Team Melli comprehensively defeated  Tajikistan National team (FIFA Rank 126) in a friendly international match in Azadi Stadium. The match ended 6-1 in favor of Iran in what seemed like a practice session. Aboghasim Dehnavi and Yaghoub Karimi both scored a brace in the first half, which ended  4-0 while Hassanzadeh and Abbasfard , both substitutes , added a goal each in the second half,
Sabankhalov scored a spectacular consolation goal in the second half for the Tajik team.

In a match that was believed to be a preparation for next week’s important and defining encounter against Uzbekistan the 4th round of FIFA World Cup qualifier, the biggest surprise was the fileding of the reserve team for this match. By selecting 11 starters , Carlos Queiroz has put a big question mark on the objective of this game just 6 days before the Uzbekistan game. Out of the 11 starting players only Mahini featured in the last match in Azadi against Korea Rep. but only as a substitute. Khalatbari , also a sub for that game also played about 16 minutes in this match against Tajikistan.

It remained to be seen , how could Queiroz claim that this Tajikistan match can be a preparatory game against the much tougher Uzbekistan , while playing none of his starting players !!!

The starting line up for Team Melli was:
Rhaman Ahmadi , Shojaa Khalilzadeh, Mohammad Nosrati, Hossein Mahini, Ehsan Hajsafy, Yaghoub Karimi, Abolghasim Dehnavi, Milad Nouri, Omid Nazari , Ali Karimi (C), Jalal Rafhaei,

It took 9 minutes for Team melli to open the scoring. A smart diagonal pass from Ali Karimi ,  found Dehnavi just inside the box , who easily beat the goalkeeper and scored.

4 minutes later m the two Kaeimis combined for  the second goal. Ali’s chipped cross delicately into the box for Yaghoub to head the ball to the far left post,  which the fully strecthed Tajik goalkeeper failed to save.

On the half hour mark , with a skillful move by Abolghasim in which he dribbled past 2 Tajik defenders before shooting, announced  his second and the teams’s third.

A minute later Yaghoub karimi scored his second and Iran’s fourth.

Ali Karimi who had two assists in this match limped off just before the end of the first half with what looked like a pulled muscle. he was replaced by Arash Afshun.

The one sided first half ended 4-0 for Team Melli,.

the second half saw the introduction of 3 substitutes , Makani in goals instead of idle Ahmadi , Abbasfartd  and Hassanzadeh –

in the 49th minute Hassanzadeh received a defense splitting pass from Milad Nouri. The Mes Kerman forward in his debut match , dribbled past the Tajik goalkeeper and scored.

From then on , Tajikistan team organized their defense and were much tougher to penetrate. In the process, they also scored an spectacular goal in minute 69 by number 3 Sabankhalov

Team Melli had to wait until the end for the sixth match scored by substitute Alireza Abbasfard.

in a post match statement , Queiroz reiterated that this match was in preparation for the Uzbekistan match (…) . He said that Uzbekistan is even tougher match than Korea. “They are a compact team and do not [lay openly. They will be very well prepared. ” He added

The Portuguese coach emphasized the role of the fans” the fans will be crucial for us. We expect the stadium to be full as 100,000 fans will be very important support for us. I appeal to the fans to bring green white and red flags to the stadium.”

Team Melli will be Meeting Uzbekistan in Azadi with 7 points in the bag. A win will go a long way in the qualification to Brazil.

Ras Al Khaimah: Hosts UAE kept their hopes of a place in the knockout stage of the AFC U-19 Championship 2012 on Monday after Yousif Saeed struck seven minutes from time to earn a 1-1 draw with Iran.

Alireza Jahan Bakhsh’s 70th minute goal put the Iranians on course for a second successive win which would have seen them through to the quarter-finals but Saeed had other ideas and his 83rd minute header ensured that the spoils were shared at the Emirates Club Stadium.

The UAE’s second 1-1 draw, following their tie with Kuwait, put them third in the Group A standings with two points, two less than leaders Iran and one less then second-place Japan, who the UAE will face in a must-win match on Wednesday.

Iran showed their stacking intent early on with Sardar Azmoun’s powerful header going a whisker above the bar before Azmoun again came close a few minutes later with a long-range effort that was also went high.

The UAE’s first chance fell to Yousef Ahmed in the 23rd minute but he was unable to direct Ahmad Barman’s cross on target before Faraj Juma missed a golden opportunity to test Iran goalkeeper Mohammad Naseri after scuffing his shot following a superb cross from Saeed.

The hosts played with more purpose in the second-half but still they lacked penetration in the final third and when they did carve out a clear goal-scoring opportunity in the 62nd minute they were thwarted by Iran defender Yousef Vakia, who bravely blocked Said Rashid’s goal-bound shot.

Vakia was involved at the other end of the pitch when Iran took the lead eight minutes later when he headed Mohammed Ali Faramarzi’s long throw towards Roozbeh Cheshmi who in turn nodded the ball on for Bakhsh to beat UAE keeper Ahmad Shambih with aplomb.

As it stood the UAE were facing an early exit from the tournament before Saeed’s timely intervention.

Livewire right-winger Rashid evaded Ali Faramarzi and whipped in an inviting cross for Saeed to score a deserved equaliser to keep the hosts’ hopes of a quarter-final place alive.

Bangkok.

Team Melli Futsal team defeated Morocco 2-1 in Bangkok to register its first win in the FIFA Futsal World Cup Thailand 2012. The goals were scored by Hassanzadeh and Kazemi,

IN the first half ,Team Melli quickly took control of the game, however , the resolute Moroccans fighting for survival on the competition after their loss to Panama, made a real fight of it,

The plan of the game for Morocco was to keep a clean sheet while hit on the counter , which they executed to great efficiency. On the other hand Team Melli suffered form some poor finishing and lack of concentration. Fatigue was evident in Iran’s game today. While team Melli had the majority percentage of ball possession , they failed to score against the disciplined and highly organized Moroccans. The African had very few chances in the half but still managed to score the equalizer seconds after Iran’s only goal coming from a penalty kick in the last minute of the half . The penalty was nicely converted by Hassanzadeh.

First half ended 1-1

The second half was a replica of the first , while Iran had more of the ball , their finishing was feeble. Team Melli Iran struggled to open the  Moroccan defense until until Kazemi scored with 8 minutes to go to save Iran’s blushes.

Iran were the superior team throughout the match but they could not translate the superiority into goals, and struggled against the stubborn defenses of Morocco who had their goalkeeper to thank. The display of Team Melli was also marred by some uncharacteristic poor ball control. The match ended 2-1.

    In contrast to the match against Spain , this one was one of the more forgettable matches for this proud Asian team. It looked like the Spain game has taken its toll on the Iranians.

Iran now has 4 points from two matches and one last game left against Panama.

 

Saturday, 03 November 2012 18:49

Ras Al Khaimah: Iran coach Akbar Mohammadi Argi praised for his players for their high level of concentration as the Iranians kicked-off their AFC U-19 Championship 2012 Group A campaign with a 2-0 victory over Japan on Saturday. Iran took the lead just two minutes into a highly-charged encounter at the Emirates Club Stadium through Behnam Barzay’s header before substitute midfielder Hossein Fazeli scored with his only his second touch in the 56th minute to settle the contest between the two Group A favourites. The win took Iran to the top of the Group A table with three points while UAE and Kuwait, who played 1-1 draw earlier, are in second and third place leaving the Japanese reeling at the bottom of the standings without a point. “I must praise my players for high level of concentration. Maybe the score suggests it was an easy affair but it was not. The Japanese were very strong and both the sides were struggling to find the space,” Argi (pictured) told reporters after the match. “But in that tussle we found more spaces and created more chances and scored two goals so everything went right today. “I know this team can perform better than this. You will see a much-improved Iran side in the upcoming matches but we must remain on our feet as Kuwait and the UAE are also very good teams and anything can happen in football,” he said. Argi’s counterpart Yasushi Yosihda lamented his side bad day at the office but with two matches remaining he remained confident Japan could turn things around. “This is very sad defeat for the whole of Japanese football but we are still there. We have two matches to play and six points should be enough for us to progress,” he said. Yosihda, who was without Japan’s second highest scorer in the qualifiers Minami Shuto through an ankle injury, also revealed that he tried to change the tactics in the second half but his strategy didn’t plan out as hoped. “I tried my best. I replaced a striker for a midfielder but the main cause of our defeat started at the beginning when we conceded so early before the players were settled into the match. “Once we were a goal down, the players came under pressure and we never recovered,” he said.

 

Team Melli U-19 defeated Japan 2-0 in the first match of group A of the AFC U-19 Asian Championship in Ras Al Khaima today. An Early goal by Behnam Barzay in the 3rd minute from a powerful header and another goal from substitute Fazeli scored in the second half, sealed the win and 3 points for Iran.

Team Melli shocked Japan, the title contender and 6 times finalist, with an early goal in the 3rd minute. Behnam Barzay towering over all the Japanese defenders to head home from a corner. The Japanese were not too concerned and played strongly with heir usual offensive and disciplined style, however almost all their attacks were broken by the “Wave-breaker” like Iranian solid defense.

This pattern continued throughout the match as despite more possession , Japan failed to really threaten Mohammad Naseri  in Iran’s goal. Whatever balls that were filtered to the Iranian goalkeeper , he dealt with easily.

Just before the hour mark , Fazeli scored the second goal for Team Melli from his first touch of the ball. The substitute player scored from a rebounded shot off the woodwork that hit the Japanese goalkeeper. Fazeli tapped the ball in after the Japanese defenders failed to control the ball.

The rhythm of the match continued however , Iran was clearly the more dangerous as the woodwork saved the Japanese from 3 goals. The Japanese disciplined play was no match for the powerful and more individually skilful Iranians.

Team Melli will be meeting UAE in the next match on Monday. The host drew with Kuwait 1-1 in the same group in an earlier match.

Match Details

AFC U-19 CHAMPIONSHIP 2012				FINAL ROUND
	03-11-2012 21:00 GST		Emirates Stadium, Ras al-Khaimah, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

JAPAN vs. IRAN

0 – 2

Goals   Behnam Barzay 3′ – Hossein Fazeli 56′

Referee:     ABDUL MALIK ABDUL BASHIR (SINGAPORE)

Japan : Kushibiki Masatoshi  (GK) ; Matsubara Ken ,  Endo Wataru (c), Nara Tatsuki (77; Tanabe Ryota) , Yamanaka Ryosuke , Kumagai Andrew ,  Notsuda Gakuto (61′ Onose Kosuke),  Kubo Yuya , Ohshima Ryota , Watari Daiki ( 46′ Yajima Shinya), Matsumoto Masaya .

Coach: Yoshida Yashushi

Iran:  Mohammad Naseri (GK); Yousef Vakia, Hossein Kanani , Ahmad Abdollahzadeh,  Mohammad hossein Mor , Mohammad Ali Faramarzi, Farshid Esmaeili, Alireza Jahan bakhsh (c), Ali Choopani (56; Hossein Fazeli) , Behnam Barzay (66′ Ehsan Pahlavan), Sardar Azmoun  ( 80′ Amin JahanKohan)

Coach: Akbar Mohammadi

YelloW card: Ahmad Abdollahzadeh (IRN)

Bangkok , Thailand,

In a thrilling and highly entertaining match, the two powerhouses of World Futsal  Iran and Spain drew 2-2 in the FIFA Futsal World Thailand 2012 in Bangkok. The match was the first for both teams in group B played in the Huamark Indoor Arena.

Despite having more ball possession than the European champions , Spain , Team Melli was two goal behind by the end of the 1st half,  MIGUELIN (4’03”) and LOZANO (15’34”) scored Spain goals.

In the second half, Iran cam much stronger and determined than their powerful opponents and after several close misses, Taheri shot after a slick move to dribble past his marker . was parried by Spain keeper , but Masoud Daneshvar was there to score the tap in.

Iran seem the much fitter team in the second half and soon  the equalizer was scored by Hossein Tayebi from an assist by Hassanzadeh.

A glorious opportunity was missed 2 mints before the end when Hassanzadeh rounded the Spanish goalkeeper but , slightly unbalanced , shot wide with the empty goal at his mercy .

It was one thrilling finale as both teams came close to scoring in the dying seconds of the match. The last second of the match saw Nazari brilliantly save a shot .

The match ended 2-2 , in a repeat of their last encounter in the FIFA Futsal World Cup Brazil 2008 when the teams drew 3-3 in that match.

Hamid Ahmadi and Ali Hassanzadeh were awarded yellow cards by the referee , the latter was for violation during the substitution. Spanish players received 4 yellow card

Iran will be meeting Morocco on the 5th November. The African representative lost their first natch 8-3 against Panama in the same group in the match held earlier in the day.

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fifa.com reports

Asian heavyweights Iran came from two goals behind to secure a 2-2 draw against six-time European champions Spain in their FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012 opener at the Huamark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok.

The Spanish, who have twice lifted the trophy at this tournament, raced into a half-time advantage but had to settle for a point with their Group B rivals after an entertaining match-up between two teams intent on attacking throughout.

Miguelin’s precision finish put Spain ahead in the early stages and their lead was doubled shortly before half-time when Lozano took advantage of a rebound, following clever play by Torras, to find the back of the net.

But Iran improved in the second period and earned the draw they deserved courtesy of goals from Masoud Daneshvar and Hossein Tayebi within three minutes of each other, much to the delight of the considerable Iranian support.

The pair are back in Group B action on Monday, when Spain face section pace-setters Panama after Iran have met Morocco.

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Spain (ESP)	Statistics	Iran (IRN)
36	Shots	45
12	Shots on goal	15
3	Accumulated Fouls 1st half	6
4	Accumulated Fouls 2nd half	2
6	Corner kicks	6
0	Free Kicks to Goal	2
0 / 0	Penalty Kicks (Goals/Shots)	0 / 0
0 / 0	2nd Penalty goal / 2nd Penalty shot	0 / 0
4	Yellow cards	2
0	Second yellow card and red card	0
0	Red Cards	0
50%	Possession (%)	50%
1	Time out 1st half	1
1	Time out 2nd half	1

11 LIN (10’41”) 2 ORTIZ (30’09”) 8 KIKE (32’18”) 14 ALEMAO (33’40”)	(6’28”) Hamid AHMADI 5 (16’38”) Ali HASSANZADEH 7

Iran’s Team Melli Futsal , will begin its quest for qualification to the next round by meeting Spain in the FIFA Fustal World Cup 2012 on Friday 2nd Nov. 2012. The other two teams in group B are Morocco and Panama.

Spain is one of the two top teams of the tournament along with Brazil. Iran and Spain have met 14 times in various international Futsal matches, with Team Melli managing a solitary win against the powerhouse European team. Spain has won 9 times while 4 matches ended in a draw.

While the Spanish team is enjoying one of its best runs in the history, Iran has lost its title this year when Thailand knocked them out by beating them in the semi finals. Iran won the third rank and qualified for the FIFA Futsal World cup, however that shock defeat prompted the federation to act and recruit a world renowned football coach to support the inexperienced coach Sanei.

Jesus Candelas Rodrigo was appointed as technical director of Iran futsal in a supporting role along with Mohammad Sanei. The 55-year-old Spaniard first real test will be against his own country on Friday.  He is considered one of the top coaches in Spain and has produced and coached many quality Spanish player , many of them have represented their country at international level.

Team Melli will be missing the influencial and leagendary player Vahid Shamsaei.

Vahid Shamsaei , is the world top futsal scorer in addition to being the most celebrated futsal player in Iran. Shamsaei’s exclusion is based  on differences with the federation and the coaching staff recently, rather than technical.

 

 

Iran	vs	Spain	Result		Penalty
22/10/2010 – Anápolis (BRA) – Grand Prix 2010
Spain	vs	Iran	6 – 4		–
01/10/2008 – Rio de Janeiro (BRA) – FIFA World Futsal Ch. – Brazil 2008 (FT) (6th)
Spain	vs	Iran	3 – 3		–
20/08/2008 – Tehran (IRI) – Friendly Match
Iran	vs	Spain	1 – 2		–
19/08/2008 – Tehran (IRI) – Friendly Match
Iran	vs	Spain	1 – 2		–
28/12/2006 – ? (ESP) – Friendly Match
Spain	vs	Iran	5 – 2		–
27/12/2006 – ? (ESP) – Friendly Match
Spain	vs	Iran	3 – 3		–
21/10/2003 – Teheran (IRI) – Friendly Match
Iran	vs	Spain	2 – 2		–
29/04/2003 – La Rioja (ESP) – Friendly Match
Spain	vs	Iran	2 – 2		–
28/04/2003 – Santander (ESP) – Friendly Match
Spain	vs	Iran	6 – 2		–
27/11/2001 – Singapore (SIN) – TIGER 5s 2001 (3rd)
Spain	vs	Iran	3 – 0		–
22/11/2000 – Guatemala City (GUA) – FIFA World Futsal Ch. – Guatemala 2000 (FT) (4th)
Iran	vs	Spain	2 – 7		–
04/12/1997 – Singapore (SIN) – TIGER 5s 1997 (1st)
Spain	vs	Iran	7 – 1		–
28/11/1992 – Hong Kong (HKG) – FIFA World Futsal Ch. – Hong Kong 1992 (FT) (2nd)
Spain	vs	Iran	9 – 6		–
24/11/1992 – Hong Kong (HKG) – FIFA World Futsal Ch. – Hong Kong 1992 (FT) (2nd)
Iran	vs	Spain	4 – 2		–

 

Carlos Queiroz announced a list of  28-players for the friendly against Tajikistan (November 6) followed by the World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan (November 14), both in Azadi stadium.

The final list of 23 or 24 players for the Uzbekistan match will be announced after the Tajikistan match , which is played outside the FIFA recognized day , resulting in the unavailability of several legionnaires players.

To compensate for the absentees , more Persian Gulf League players were invited.
The announced list have some notable absentees such as Malavan’s  Maziar Zare, and the suspended Osasuna player, Masoud Shojaei. Hadi Aghili is still recovering from the injury that prevented him playing against Korea Rep., while Rubin Kazan keeper Alireza Haghighi, who never made an impact with the Russian club , has been omitted due to lack of match practice

There are returns for some familiar names , such as  wingers Arash Afshin (pictured) and Yaghoub Karimi. in addition to the  previously injured young defender Shoja’a Khalilzade.

The list of invited players.

Goalkeepers:
Mehdi RAHMATI – Esteghlal
Rahman Ahmadi – Saipa
Sousha Makani – Naft Tehran

Defenders:
Khosrow HEYDARI– Esteghlal
Hossein  MAHINI – Persepolis
Jalal HOSSEINI,– Persepolis
Pejman MONTAZERI,– Esteghlal
Mohammad Nosrati – Tractor Sazi
Shojaa  KHALILZADEH, – Mes
Mehrdad POOLADI, – Persepolis
Ehsan HAJSAFY, – Tractor Sazi

Midfielders:
Javad NEKOUNAM – Esteghlal
Andranik TEYMOURIAN, – Kharaityat, QAT
Pejman NOURI– Malavan
Abolghasim DEHNAVI, – Tractor Sazi
Omid NAZARI– Ängelholms, SWE
Ali KARIMI – Persepolis
Mohammad  NOURI – Persepolis
Milad Nouri – Saba

Strikers:
Ashkan DEJAGAH  – Fulham, ENG
Reza GHOOCHANEJAD – Sint Truiden, BEL
MohamadReza KHALATBARY– Sepahan
Yaghoub Karimi – Naft Tehran
Arash Afshin – Foolad
Ahmad Hassanzadeh – Mes
Mohammad Ghazi  NAJAFABADI– Persepolis
Karim ANSARIFARD – Persepolis
Jalal Rafkhaei – Malavan

The on-going dispute between the two Portuguese nationals that occupy the most sensitive posts in Iran’s football, continues unabated.

The dispute between Carlos Manuel Brito Leal Queiroz , the head coach of Team Melli and Manuel José de Jesus Silva , the head coach of Perspolis club of Tehran, goes back from the days when both were coaching in Portugal. The disagreements continued even as both left Portugal to world abroad.

 In a statement to Fars News Agency , Queiroz accused his compatriot of attempting to sow seeds of differences between himself and Team Melli players by unsubstantiated  allegations, thereby undermining the interest of the national football team

Queiroz stated that he intended to answer the allegations of his compatriot, Manuel Jose,  after the coach of Perspolis was interviewed by a local newpaper in which he claimed that Queiroz is having a negative influence on his club. “The interview was published a few days before the game between Iran vs. South Korea national teams in which Jose attacked me and some players. I wanted to answer him, but due to the proximity of the match with South Korea and its sensitivity, I decided against doing so and opted to leave the matter with the IFF disciplinary committee to deal with this matter. However, that was not done and I am obliged now to respond to all those allegations made against me.” Queiroz explained.

 Referring to Manuel Jose comments “it evidently illustrates the characters of that individual. It is helpless and confused, and in the process, he decided to try to confuse and mislead the masses.” Queiroz said of his compatriot.

 “Mr. Manuel Jose utterance is quite disrespectful towards Team Melli and is completely unacceptable and deserves a serious response from the authorities. Jose Manuel behavior and morality does not surprise me at all. When I look at the present situation of morality in Persepolis,  coach Jose is hiding from reality and is on denial. The current situation in that club is a witness to this fact.” Queiroz added

“Through this public statement, I invite Mr. Manuel José to provide documents and clear statements to prove the charges made in that interview. I want to stress that I am pretty sure that that Mr. Manuel Jose will not be able to demonstrate and validate his allegations.”

Queiroz concluded his statement by saying. “At the end of the day, Jose has no option but to apologize for his disrespect towards Team Melli and some of the players”

While full details of their dispute and disagreements are vague, (some claiming that it was fundamentally to do with football ideology) it is obvious that these two do not see eye to eye. Such disputes or differences between coaches occur globally, but in this particular case, the problem between these two is magnified by the fact that Perspolis has the largest number of players in Team Melli.from .

In clear defiance to Manuel Jose and Perspolis Club , Carlos Queiroz selected Ali Karimi in his squad to play Korea Republic, despite the fact that the midfielder was suspended from club due to disciplinary reasons and out of match practice.

Jose Manuel claimed that Karimi is influenced by Carlos Querioz and implied that this was a source of the player’s revolt in the club.

Nicola Kavazovic  , the Head coach of Tajikistan national football team announced the list of 24 players  taking part in the training camp for the friendly match against Team Melli  scheduled for 6th October in Azadi. The squad includes four new players, midfielder “Istiqlol” Umedzhon Sharipov goalkeeper “Istaravshan” Farrukh Berdiev, as well as players “Vakhsh” – the defender and midfielder Naim Ulmas Jamoliddin Zard.

The Tajik team will begin preparations for the friendly on Thursday, November 1. The team will meet in Dushanbe in a hotel “Istiqlol” and on the same day will hold a training session at the Central Republican Stadium. Short-term collection will last only two days. On Saturday, November 3, the team will fly to Tehran, 3 days before the match in the   100,00 seat stadium.

The national team Tajikistan,

Goalkeepers: Alisher Tuychiev (“Istiklol”), Farrukh Berdiev (“Istaravshan”), Alisher Dodov (“Regar-TadAZ”);

Defenders: Sohib Savankulov, Eradzh Radjabov Mahmadali Sadykov, Jahangir Djalilov Davrondzhon Ergashev (all – “Istiqlol”), Alex Negmatov, Daler Tuhtasunov (both – “Regar-TadAZ”) Ahtam Nazarov (“Energetic”), Naim Ulmasov ( “Vakhsh”);

Midfielders: Fathullo Fathulloev, Dilshod Vosiev, Nuriddin Davronov, Umedzhon Sharipov, Ibrahim Rabimov (all – “Istiqlol”) Jamoliddin Zardov (“Vakhsh”) Khurshed Makhmudov Jamshed Ismailov (both – “Regar-TadAZ”);

Forwards: Ahtam Khamrokulov, Komil Saidov (both – “Regar-TadAZ”), Yusuf Rabiev, Farhad Tohirov (both – “Istiklol”).