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S. Korea's National Football Team Gathers Ahead of Final 2 World Cup Qualifiers

S. Korea's National Football Team Gathers Ahead of Final 2 World Cup Qualifiers

After sitting out South Korea's past two World Cup qualifying matches with an injury, forward Hwang Hee-chan is back in the mix, fully healthy, and ready to help the country close out the qualifying round on a high note.

Hwang, first-year forward for Wolverhampton Wanderers, arrived at the National Football Center (NFC) in Paju, north of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, Monday afternoon for the start of training camp. South Korea, having already grabbed a spot in the World Cup, will face Iran in Seoul on Thursday and the United Arab Emirates in Dubai on March 29 to close out the final Asian qualification round.
Hwang Hee-chan of the South Korean men's national football team speaks to reporters before a training session at the National Football Center in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on March 21, 2022, in preparation for Asian World Cup qualifying matches. (Yonhap)

Hwang Hee-chan of the South Korean men's national football team speaks to reporters before a training session at the National Football Center in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on March 21, 2022, in preparation for Asian World Cup qualifying matches.

Both South Korea and Iran have qualified for the World Cup with time to spare, and they will be battling for the top spot in Group A. Hwang said staying motivated, even after qualifying for the big tournament, won't be an issue for his team.
"Our goal is to win both of the remaining two matches, and we want to finish first in the group," Hwang said. South Korea currently have 20 points, two back of Iran. "We are all pursuing the common goal and we all understand the importance of that match. I am sure everyone has arrived here prepared to win."
South Korea's last win against Iran came in January 2011. In the seven matches since, South Korea have managed three draws and lost four other times. Their most recent meeting ended in a 1-1 draw last October in Tehran, with South Korea wasting Son Heung-min's second-half goal.
But Hwang said it was still a major confidence boost for South Korea.
"We left that match with a lot of confidence in ourselves but we were also disappointed not to have won that game," Hwang said. "That's going to fuel us this time. Since we'll be playing in front of our home fans, we'll be able to find an extra gear inside us."
Hwang missed South Korea's two previous qualifiers due to a hamstring injury. Without missing a beat, South Korea defeated Lebanon 1-0 and then Syria 2-0. Son, the team's longtime captain, was also absent with injury.
Hwang said he was never worried about the team because of South Korea's depth up and down the roster, adding that he was "proud" of his teammates for delivering wins without him.
"In some earlier matches, we were also missing a few players, but we always have players ready to step up and contribute," Hwang said. "No matter who's on the field, we're going to be just fine. We're not a team that will lose games just because we're without a couple of players."
Hwang had a recent injury scare for Wolves last weekend, when he appeared to have hurt his left hip against Everton. He did come in off the bench against Leeds United on Saturday, and he said Monday that he had just suffered a minor bruise.
"It stung for a bit, but after two or three days, I was back to 100 percent," Hwang said.

Seoane: Azmoun still "missing a lot"

By Rune Gjerulff Sardar Azmoun is still far from his top level, according to Leverkusen coach Gerardo Seoane. Bayer Leverkusen coach Gerardo Seoane has emphasized that there is a lot more to come from Sardar Azmoun. The forward, who arrived injured from Zenit St. Petersburg in January, made his first start for Leverkusen in Sunday's 0-2 win over Wolfsburg. Assessing Azmoun's performance after the game, Seoane told reporters: "You saw two or three situations, where he was lacking a bit of the final explosiveness to assert himself. We all know it's difficult to judge what percentage level he's at. But there is still a lot missing." Azmoun will now be able to gain some match practice during the international break, having been called up for Iran's games against South Korea and Lebanon. "We are happy for him that he now has two games with the national team. That will do him good," added Seoane.

A difficult game' vs. Iran with top seed at stake in World Cup qualifying group, Bento predicts

provided by the KFA. (Yonhap)

With one box checked, Paulo Bento has quickly shifted his focus to the next goal to achieve.

Under his tutelage, South Korea have already booked a ticket to Qatar for this year's FIFA World Cup with two qualifying matches left. Few would have batted an eye if Bento had chosen to take his foot off the pedal for the rest of the current qualifying campaign.

Instead, Bento on Monday called up most of his usual suspects in a bid to win his team's final two qualifying matches this month. South Korea will host Iran in Seoul on March 24 and wrap up the final Asian qualifying round by visiting Dubai to play the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on March 29.

With 20 points after eight matches, South Korea are in second place in Group A of the ongoing round, two points back of Iran. The top two teams from each of the two groups in this round will earn automatic berths. Iran and South Korea are already in, while Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Australia are still duking it out for the two tickets in Group B.

Instead of playing it safe this month, Bento has taken dead aim at Iran for the top seed in Group A. Winning the group and rising in the FIFA rankings should also help South Korea's position in the World Cup draw, allowing them to avoid some tough countries, though Bento said he wasn't yet thinking ahead to the draw.

"We have two games. We should think how we're going to face the next opponents and how we can do our job and try to finalize this qualifier in the best possible way," Bento said at his online press conference Monday. "And that is to get the six points and finish in the first place. After that, we will see what's coming and see where we're going to be in the draw. I think we have a good challenge before that."

Facing Iran has been a challenge for South Korea for years. South Korea's last victory against the Middle Eastern foe came in January 2011. In their most recent meeting, held in Tehran in October, the teams ended in a 1-1 draw, with South Korea blowing a 1-0 lead in the second half.

South Korea has managed just nine wins against 10 draws and 13 draws all-time versus Iran.

"In the physical aspect as well as in the tactical one, Iran has players that can break the balance in our team, players that have experience," Bento said. "I have no doubt about their quality. We will try to reach the victory in order to reach the first position in the group. I am sure that it will be a difficult game but at the same time, I am convinced that we can do that and we're going to try to do that without any doubt."

To that end, Bento went back to the likes of Son Heung-min, who leads Tottenham Hotspur in goals this season, and Hwang Ui-jo, FC Girondins Bordeaux forward and one of Bento's most trusted offensive options.

But the coach also made a couple of surprise choices on defense, with Suwon FC defender Park Min-gyu and Seoul E-Land back Lee Jae-ik.

This is Park's first senior national team callup. Lee had been brought in during the previous World Cup qualifying round in October 2019 but didn't play in any matches then.

With the starting center back Kim Young-gwon playing with a yellow card -- one away from automatic suspension -- and another veteran Kwon Kyung-won apparently not 100 percent, Bento said he wanted extra options on his backline. He reserved particularly high praise for the 26-year-old Park, who had appeared in 12 matches for the under-20 national team.

"Park is a good player in the technical aspect. We know he has good defensive principles," Bento said. "It's a good opportunity to see him in our context."

5 Key players absent against South Korea!

Team Melli's bad fortunes continue ahead of the top of the table clash with Korea Rep. and Lebanon as five key players of the team will be absent.

An absence could affect the equations of Skocic and the national team. Following the announcement that Saeed Ezatollahi and Sadegh Moharremi, two starters for Team Melli are serving suspensions, it has now been reported that the PCR test of Saman Ghoddos, Mehdi Taremi, and Alireza Jahanbakhsh has been declared positive and these players will most likely not be able to play against Korea Rep. and most probably against Lebanon 5 days later.

The recently appointed team manager Hamid Estili's has also been diagnosed positive. This is all confirmed by the official FFIRI website

It is now more likely that Skočić will start with a new look team while giving fringe players some game time. In any case, Iran will not have its full team available against the Koreans.

On a positive note, this match seems to be a perfect opportunity for the reserve players to show their worth for Skočić and lay claim for a starting role. These players can show their ability in the match against a powerful South Korean team that has been improving throughout the qualifiers while their golden boy Sun Heung-min is in peak form for Tottenham. Of course, picking replacement players will not be an easy task for the Croat coach looking to defend his undefeated record with Iran. Whatever the case, the composition of Iran's team against Korea is broken. Skočić has to walk on the edge of the sword and get his team out of this difficult situation. It remains to be seen what Team Melli will do without its key players in the match against South Korea. A positive result, in a form of a draw or a win, will enhance the reputation of Iran globally but most importantly, their place in the FIFA Ranking table, so important for seeding in the Wold Cup Qatar 2022.

Saman Ghoddos out of the squad.

Team Melli midfielder Saman Ghoddos has been diagnosed positive in the latest PCR and hence lost the chance to travel to the Korean capital for the match against the host nation and the following match against Lebanon in Mashad.

In a communique with the FFIRI Brentford, the premiere league club from London has confirmed that Ghoddos will not be available for selection for the upcoming international matches.

Hamid Estili, who has recently been appointed as the new Manager of the Iranian national team, confirmed the news: "Unfortunately, we will not have Ghoddos in these two matches, but we hope that other legionnaires will be able to join the squad and play for Team Melli without any problem". Saman Ghoddos was a starter and played both the last two matches against UAE and Iraq. His absence gives coach Dragan Skocic some difficulty. Skocic has announced that the result of the game against South Korea is very important to the team.

Team Melli arrived early morning Sunday in Korea and after the PCR test, were immediately sent to quarantine. Many Legionnaire players are yet to join including Azmoun who played for Leverkusen today in a 2-0 away win versus Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. Taremi is also expected to leave for Korea after the match against Boavista. Milad Mohammadi, Ehsan Hajsafi, and Karim Ansari also played for AEK Athens in a 1-0 loss to PAOK in the Greek league.

The Derby ends in a draw with little to shout about.

The much anticipated Tehran Derby between Esteghlal and Persepolis was played on Thursday in Azadi Stadium and ended in a 1-1 draw. The importance of this derby was due to the fierce rivalry between the two teams at the top of the league table, allowing fans entry into Azadi and the selection of players for Team Melli.

Despite the restriction on the number of fans allowed into the stadium, the effect on the atmosphere and the players of the two teams was quite significant as the match was a thrilling contest from the word go. It is estimated that 20,000 fans were presently divided equally between the two teams’ supporters while thousands waited outside Azadi and in the perimeters.

The pace of the game was fast and furious, which excited the fans, but there were very few tactics and beautiful moves in the game.  From the onset, the game was spoilt by the continuous protests from players and the bench every time the referee whistled for a foul!

There is little to write about the positive side of this game despite its importance. Errors in passing, poor finishing, wild tackles, lack of basics of football was quite vivid in this game. Even allowing for the sensitivity of the match, there were numerous schoolboy errors by what was supposed to be a match between the two top teams in the country. The finishing in front of the goal was truly embarrassing and comical. In general, the match was not a good advertisement for Iran’s football whose national team has just qualified for the FIFA World Cup.

The biggest criticism, however, must be fired towards the two coaches of Persepolis and Esteghlal. Golmohammadi and Majidi. Two ex- Team Melli teammates from the same era, have stepped up to coaching without solid groundwork.  They both have a lot to learn in football management but more significantly in anger management and behavior.

From the start of the match, the bench of both teams was the catalyst in bringing the game into disruptions by their constant protests and violations.  lack of manners, shouting, threatening behavior, and the attempt of Golmohammdi to physically attack the referee resembled a scene from a gangster movie rather than a football pitch.

Golmohammadi was dismissed but it was far too late from a feeble referee who could have acted much firmly early on and could easily award a few cards of different colors earlier in the game.

GolMohammadi’s behavior was not befitting a professional coach and his loss of control in front of the camera watched by millions globally, should give the club an indication that the man is emotionally not fit to lead a big club at big events. Majidi is in a similar boat however, he escaped being sent to the stands for being able to control his temper earlier on after a stern warning from the referee.

The weakness of the FFIRI against the top teams is well documented in Iran. Persepolis and Esteghlal are simply too big for the feeble federation. The disciplinary Committee has historically shown reluctance in awarding heavy fines when Persepolis or Esteghlal are involved. Any final ruling would always end up being either appealed and reduced or dismissed altogether.

Team Melli Squad list announced.

Team Melli will play complete its FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 schedule by playing a double-header against South Korea and Lebanon on March 24th and 29th respectively. With a day before flying to Seoul on a chartered plane. the squad for the two matches was announced. Iran has qualified for the finals in Qatar and will be battling the Koreans for a top-of-the-table finish and more importantly a significant addition of points in FIFA ranking. The draw in June will seed countries for the Finals based on total points in FIFA Ranking.

Dragan Skočić has announced the list of players invited to the national team camp. The Croat coach is desperate to keep his immaculate, near-perfect record with Team Melli after over two years from his appointment replacing the perpetual failure Marc Wilmots.

The names of the invited players:

    • Goalkeepers:
  1. Alireza Biranvand
  2. Amir Abedzadeh
  3. Hossein Hosseini
    • Defenders:
  4. Sadegh Moharremi
  5. Hossein Kananizadegan
  6. Shoja’a Khalilzadeh
  7. Majid Hosseini
  8. Omid Nourafkan
  9. Milad Mohammadi
  10. Daniel Ismaelifar
  11. Farshad Faraji
  12. Aref Gholami
    • Midfielders:
  13. Saeed Ezatollahi
  14. Kamal Kamiyabinia
  15. Mehdi Mehdipour
  16. Amirhossein Hassanzadeh
  17. Milad Sarlak
  18. Ehsan Haj Safi
  19. Vahid Amiri
  20. Mehdi Torabi
  21. Ahmad Noorollahi
  22. Saman Ghoddos
  23. Ali Gholizadeh
    • Forwards:
  24. Mehdi Taremi
  25. Alireza Jahanbakhsh
  26. Sardar Azmoun
  27. Karim Ansarifard
  28. Allahyar Sayadmanesh
Two players Saeed Ezatollahi and Sadegh Moharremi are suspended for the Korea Rep match with an accumulation of two cards, while Hossein Kananizadegan is surprisingly included in the list despite being sanctioned by the disciplinary committee!!

Khalilzadeh and Hosseini are off injury list.

Team Melli's next match against Korea Rep. in 13 days' time will witness the availability of two key players.

Shojaá  Khalilzadeh and Majid Hosseini, both injured playing for their clubs, will be available for selection. The fact that Khalilzadeh's injury was not serious as initially thought, gave Skocic positive news and quite a relief.

With Kananizadegan's suspension, Siavash Yazdani unavailable due to Military service, the backline of the team looked suspect and a serious source of concern by Dragan Skocic in recent days, The Croat Head Coach was closely following the situation of his players for the matches against South Korea and Lebanon, two matches in which a victory or at least a draw against Korea and a victory against Lebanon will guarantee Team  Melli, top finish in the table.

Contrary to KayseriSpor's statements about Majid Hosseini's deteriorating condition, the Team Melli defender returned to the field in last week's Turkish Premier League and played for his team for 90 minutes. Skocic, would have picked Omid Nourafkan to play in the central defense although Nourafkan has limited experience playing in that defensive role. Hence the availability of Majidi Hosseini is assuring.

Unlike years ago when Team Melli defenders outnumbered players in the midfield and attack, lately not many players have been selected for the squad in the defensive line.  Paulo Bento, the Portuguese coach of South Korea, recently stated in an interview that his team, despite qualifying for the World Cup, is looking to win the next two remaining games and intends to take the top of the group and will play with all its might.

Frank O’Farrell, former Team Melli coach, dies aged 94

The former Team Melli coach Frank O’Farrell has died at the age of 94. The Irishman also managed Leicester and Manchester United.

O’Farrell guided Leicester to the 1969 FA Cup final during his three-year spell in charge but the Irishman was best known as the man who succeeded Sir Matt Busby as United manager in 1971, although his Old Trafford reign would last only 18 months.

O’Farrell was a wing-half who played for his native Cork, West Ham, and Preston, winning nine Republic of Ireland caps between 1952 and 1959.

He began his managerial career at Weymouth in 1961 and spent three years at Torquay before landing the Leicester job in 1968. Leicester were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City in the following year’s Cup final and relegated from the First Division three weeks later.

O’Farrell was quickly appointed as Busby’s successor. After a promising start which saw United top the table for the first time in three years, O’Farrell fell out with George Best and the team ended the season eighth. O’Farrell was sacked in December 1972 with United third from bottom.

After a short spell at Cardiff, O’Farrell was appointed as the Head coach of Team Melli in April 1974. He began his tenure with seven consecutive wins, leading them to the gold medal at the 1974 Asian Games and qualification for the Montreal Olympics.

O’Farrell was credited for undertaking the development of national coaches like his protege Heshmat Mohajerani, Bahman Salehnia, and Hasan Habibi. Mohajerani took over from O'farell and became the best Iranian coach in the history of Iran and was crowned with his qualification to the World Cup 1978.

In January 2006, O'Farrell was invited to Iran to attend a ceremony in honor of Persepolis' former players, along with Alan Rogers

In testimony to O’Farrell, the Iranian superstar of the 70's Hassan Rowshan commented Frank O'Farrell, was a real gentleman; A coach. In my opinion, I believe that Rykov built the infrastructure and foundation of Iranian football, and O'Farrell completed it. Interestingly, unlike Carlos Queiroz, O'Farrell believe in domestic trainers and had several Iranian assistants, such as Mohajerani, Habibi, and Salehnia, with him, and taught them the work. After O'Farrell left Iran, Mohajerani took the helm of the national team and achieved good results in the Asian Cup, the Olympics, and the World Cup, especially in Argentina.

O'Farrell later attended the 1978 World Cup in Argentina as a reporter and met with the Iranian national team players.

Reacting to the fact that some consider O'Farrell the architect and a kind of gateway to the world football arena, Rowshan said: "With the change of generation that took place, O'Farrell invited younger players to Team Melli who later formed the main body of the team. First of all, if you want to build a 100-story apartment building, you have to have a solid foundation. Rykov did that and tore down our old football foundation and built a new one. O'Farrell helped modernize our football. Rykov was a coach from Eastern Europe and Yugoslavia. Most of Europe's great coaches at the time were from Eastern Europe. As I said, Rykov took the first step and then O'Farrell prepared the team in the style of Western European teams. Unlike Queiroz, who was looking to play against weaker teams, Rykov focused on the likes of Brazil, Hungary, and Manchester United. In my opinion, Rykov and O'Farrell, in addition to Mohajerani, were our best national coaches.

Dragan Skočić stress is reduced with Azizi Khadem's removal.

During his one year in charge, the former president of the Football Federation never voiced strong support for Team Melli head coach Skocic and always avoided answering questions regarding Skočić, future with Team Melli. Now that Azizi Khadem is dismissed, the FFIRI's managers are already discussing extending the Croatian coach's contract until the World Cup.

Despite all the criticism, adversaries, and plots behind his back, the Croatian head coach Dragan Skocic, was able to lead Iran to one of the fastest qualifications to the world cups. He and his team were able to qualify for the 2022 World Cup three rounds before the end of the qualifying round, which sounds like Skocic's contract will be automatically renewed. According to a contract signed two years ago in February 2009, Skocic was tasked with leading the national team to the World Cup in Qatar, and as a result, his contract was successfully extended at every stage. The first phase of Skocic's mission was successfully completed after overcoming the crisis in the second phase of the World Cup qualifiers in Bahrain. As a result, he has the opportunity to accompany the national team in the final qualifying round of the World Cup, and by advancing to the World Cup, he was successful in the second step and can now be at the helm of Iran in Qatar.

Hamid Estili, recently appointed as the Manager of the Iranian national football team, has recently spoken about this issue. He says that with the World Cup, Skocic's contract has been extended until the end of the biggest football event in the world, and the Football Federation has confirmed this. In this way, Skocic is comfortable sitting on the coaching bench of Iran in Qatar 2022; Something that never happened during the administration of Shahabuddin Azizi Khadem, the ousted president of the federation. Azizi Khadem religiously avoided answering the important question of whether Skocic will lead Team Melli in Qatar or not. Azizi Khadem's ambiguous answers over the past year have also raised concerns for Skocic, who has spoken in numerous interviews about his inalienable right to lead Iran to the World Cup, he has never before been so firm about being in Qatar like he was after qualification. Skocic firmly believed that he deserved an extension of the contract based on merit and acheivments.

But with the departure of Azizi Khadem, the current board of directors of the federation and the acting head namely Mirshad Majedi, in a meeting with Hamid Estili, also confirmed Skocic's retention for the World Cup. Shortly before taking over the presidency of the federation, he spoke of the validity of Skocic's contract with the federation until the end of the World Cup. Recently, Ehsan Osuli, spokesman and member of the board of directors of the Football Federation, in response to this question in the post-Azizi Khadem era, praised the excellent performance of Skočić and pointed out that the board of directors of the Football Federation, is highly appreciating the performance of Team Melli under Skocic, supports his presence on Iran's bench in Qatar.

Dragan Skocic, in his first coaching experience as head coach of a national team, recorded 14 victories in 15 games and has not suffered any defeats so far. During this time, he was able to climb the FIFA Ranking all the way up to the 21st position in the monthly global table, and now he has the opportunity to record one of Iran's best performances in the World Cup with a generation of experienced and talented players.

Team Melli will be meeting the Korea Republic and Lebanon in the last two rounds of the World Cup 2022 qualifiers.