Substituted at half-time. 3.5

Majid Hosseini (CB) was Not the most confident of defenders and his partnership with Pouraliganji proved to be fateful. He was beaten in the air when Bellingham scored the opener. He struggled with England’s attack. 3.5

Milad Mohammadi (LB) Had the unenviable task of trying to keep up with Saka. The youngster tormented him. He did however manage a few runs on the wing but to no avail. 4

Alireza Jahanbakhsh (RW)  One performance to forget from a player that has done so well in the qualifiers. His time warming the bench with his club was telling as he seemed to be out of match practice. He squandered a glorious chance to score but instead ballooned the ball while no English defender was close to him. Booked and replaced at half-time. 4

Ali Karimi (CM) He was utterly lost and out of place in this Team Melli lineup. Karimi was overwhelmed by England’s midfield trio and could not match their skills.  3

Ahmad Noorollahi (CM)  Another player who was simply overwhelmed by the English midfield players. No support at all for4 Taremi . Really struggled while on the pitch as he saw little of the ball. 3.5

Ehsan Haji Safi (LW) The captain spent much of his time tracking back to mark Saka. It made little difference. 5

Mehdi Taremi (CF) With Carlos Queiroz’s game plan, Taremi was isolated and hardly received any service, but he scored a marvelous goal beating both Maguire and Stones to shoot past hapless Pickford. Iran's best player scored both goals despite the lack of service.  8

Substitutes

Hossein Hosseini (for Beiranvand, 19) was an early goalkeeper replacement and could not be faulted for any of the goals. 5;

Ali Gholizadeh (for Jahanbakhsh, h-t) Managed a mini-revival when he was introduced. Played a clever pass for Taremi’s first goal. 6.5;

Hossein Kanaani (for Cheshmi, h-t) A player who should have started the game, but the coach thought otherwise. In the circumstances, he did well in the second half. 6;

Saeid Ezatolahi (for Karimi, h-t) His contribution was minimal as like his other midfield teammates he looked disorientated and out of place 4.5;

Mehdi Torabi: (for Milad Mohammadi 63') Made little impact in the minutes he was on the pitch 4.5;

 Sardar Azmoun (for Noorollahi, 77) Despite the long-time injury, he was mobile and dynamic for the minutes he played. Could have very well scored but for Pickford's brilliant save 6.5

  COACH Carlos Queiroz: His players' selection and insistence on parking the bus tactics ended in a disaster this time. The substitutions he made in the second half did improve the team somehow, but it was too little too late. Not a coach who admits his faults or mistakes in public, but deep down he is experienced and senior enough to know that he really made some bad choices against England. 4

'Really good player': Rio Ferdinand raves about 'ridiculous' striker Arsenal reportedly want to sign

Rio Ferdinand has raved about FC Porto striker Mehdi Taremi on BBC today – a striker Arsenal reportedly wants to sign. According to CBS Sport, Arsenal could’ve signed Taremi back in January as the striker was offered to the Gunners on a loan deal. Mikel Arteta looked to be in desperate need of attacking reinforcements at the start of this year, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out of favor before he made the switch to Barcelona. Arteta’s men were left with just Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah for the second half of the campaign. But A Bola – via Sport Witness – claimed last month that Arsenal are still one of the clubs that could be chasing Taremi’s signature in January. The 30-year-old bagged two goals against England today though as his national side Iran were thrashed 6-2 in their opener at the World Cup. And before the game, Ferdinand was full of praise for the Porto man

Ferdinand raves about Taremi

“This guy knows how to score goals. He’s a bit of a hybrid between a nine and a ten,” Ferdinand told BBC Sport.  “He’s happy to come short or run through. He’s a really good player. This is what I mean if they get on the counter and in transition and chances do fall to this guy, we will have to be worried.” Ferdinand wasn’t wrong in his assessment of the ‘ridiculous’ Taremi and he looked a real bright spark for Iran. Taremi has bagged 13 goals for Porto this season and opened his World Cup account against Southgate’s men earlier today. The Gunners probably could have done with a player like Taremi during the second half of last season. They missed out on Champions League qualification to their bitter rivals Spurs and lacked real firepower up-front towards the end of the season. But Arsenal fans probably won’t be losing too much sleep over it, especially now they have Gabriel Jesus leading the line at the Emirates. The Iran striker could still represent a good option for the Gunners though and would provide quality backup for Jesus in north London.

Queiroz’s Master Disaster show!

The writing was on the wall when against England, Carlos Queiroz, always a pig-headed coach, decided that he will have his own formidable defense instead of the one that was excellently built by his predecessor and trusted by Dragan Skocic. Majid Hosseini and Morteza Pouralganji were deemed to be more capable central defenders than the duo of Hossein Kananizadegan and Shojaá Khalilzadeh who served Team Melli superbly and played in almost all the FIFA World Cup qualifiers until Queiroz turned up to turn the table upside down!! A 6-2 humiliation! For anyone who is even remotely familiar with Team Melli and its long road to qualification, the combination of Hosseini/Pouralganji was not tested nor has been proven. To add to Team Melli’s woes, out of nowhere really, Ali Karimi and Rozbeh Cheshmi suddenly are the starting lineup players in midfield! Granted that Team Melli’s Midfield is most probably the weakest link, lacking leadership, flair, and physical strength, however, the Karimi/Cheshmi was not the solution as Mr. Queiroz found out very soon after kick-off.  The World Cup is not a place for trials. Since when Karimi/Cheshmi starred for team Melli, I suspect behind the closed door against Tunisia. The coach has the full right to try combinations of his choice, but not in the World Cup. This is not a place for trials. The team lacked meaningful preparation matches and its effects showed against England.  Mistakes like that are costly and unrecoverable most of the time. This Queiroz horror show was reminiscent of the match in Al Ain when Team Melli collapsed against Japan in the semi-final of the AFC Asian Cup 2019. But then again, what did the fans expect from the team? All the odds were stacked against Team Melli on and off the field. Changing the coach, a couple of months before the World Cup was a risk, a very big risk. The team was stable, qualified quite easily to the finals, and seemed to be on track to have a successful world cup. But someone had to rock the boat, and that person was Mehdi Taj, a dubious character who left the federation in taters resigning his post while under suspicion of wrongdoing in the Belgian Marc Wilmots contract. The appointment of Wilmots was a disaster, on and off the field. He was a failure on the field as he led Iran to the brink of elimination from the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in the first step. Off the field, it was even worst as his appointment was a financial disaster orchestrated by Mehdi taj. Taj resigned his post as chief of FFIRI while Team Melli was about to be eliminated, claiming ill health, while this ill health did not prevent him from serving as Vice President of the AFC! And by the mercy of God and the hands of the Mullahs, he turns up again a few months before the World Cup! Facing one of the strongest teams in the world, in the toughest and highest competitions such as the FIFA World Cup requires management, planning, and intelligence none of which is available in the Iranian football echelon now.  Those who know how to run and manage must be loyalists to the regime, or else their know-how and skill are deposited in the trash bin.

While the FFIRI holds the major responsibility for this embarrassment cum disaster of a show, Queiroz bears the ultimate responsibility. He has the audacity to praise his team, while the statistics and actual performance shows the superiority of the English against his own team and ultimately, the difference between men and boys. Queiroz's mistakes, poor judgment, and poor selection were indeed an embarrassment of the ultimate kind. At the end of the day, this government-controlled football federation has paid the price for its chaotic policies, mistaken priorities, and lack of management skills. The damage has been done against England and with it a pride of a nation that always revered its national football team. As for the players, we all hope that they recover and leave that heavy defeat against England aside. Good results against Wales and USA are still possible if Queiroz regains his sanity. For the sake of the players, who are under immense psychological pressure due to the events in Iran and the widespread killings, Team Melli still requires the support of the fans. Mehdi Taremi needs a special mention here. His wondergoal remains the only point of pride in this forgettable match.

Team Melli stage silent protest

Jonathan Harding Doha
5 hours ago

While the people of Iran protest back home, the national team sent a powerful message of their own from Qatar. Iran coach Carlos Queiroz conceded his players are "affected by the issue" after a 6-2 defeat by England.

Football is the last thing on most people's minds in Iran at the moment, but the country's men's team used the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to launch a powerful protest.

While the national anthem played ahead of their game against England, the team stood silently, refusing to sing. Their decision was met with raucous cheers from the Iran fans, who tried to drown out the anthem with boos for the music and cheers of support for the players. Some applauded with tears in their eyes.

"Everybody knows the circumstances, the environment of my players is not ideal in terms of commitment and concentration, and they are affected by the issue," a clearly emotional Carlos Queiroz, head of the Iranian team, said afterward. "They are human beings, they are kids."

"You don't even know behind the scenes what these kids have been living in the last few days, just because they want to play football," Queiroz continued.

Before the game, Iran captain Ehsan Hajsafi expressed his condolences to all the bereaved families in Iran, saying: "They should know that we are with them, we support them and we sympathize with them."

More than a match

Thousands of Iran fans were at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha and although Iran lost 6-2, it was clear long before kick-off this was much more than another game of international football. Some fans cheered on their way out of the metro. Some wore t-shirts with the words: "women, life, freedom" written on them. During halftime, an Iranian flag with the same three words was held aloft. Another fan wore a t-shirt with the message: "75 million. We want change, but not a change that will lead to the destruction of Iran." One girl, stood with her family, took photos of their tickets and laughed, such was her happiness at having the chance to watch their team play at the World Cup. Indeed, for many fans attending the game, this was an emotional moment. "The Iranian regime kills us. I'm here because they killed our children," Rosita told DW. "I am here just for Iran, for my country, not the Iranian regime. We hate the Iranian regime. We like Ali Karimi, Ali Daei, we like all people who support Iranian people, not those who don't support Iranian people."
"Woman Life Freedom" — the message from Iranian fans at the Khalifa International StadiumImage: Mike Egerton/PA/IMAGO

'We are Iranian'

For Fatima, this was a moment of joy and pain. "I'm so happy but the people in my country are so unhappy. It's the first time I have experienced the World Cup, and I am very happy to be here. In Iran, women are not allowed to go to the stadium," Fatima said. "This is the first time my brother and I go to the stadium." In August this year, for the first time in over four decades, Iranian authorities allowed female football fans to attend a men's league match. "All Iranian people I think have their hearts with the people in Iran. We are Iranian, all of us," Behman said before the game. Some fans didn't want to talk or wanted the conversation to be about football. "We are gathering here as football fans to enjoy the game and not to talk about what's happening in Iran," said Abdallah.
Iran's players stand together, united in not signing the country's national anthem
Iran's players stood together, united in not signing the country's national anthem images: Han Yan/Xinhua/IMAGO

Months of unrest

Ever since the death of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini in September, protests against the government across the country have spread. At Amini's funeral, the words "women, life, freedom" were first sung. They became a rallying cry across Iran as civil unrest unfolded. Hundreds of protesters are reported to have been killed and thousands more detained. Before the World Cup began, Iran's record goal scorer and former Bayern Munich striker Ali Daei refused an invitation to attend the tournament in a show of solidarity with Iranian protesters. During the Iran game, there were chants of support for Daei and Karimi. In September, star player and Bayer Leverkusen forward Sardar Azmoun posted on Instagram saying: "My heart breaks for Mahsa Amini… I will always support you…  I hope that one day your place in this country will be justified and I hope that the women of my country will never suffer the same."
Many thought he might not even make the World Cup squad when, after having blacked out his Instagram profile picture in support of the protests, Azmoun posted more support on Instagram stories, saying: "That is worth sacrificing for one strand of Iranian women's hair. Shame on you who kill people so easily. Long live Iranian women." But Azmoun is there in Qatar and although he didn't start against England he did come off the bench. When he took to the field, he was met with a huge cheer from the crowd — the same was not true for Mehdi Torabi when he came on. From the protest during the anthem to the visible emotion in the stands and Queiroz's words late on, this was a historic day for Iranian football. Two goals were cheered late on, but for many here it was clear the desired victory lies beyond the football fields of Qatar.

Iran uprising seen through the eyes of Iranian women

A humulation for Team Melli

Team Melli suffered it heaviest defeat in World Cup history after a 6-2 drubbing by title contenders England.

Jude Bellingham started the rout in the 35th minute, Arsenal star Bokayo Saka made it 2-0 on the 43rd, and Raheem Sterling scored the third in the 45th First half ended 3-0

In the second, Bokayo Saka was on the scoresheet again on the 62nd  to make it 4-0 before Mehdi Tarremi scored from a tremendous shot on the 65th. Substitute Marcus Rashford scored 49 seconds after he was on the field on 71st,  Jack Grealish (90) ended the scoring for England 6-1. Sardar Azmoun who was substituted managed to run past his English marker to face Jordan Pickford on one to one situation. The Everton and England keeper managed to save Azmoun's shoot. and finally, the VAR review awarded a penalty for Iran where Taremi slotted nicely for his second goal of the evening. The match ended 6-2 for England.

The 45,000 fans in the 60,000-seat Khalifa Stadium in Doha, witnessed a superior display by Southgate players while Iran under Queiroz not only suffered its heaviest defeat but displayed poor control, lack of stamina, bad passing, and total collapse of the defensive strategy that Queiroz prides himself in.

Earlier in the half, a collision between Alireza Beiranvand and Majid Hosseini result in a bad injury to the Iranian goalkeeper. This resulted in a 14 minutes pause while Beiranvand was being treated . Finally, when Beiranvand treatment was over, and while still clearly dazed, he opted to continue playing without any objection from the medical team or the coaching staff, who must have feared losing their number one goalkeeper in detriment to his health. Alireza vividly in a concussion status could not stay focused for longer than a few minutes after the match restarted before he collapsed to the ground. A stretcher took him out while Hossein Hosseini replaced him.

This embarrassing, yet unexpected result was a culmination of many failures and shortfalls in the team. It started with the selection of a coach whose archaic strategy and game plans have proven to be a failure not just in Iran but Colombia and Egypt before it. In fairness, Queiroz was not given proper time for preparation for the greatest of championships like the World Cup, yet for whatever reason, he accepted the job offer despite its risk thinking he knows enough about the team he left three years ago. And the result was a disaster against a quality team in England. The old age team was clearly suffering in physical attributes against the much younger English team, Little preparation compared to other World Cup teams was also in evidence in the misplaced passes. Lack of confidence, concentration, and political turmoil back home were also factors in this heavy defeat.

Iran Line UP

Alireza Biranvand (19' Seyed Hossein Hosseini), Sadegh Mohrrami, Majid Hosseini, Rozbe Cheshmi (46' Mohammad Hossein Kanaani Zadegan), Morteza Pouraliganji, Majid Hosseini, Ehsan Haji Safi, Milad Mohammadi (63' Mehdi Tarabi) ), Ahmad Nooralhi (77' Sardar Azmoun), Ali Karimi (46' Saeed Ezzatollahi), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (46' Ali Gholizadeh) and Mehdi Taremi.

old agers

Iran’s Ehsan Hajsafi: ‘The conditions in our country are not right’

The Guardian Monday 21 November 2022

In a significant, politically freighted intervention, Iran’s captain Ehsan Hajsafi has said he would be happy for his team to serve as a force for change in a country where protests against the regime in Tehran continue to escalate.

As Iran’s government faces its most critical moment since the Islamic revolution in 1979, Hajsafi, a left-back at AEK Athens, on Sunday night addressed a press conference before his team’s opening World Cup group game against England in Doha on Monday.

“We have to accept the conditions in our country are not right and our people are not happy,” he said. “We are here but it does not mean we should not be their voice or we must not respect them. “Whatever we have is from them. We have to fight. We have to perform and score some goals to present the brave people of Iran with a result. I hope conditions change as to the expectations of the people.”

A popular uprising has been gaining momentum since September after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22‑year‑old detained by the country’s morality police for allegedly not covering her head properly.

Since then protests against the rules forcing women to wear the hijab have expanded into widespread discontent with the country’s strict theocracy, with more than 380 people said to have been killed by security forces.

As a byproduct, Carlos Queiroz’s team has been placed in the unenviable position of being required to represent the Islamic republic while being under intense pressure to support millions of protesting compatriots. “The situation in Iran is very difficult,” said Hajsafi, who is aware human rights groups have called for Iran’s expulsion from the World Cup.

Tellingly, before taking questions he opened by offering support for those who had lost loved ones during the recent turmoil. “I would like to express my condolences to all the bereaved families,” he said. “They should know we are with them, we support them and we sympathize with them.”

A key moment will arrive shortly before kick-off when members of a squad thought to be still slightly divided as to how to respond must take individual decisions as to whether to sing a national anthem, all about glorifying the 1979 revolution.

It all dictated that, at the end of a day in which light winds whipped through Doha, creating piles of dust at almost every turn, Queiroz found himself at the eye of a diplomatic sandstorm he opted to ignore on Sunday.

Iran’s Portuguese coach, and former assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, preferred to concentrate on a different type of whirlwind. “England have a storm of talent,” the 69-year-old said as he smothered Gareth Southgate with flattery. “England are one of the top teams in the world. They are a contender to be the world champion. They have fantastic, strong talent and a great coach.”

It will be the first time Queiroz has faced England and he claimed not to have sought any advice from Ferguson. “I did not receive any help from Scotland,” he said. “Of course, we talk frequently as friends. But you can relax!”

He then launched into an ode to English players, claiming they were superior to the team of recent predecessors dominated by David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand, and Paul Scholes. “This new generation of players Southgate is bringing for the national team in my opinion is probably the most competitive English team since 1966 that I have the opportunity to see – and I remember that team very well. But this team is very functional, very practical, very realistic.

“I worked with the generation of Rio, of Paul Scholes. Fantastic players, David Beckham and all those guys. But this national team is really different. They make a realistic approach to every single game which makes them very, very dangerous.”

Although Queiroz said Iran believed they could reach the knockout stage he confessed Monday would contain a surreal quality. “For many of our players to play against England is like magic, it’s a gift,” he said. “Since watching football as kids, it’s been a lifelong dream for my players to play in this game. We will enjoy it.”

IRAN - ENGLAND: Probable ine up

The possible lineup for Monday’s match between England and Iran. There are five substitution allowed per match.

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
GROUP B
Date: Monday 21st November 2022 
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium

IRAN

Alireza Beiranvand
Sadegh Moharrami
Hossein Kananizadegan
Morteza Pouraliganji
Saeid Ezatollahi
Ehsan Hajsafi
Alireza Jahanbakhsh
Ahmad Nourollahi
Vahid Amiri
Mehdi Taremi

ENGLAND

Jordan Pickford
Keiran Trippier
Harry Maguire
John Stones
Luke Shaw
Declan Rice
Jude Billingham
Mason Mount
Phil Foden
Harry Kane
Raheem Sterling

ENGLAND v IRAN : Match review

England v Iran FIFA World Cup, Qatar 2022 Group B Qualifier 16:30 Iran Time 13:00 GMT, Monday 21 November 2022 Khalifa International Stadium - Dolha Team Melli begins the 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign against the Three Lions in what will be the first-ever meeting between the nations at the senior level. Iran, was drawn out against Gareth Southgate's England, USA and Wales at the draw in Doha on 1 April.
  • ● This will be the first-ever encounter between England and Iran. Team Melli has never beaten European opposition at the FIFA World Cup (D2 L6).
  • This is the third time in a row that Carlos Queiroz has coached Iran in the World Cup.
  • Iran has qualified for the third World Cup in a row since WC2014. A first in the Team's history
  • ● England have qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the 16th time. It’s their seventh appearance in a row, their longest streak in the competition.
  • ● England set the best goal difference in the group stage of European qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, scoring 39 goals and conceding only three (+36).
  • ● England are the only European team to have reached the semi-finals in each of the last two major tournaments (FIFA World Cup + EURO).
  • ● 12 of England’s last 18 goals at the FIFA World Cup have been scored from set-pieces. In fact, 75% of their goals in 2018 came from dead ball situations (9 out of 12).
  • ● Iran have never progressed past the first round of the FIFA World Cup, winning only two of their 15 matches (v USA in 1998 and Morocco in 2018). This is their sixth participation in the tournament, including their third in a row.
  • ● Iran have scored nine goals in 15 FIFA World Cup matches; at 0.6, it’s the lowest goals-per-game ratio of any nation to play more than 10 games in the competition. They’ve only netted more than once in one of their 15 games, a 2-1 win over the USA in 1998.
  • ● Gareth Southgate has guided England to the last four in each of his two tournaments as national team head-coach. Only Sir Alf Ramsey can boast a similar record as England boss (WC winners in 1966, Euro semi-finalists in 1968).
  • ● England striker Harry Kane was the top scorer in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with five of his six goals coming in the group stages. No player has ever been top/joint-top scorer at two different World Cup tournaments.
  • ● Despite only playing six times, no Iran player was involved in more goals during the third round of Asian World Cup qualifying than Mehdi Taremi (4 goals, 2 assists).
Coach: Carlos Quieroz Qualified from: First in AFC qualifying group Qualifying top scorer: Mehdi Taremi (Porto) FIFA World Cup best performance: group stage (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018) Form guide After consecutive defeats to group rivals Bahrain and Iraq respectively in late 2019, Iran looked like they wouldn’t even make it through to the last round of Asian qualifying, let alone reach a third straight World Cup finals. Then COVID-19 hit, and Iran were able to push the reset button. Coach Marc Wilmots was replaced, Iran won their four remaining second-round games – all played in neutral Bahrain because of the pandemic – and never looked back. They won eight out of ten games in round three to qualify alongside fellow AFC big hitters South Korea. Set-up Off the back of seven years coaching in Iran’s domestic leagues, Dragan Skocic was seen as a safe pair of hands when he took over from Wilmots in February 2020. Although Iran’s demanding fans would prefer their team to play on the front foot, defence was the bedrock of their success under the Croat, with just five goals conceded in 14 qualifiers. Skocic – who had experimented with a variety of attacking shapes in front of his favoured back four – was dismissed as head coach in July, only to be immediately reinstated. But his stay of execution didn’t last long and, in early September, the new president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, replaced Skocic with Carlos Queiroz, the former Manchester United assistant and Real Madrid coach who led Iran at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups. World Cup pedigree Despite qualifying for the finals six times, including four of the last six, Iran have never progressed beyond the group stage, although they did come close in 2018, beating Morocco and drawing with Portugal in a tough group also containing Spain. Stars on show In front of a compact defense and industrious midfield, Iran relies heavily on the mercurial attacking talents of Mehdi Taremi and Sardar Azmoun – who have been prolific goalscorers for Porto and Bayer Leverkusen respectively, and the creativity of Feyenoord’s Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who Premier League fans might remember from his three seasons with Brighton & Hove Albion. During the qualifiers, the central back duo Shojaá Khalilzadeh and Hossein Kananizadegan created a formidable defense in front of the goal. TEAM NEWS Iran: Top star Sardar Azmoun is doubtful for the England game. It is not clear if he has trained since arriving in Doha to join the Team Melli squad. There are no more injuries reported amongst the players since the match against Tunisia was played behind closed doors, and little if any information is available. England: Kyle Walker is traveling with the English team while not fully fit. It is almost certain that he will miss the first match against Iran. James Maddison is also a doubt as he missed training today in favor of some light work in the gym.    

The Mind Game in the FIFA World Cup.

There have been many mutterings about Team Melli qualifying from Group B of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 for the first time in six attempts. Although these expectations have cooled recently, it is natural that fans look upon Team Melli to send several messages in these black days of the Iranian nation.

Political unrest and the daily news of deaths, injuries, arrests, riots, and disturbances across Iran in the aftermath of the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the notorious Morality Police have confused and dampened the interest of many Iranians including those who are living abroad. There is a clear and definite split of opinions on the status of the Team representing Iran in the World Cup. While many believe that this team is a representative of a brutal regime and is being used as a propaganda tool for the Islamic republic leading many to demand from FIFA to kick the Team out of the World Cup, others still firmly believe that this team represents the people and its honors equated to national honors that make people happy and pride in a country where many people do not have a sense of happiness and experiencing extreme hardship under a tyrannical and authoritarian regime.

The mood of the players and their psychological status means a world of difference in whether the team makes it to the next round.

Carlos Queiroz's arrival from the backdoor was the first shock to Team Melli. The majority of the players religiously believed in their fired ex-boss Dragan Skocic. The Croat and beyond any shadow of a doubt, performed a miracle by qualifying for the world cup while they were on the brink of being eliminated in the second round under Marc Wilmots. Skočić, was treated cruelly, not much dissimilar from the way that the regime treats its own people. As a result of his dismissal and the arrival of Queiroz, the splits and differences grew within the players themselves. Although the official media talks about the harmony and unity of the team. it is far from true with players still suffering the bitter split between the groups.

Then come the post-Mahsa Amini events and the uprising of the people. Another split in the team has grown as many Team Melli players publicly supported the uprising and spoke against the regime publicly or through social media. Those who did not dare to speak out chose the road of muted celebrations which became quite common with many sporting teams in Iran.  Some player lost their chance of being in the squad because of these expressions of support. There are also pro-regime players in Team Melli and all the coaches are well aware that these are untouchables. This minority of players remain to keep a low profile

It remains to be seen how the differences, stress, and low morale will affect the overall performance of Team Melli in Doha.

On the pitch, since Queiroz's arrival, Team Melli is not exactly shining either. A very good result against Uruguay and a draw against Senegal two high-ranked teams mistakingly led many to believe in the Queiroz Magical touch effect and high expectations. Then Iran played against a lowly Nicaragua and managed a slim shy 1-0 victory, while in the next game Team Melli was beaten 2-0 by Tunisia a powerful African team playing in the World Cup. A reality check.

The other concern is that Queiroz is known to have a blind belief in Legionnaires. He hardly has any interest in the domestic league players. Considering that Queiroz will for sure give the Legionnaires priority, the worry lies in these players' recent performances and forms. Apart from Porto's Mehdi Taremi, the rest have done miserably badly in the European Leagues. Sardar Azmoun has been injured for a long period and is still recovering as we speak, but even before his unfortunate injury, he was not exactly shining for Bayer Leverkusen.  Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Saman Ghoddos are nearly permanent bench players. None of them scored a goal in the league competition. Beiranvand despite changing two clubs in Europe could not make the grade there and returned back after two seasons. Ansarifard, Hajsafi, and Mohammadi were fringe players in their Greek club, the former was unceremonially pushed out of AEK Athena to the Cyprus league. Saeid Ezzatollahi who is called the Marco Polo of Iranian football has traveled across many countries and clubs, never settled down anywhere and now he is in the World Cup playing for a second-division Danish Club !!!

Gholizadeh is not faring well either, while Allahyar Sayyedmanish has missed the World Cup altogether through injury.

So, it is clear that the players Queiroz depends on are not at top form with many lacking proper game times. It is doubtful that these few days they are together will turn the team into a fighting force.

 There is no argument that England is by far a superior team to Iran and the first match on November 21st will be the toughest test for Team Melli. If circumstances were different, we would have most probably put a few dollars on Iran drawing or even defeating England as the Brits are not at their best form either. A series of defeats, relegation from the European Nations League, and a reputation for failure at critical moments are all stacked against the English Team.

The weather in Qatar is still not ideal either. Temperature and Humidity are major factors, in the discomfort of Europeans in general despite the stadium air conditioning system.

The preparatory matches against Nicaragua and Tunisia, will not have any positive effect from a technical point of view and can only improve the team's mental state. On the positive side, Queiroz excels in the mental preparation of his players. He knows his opponents well and his successful reading of the England team is the most important step in Iran's dream of qualification. Of course, a positive result against England is not the end of the road, as two well-prepared and capable opponents are waiting to defeat Iran. a team that all others group members think is beatable.

There will be a mind game played between Iran and England so that will be the case against the USA. Western propaganda will not leave politics alone and will intimidate the players anytime they feel like it. That is their game. Anything to lower the morale of the players and remind them that they are playing for a regime that kills and tortures its own people.  At this stage apart from the fact that England is the favorite and its fans will continue singing " It is Coming Home". the rest is difficult to call. If Iran stands a chance, it has to be based on its mental strength and the physical attributes of its defenders. When it comes to tactics and game plans, there is admittedly a gap, but football is notorious for unpredictable results.