Doha- Katara field

Iran’s Beach Soccer team defeated the UAE 3-2 in the semi-finals of Asian Beach Soccer competition to book its place in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Tahiti which will be held in September 2013.

This will be Iran’s 5th appearance in FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup tournament. Team Melli beach soccer team qualified for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011 tournaments,

In a closely fought match , Iran’s Muslim Mosaiger opened the scoring in the first half with a nice half turn beating UAE goalkeeper.

The Uae equalized through Ali Karim’s free kick that beat Yousifi from long range.

Abdollahi scored Iran’s second with a beautiful long header in the empty UAE net as the UAE keeper Humaid Jamal cleared a ball right to Abdollahi’s head who did not hesitate to head straight into the net from jsut inside Iran’s half.

Iran then scored the third from Ahmadzadeh beating two markers before making a half turn and shooting past the stretched UAE Keeper to make it 3-1

Ali Karim scored  kept UAE’s hope alive by scoring a spectacular overhead kick to make it 3-2 in the third period with 6 minutes to go

Despite the desperate effort by UAE m they did not manage to equalize while Iran came close to a fourth goal in the final seconds.

Iran will be meeting Japan after the defending champions beat Australia in another closely encounter ending 2-1.The final will be tomorrow Saturday 26th January 2013.

Iran edge China to fight for one of three World Cup slots

Iran came back from two goals down take their place among the best four sides in the continent after edging out China in a tense top of the table clash.

The Iranians came into the decider in brilliant form, but were guilty of a schoolboy error when Ahmadzadeh’s misdirected backpass found his own goal. Iran then had goalkeeper Hosseini to thank for keeping the score at 1-0, displaying superb reactions to deny Lui’s rocket from a dead ball.

Still, Ongaro’s China remained determined to ruin Iran’s evening, as Han finished off a great counterattack to give the Chinese a two-goal lead going into the first break.

Iran quickly re-grouped and commenced a heroic comeback, with number 10 Mesigar central to their resurgence, reducing the deficit to 2-1 before Naderi headed home a pinpoint cross to bring the sides levels.

Mesigar completed his brace inside the last minute of the second period to give the Persians a decisive advantage. And, having taken the lead, they made their vast experience count to limit China’s chances and see the game out.

Mokhtari put the icing on the cake midway through the third segment, crushing China’s semi final dreams.

The final whistle sent Iran into the semi finals of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2013 – Asian Qualifier Qatar, where they will have a chance to fight for a place in Tahiti.

“Iran have too much experience. There was too much pressure, but, we’ve improved a lot,” said China’s coach Rosario Ongaro after the narrow loss.

Goals: 0-1: Ahmadzadeh, min. 5 (1); 0-2: Han, min. 0 (1); 1-2: Mesigar, min. 0 (1); 2-2: Naderi, min. 3 (2) 3-2: Mesigar, min. 1 (2); 4-2: Mokhtari, min. 8 (3);

Iran will meet UAE in the semi-final to book its place for the Beach Football world cup in Tahiti.

Matches for tomorrow  Fri 25.01.13 
14:00 – Philippines vs Uzbekistan (Play-off for the 13th place)
14:00 – Iraq vs Saudi Arabia (Play-off for the 9th place)
15.15 – Afghanistan vs Bahrain (Play-off for the 9th place)
15.15 – China vs Palestine (Play-off for the 5th place)
16:30 – Oman vs Lebanon (Play-off for the 5th place)
17:45 – Qatar vs Thailand (Play-off for the 13th place)
19:00 – IRAN VS UAE (SEMIFINAL 1)
20:15 – AUSTRALIA VS JAPAN (SEMIFINAL 2)

Qatar’s iconic Katara Beach is currently playing host to the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Asian Qualifiers for the very first time. Asia’s finest beach soccer talent are in action as 16 nations go head to head to take one of three places in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2013 – Tahiti.

Iran team is participating in this edition as one of the title contenders and a candidate for qualification to FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2013 in Tahiti. Team Melli is joined in group “D” by the Philippines, Lebanon and Chine PR with high hope of being one of the two teams in the final on  January 26th, 2013.

No Iranian mercy for the Philippines

22 Jan. 2013 – Philippines 0-20 Iran

Iran inflicted severe pain on the Philippines on the first day qualifiers. The Persian side could not find a better way to send the message that they intend to go to their fifth FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup than by smashing the Philippine National side by a 20-goal margin.

Needless to say, this record-breaking goal difference has lifted the Iranians to the top of Group D, and gives them a tyrannical lead.

After Iran’s captain, Naderi, opened the scoring account in the sixth minute of the game, the goal-shower never ceased, with the ball hitting the back of Mercado’s net one too many times.

The heavy defeat puts Philippines in a very difficult position, with virtually no options to proceed to the next stage.

Iran will have to keep performing at their best against China and Iraq, if they want to seal their ticket to semifinals.

Goals: 0-1: Naderi, min. 6 (1); 0-2: Ahmadzadeh, min. 5 (1); 0-3: Boulokbashi, min. 0 (1); 0-4: Ahmadzadeh, min. 11 (2); 0-5: Naderi, min. 11 (2); 0-6: Boulokbashi, min. 6 (2); 0-7: Mokhtari, min. 6 (2); 0-8: Boulokbashi, min. 6 (2); 0-9: Mokhtari, min. 5 (2); 0-10: Mesigar, min. 0 (2); 0-11: Abdollahi, min. 10 (3); 0-12: Morshed, min. 9 (3); 0-13: Mokhtari, min. 8 (3); 0-14: Mesigar, min. 5 (3); 0-15: Mesigar, min. 5 (3); 0-16: Naderi, min. 3 (3); 0-17: Ahmedzadeh, min. 2 (3); 0-18: Ahmadzadeh, min. 1 (3); 0-19: Mokhtari, min. 0 (3); 0-20: Abdollahi, min. 0 (3);

Iran hammers Iraq to go top of the group

Iran topped Group D of the 2013 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup AFC qualifiers with a 10-3 win over Iraq in Doha, Qatar on Wednesday.

Omid Jamali , the IRIFF international relation officer , stated that Daniel Davari, the Iranian-German goalkeeper has been successfully registered in AFC records as part of Iran’s squad and is cleared to play for Team Melli in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 qualifiers. However , Davari is still not cleared by FIFA to play in the World Cup qualifiers.

Apparently , there is still some issues with the player’s name as his two passports carry two different names. FIFA’s strict regulation requires that the player should carry identical details in multiple passports.

Jamali said that it is not a serious issue and the matter would be resolved in time for the next match against Qatar. Meanwhile , he also confirmed that Syria has requested a friendly match any time between January 20th to 30th , but Queiroz has turned down this offer and hence there is no friendly matches scheduled for Team Melli ahead of their official matches in AFC Asian Cup or FIFA World Cup preliminaries.

Team Melli’s coach , Carlos Queiroz has been issued a two match suspension by FIFA  for his vehement protest in the FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifying game against South Korea. The Portuguese coach protested heavily in two occasions and was warned by the referee before being sent to the stands by the referee.

Masoud Shojaei was also sent off in that match won by Iran.

Queiroz was immediately suspended for the next game , which was against Uzbekistan in Azadi , where Iran lost the match, however after the FIFA disciplinary committee reviewed the incident and referred to the referee and the match commissioner report , the international ruling body decided to add another match suspension. It is alleged that the Portuguese coach has used foul language against the South Korean player, while Querioz has indicated that player was constantly elbowing his players.

The ruling will leave Carlos Queiroz out of the match against Qatar will will be played in Doha.

In a statement to the press, Ali Kaffashian has indicated that IRIFF will appeal this ruling in the hope of reducing it to one match to enable Queiroz to accompany his team in Qatar.

Sources in Tehran have doubted that FIFA will change the ruling on appeal , due to the powerful lobby of the Qatar football and the influences they have amongst the governors and decision maker of FIFA.

Carlos Queiroz continues to look west in his quest to find European players with Iranian parentage or those who are eligible to play for Iran to supplement the local based players of Team Melli. His latest find is the 25 years old German-Iranian goalkeeper, Daniel Davari , whom will be included in the squad that will be announced at the end of this month, as confirmed by the Portuguese coach himself.

Davari follows Ashkan Dejagah , Omid Nazari and Reza Ghoochanejad in this respect.

The 1.92 m goalkeeper is currently playing his football in the second division of the German Football League (Bundesliga II) with Eintracht Braunschweig. Davari never featured for a main Bundesliga club , although he started his footballing career at youth level in FSV Mainz 05.

Born in Giessen (Gießen) a small university town in the German federal state of Hesse, 60 Km north of Frankfurt , with a population of approx. 76,000, (about 24,000 university students), from an Iranian father and a Polish mother, Davari eventually ended up playing youth football in FSV Mainz 05. He featured for the reserve team and played 32 matches until 2009 where he was transferred to his current team Eintracht Braunschweig.

Davari was the reserve goalkeeper until the main keeper Marjan Petković had an injury early during the 2011–12 season. Although the German goalkeeper, from Serbian descent returned back from injury , Davari’s good performance during his absence convinced the coach to keep him while Petković sat on the bench awaiting his chance to regain his starting position in the team.

Carlos Queiroz was alerted about Davari and it is believed that the Portuguese coach has been to Germany to watch the player in action. Selection of Davari is a vote of confidence in the young Goalkeeper and his abilities and will heat up the competition especially after the announcement by Mehdi Rahmati , the long standing Team Melli Goalkeeper , that he is not interested in playing with Team Melli anymore.

A glitch in the system , delayed Davari’s clearance to play for Iran. The German born footballer has two passports. The German passport has the name of Daniel while his Iranian passport has Mohammad Daniel. This discrepancy delayed the proceeding by FIFA but with some diplomatic help , the issue was resolved and Davari is eligible to officially represent Iran.

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Carlos Queiroz , Team Melli’s coach , demanded proper programming of the League and coordination with Team Melli in order to prepare for the upcoming crucial matches which will decide the fate of Team Melli in World Cup qualification.

With 2 weeks to go to the match against Lebanon as part of the Asian Cup 2015 qualifiers, Queiroz was critical about the uncertainty of the fixtures and league program and demanded that decision to be taken as soon as possible in order to set up the training camps dates for the upcoming matches both in Asian Cup and World Cup preliminaries.

Queiroz mentioned the case of Manchester clubs in England, both owned by foreigners; with City being owned by Arabs and United by Americans, yet their fixtures are quite clear from the start of the season thus allowing their national team to properly prepare its program. Queiroz said, in Iran where both sides , the clubs and the National team,  being owned by the same organization which is ultimately the government of Iran , he is surprised why they cannot coordinate in order to serve Team Melli and the clubs’ interest. He added that there is no point of setting up a camp if the players are not available because of club commitments in the league or cup competitions.

Asked if he has any difference with the head of the football league, Queiroz dismissed such notions and focused on the requirement to coordinate the programs and that is all he is worried about. “All is required to sit round the table and discuss these issues.”

As for Rahmati’s unexpected announcement of his retirement from Team Melli, Queiroz thanked the Esteghlal goalkeeper for his services to Team Melli and said that he respects his decision to retire. Every player has his own priority and motivation and Rahmati has made his decision. Queiroz added that as long as he is the coach of Team Melli , he will not invite Rahmati to the squad !

Queiroz also said that he is actively looking for replacements at that vital position and confirmed that the German-Iranian goalkeeper Daniel Davari will be in the squad when the list will be published on 30^th January.

Daniel Davari currently plays for Eintracht Braunschweig in the second tier of the Bundesliga 2.

Seyed Mehdi Rahmati, Team Melli’s goalkeeper has surprisingly announced that he will not be available for selection for Team Melli in the time being. In an unexpected move, Esteghlal’s goalkeeper who has been a fix choice for Carlos Queiroz and 3 times winner of Persian Gulf League tittles with Esteghlal and Sepahan, refrained from mentioning the reason behind his decision.

The 29 years old goalkeeper has been a target of much criticism lately and is believed to have been despondent by the negative comments especially after the recent two defeats by Lebanon and Uzbekistan in the FIFA World Cup 2014 qualification matches.

Despite the criticism , Mehdi Rahmati remain the top goalkeeper in Iran and his post in Team Melli never seemed to be in threat by any other keeper. Rahmati , however , was given a rest for the recent WAFF championship in Kuwait , along with many other fixed players. Iran failed to qualify for the next round for the first time in its history in Rahmati’s absence.

Rahmati who has 76 matches under his belt , made his debut for Team Melli in June 2004 against Lebanon while playing for Fajr Sepasi of Shiraz.

Iran fell 1 positions to be 60  in January’s FIFA world football rankings, which were announced on Thursday.

The 3 times winners of Asian Cup slide continues after the defeat at home against Uzbekistan in the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 qualifiers. In December 2012 , Iran dropped 15 position to 59. but mainatained its ranking as the forith best team in Aisa. In the new years ranking and the first of 2013 , Iran dropped in the Asian ranking as well , it is now the fifth best among Asian countries with Uzbekistan easily taking Iran’s position.

The top ten ranks remained the same as Spain stayed top while Germany remained second before Argentina and Italy.

Top Asian Teams in FIFA Ranking

	FIFA Rank	Zone Rank	Team	Pts		+/- Pos
	21	1	Japan	834	1
	34	2	Korea Republic	687	1
	36	3	Australia	674	0
	56	4	Uzbekistan	555	11
	60	5	Iran	537	-1
	86	6	China PR	415	2
	89	7	Iraq	392	3
	95	8	Jordan	375	-1
	99	9	Korea DPR	363	0
	103	10	United Arab Emirates	346	-7

AlJazeera English reports

Masoud Shojaei is the only Iranian player in Spain’s Primera Division and is an icon to young footballers back home.

Osasuna might be in a fight to avoid relegation from Spain’s Primera Division, but one of their players is still enjoying star status in his home country.

With more than forty international football caps to his name, Masoud Shojaei is an icon to many young Iranian footballers, and he takes this responsibility very seriously.

Matt Rumsey reports from Pamplona, Spain.