Team Melli climbed up 14 places in the monthlky FIFA ranking to the 44th place with 611 points.

According to the latest FIFA ranking released on Wednesday, Iran rose to 44th place with 611 points after series of declines in the months before.

One of the best results for Carlos Queiroz’s team, was the defeat of South Korea 1-0 on October 16 in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. A win which carries valauble points across.

Iran is still fourth place in the contenental ranking behind. Japan on top of Asian teams with 810 points followed by South Korea with 728 and Australia with 719 points respectively.

Bangkok.

During the final group match of FIFA Futsal World Cup Thailand 2012 that was held on Thursday in Bangkok , Mostafa Tayebi was taken of the area with severe nose bleeding after a  clash with a Panamanian player.

While Tayebi was trying to tackle the ball , the Panamanian player swung his arm and hit Tayebi’s face, which lead him to fall on the deck with blood streaming. Apparently it was a severe case as Tayebi had to be rushed to the hospital from the arena for urgent medical attention.

After the match ended , the Panama coach asked all his players to go to the Iranian team’s dressing room to apologize for that unintentional incident which hospitalized one of the Iranian quality players.

Latest reports indicate that Tayebi’s condition is stable and has been released from the hospital;. There is no world on whether he will be available for the last 16 round match.

Meanwhile,  Hamid Ahmadi will not be available for Iran’s team after receiving his 2nd yellow card of the tournament. Ahamadi will be absent against Colombia or Guatemala in the next round.

Iran’s Futsal team defeated the C3ntral American representative 4-3 to make it to the last 16 of the FIFA Futsal World Cup Thailand 2012.

In a tight match that was marred by many wasted chances from Team Melli , the Panamanians were a tough nut to crack with their solid defense and strong attack. Iran took an early lead through Ahmad Esmailpour  (3’00”) , before the Panamanians equalized through  Claudio GOODRIDGE (5’13”)

Before the end of the first half , Afshin KAZEMI (13’02”) and Mohammad TAHERI (18’44”) scored for Iran for the first half to finish 3-1.

The second half saw a much better organized Panama and with their determined and spirited playing , they managed to get their second goal through a a penalty converted by
Carlos PEREZ (34’12”) to make it a nervous few minutes for Team Melli.

Mohammad TAHERI eased the pressure on the team and the fans by scoring Iran’s fourth before Alquis ALVARADO (39’21”) scored from a stunning shot seconds before the whistle. It was a goal too late for the Panamanians who displayed good spirit but coud not match Iran’s skill and experience.

Esmailpour ,  Ahmadi and Rahnama received yellow cards in this match,

With 2 wins and a draw , Iran finished 2nd in the group behind Spain on same points but inferior goal difference. Team Melli will be playing against the second of group F in the last 16 round on November 11th in Bangkok. The opponents will be either Guatemala or Colombia.

In the last group match of the AFC Asian U-19 championship, Team Melli U-19 put six goals past the hapless Kuwaitis to confirm its qualification to the next round of the competition as group leaders.

Japan and UAE played a goal-less draw which puts Iran on top of the table with 7 points , while Japan qualified as the second of the group with 4 points.

Team Melli played a one-sided match and completely overwhelmed the Kuwaitis. In an astonishing event , hardly experienced as such level of football , Iran’s goalkeeper Nasseri , has not touched a single ball from a Kuwaiti player during the whole of the match. Whatever Kuwaiti offensive there was ,  it was simply and easily dispatched with by the “Wave-breaker” defense of Iran.

The midfield was controlled effectively by the Iranians , and fed many good balls for the forward players, however, the bravery of the Kuwait goalkeeper prevented a drubbing early in the first half. The First Iran goal came late but it was worth waiting for. on the 27th minute , from a rebounded ball ,  Valid Zadeh Mashaei scored a scorcher from outside the box into the roof of the net.

The first half ended 1-0 for Iran.

The second half started with Kuwaiti players looking exhausted from the onslaughts of the first half. in the 53rd minute ,  a brilliant piece of individual skill by Ehsan Pahlavan made it 2-0 for Team Melli. Pahlavan dribbled past 3 Kuwaiti defenders before shooting past the Kuwaiti keeper from inside the box.

5 minutes later it was Sardar Azamoun’s turn to score. The substitute pounced on a lose ball and turned 180 degrees to score into an empty net. Iran was leading 3-0 with another half an hour to go. The floodgates was open for Team Melli U-19 while the Kuwaitis started playing rough in order to stop the much fitter and the more skilful Iranian players.

On the 64th Hossein Fazeli , the other substitute scored Iran’s 4th.

Defender Rozbeh Cheshme made it 5-0 from a simple tap in with 15 minutes to go.

3 minutes later , Hossein Fazeli scored his second and the team’s 6th from a nice header that wrong footed Kuwait keeper. From then on the frustrated Kuwaiti were clearly trying to stop the Iranian player by any means including hurting the opponents by intentional rough play. For their dirty tactics , they got several yellow cards and two red cards courtesy of the South Korean referee. One Kuwait player nearly crippled Framarzi in a rough tackle. The Iranian stretchered out never to return to the match as Iran had to play the final 9 minutes of the match with 10 players as they have exhausted their 3 substitutions.

With this comprehensive win , Iran will now meet Korea Republic in the Quarter final

AFC U-19 CHAMPIONSHIP 2012				FINAL ROUND
	07-11-2012 21:00 GST		Fujairah Stadium, Al Fujairah City, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES		1,200

	96 minutes		EHSAN PAHLAVAN
	Warm and humid		27 C

Goals: Valid Mashay Zadeh (27), Ehsan Pahlavan (53), Sardar Azmoun (58), Hossein Fazeli (65 , 78), Roozbeh Cheshmi,(75)

Iran :  Mohammad Naseri (gk); Yousef Vakia, Roozbeh Cheshmi, Hossein Kanani, Mohammad Ali Faramarzi, Ahmad Abdollahzadeh (66; Mohammad Daneshgar), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (c), Ehsan Pahlavan, Valid Mashay Zadeh, Behnam Barzay (55; Hossein Fazeli),  Ali Choopani(40′ Sardar Azmoun)

Kuwait:  Khalifah Aldhufairi (c); Saud Altourki (59′ Meshari  Alobaidan ). Nader Alenezi , Sami Alsanea (68′ Yaqoub Husain), Abdullah Alrashidi, Mohammad Albathali, Mohammad Alqabandi (32′ Mohammad Alenezi), Fahad Alhamdan , Omar Almutairi, Mohammad Alfahad, Abdulrahman Alshammari

Referee: KIM DONG JIN (KOREA, REPUBLIC)

Yellow Cards:

Iran: Sardar Azmoun (53)

Kuwait: Abdullah Alrashidi (22), Mohammad Alenezi (33 + 93),  Sami Alsanea (50)

Red Cards

Kuwait: Mohammad Albathali,(92), Mohammad Alenezi (93)

afc.com reports

Fujairah: Iran outlined the AFC U-19 Championship title credentials with an emphatic 6-0 victory over Kuwait on Wednesday that saw the Iranians advance to the quarter-finals as Group A winners.

Valid Mashay Zadeh gave Iran a 1-0 advantage to take into the second-half before the four-time champions turned on the style after the interval with five unanswered goals saw them top the Group A table and set up a quarter-final clash with Korea Republic on Sunday.

Iran dominated from the start and after Alireza Jahan saw his 22nd minute free-kick pushed out for a corner by Khalifah Al Dhufairi before the Kuwait keeper needed to be bailed out by a defensive team-mate who was on hand to clear Behnam Barzay’s goal-bound header off the line.

The crossbar came to Kuwait’s rescue four minutes later when Jahan beat two defenders only to see his shot rattle the woodwork.

But as the game approached the half-hour mark Iran’s dominance finally paid off when Zadeh collected a defensive clearance on the edge of the area and dispatched the ball into the Kuwait net.

Kuwait were more composed at the start of the second half but after Jahan and Zadeh had efforts on goal Iran doubled their advantage in the 54th minute through Ehsan Pahlavan before the Kuwaiti defence couldn’t deal with Jahan’s cross from the right which allowed substitute Sardar Azmoun to slide home number three five minutes later.

Azmoun turned provider for fellow substitute Hossein Fazeli to make it 4-0 in the 64th minute before Jahan’s cross gave Roozbeh Cheshmi he time and space to slot the ball into an empty net.

Fazeli completed the scoring in the 78th minute when he headed in Pahlavan’s cross at the near post but Kuwait’s misery didn’t end there as Mohammad Al Bathali and then substitute Mohammad Al Enzi were both sent off in stoppage-time, with Al Bathali receiving a straight red for kicking out at an Iranian player and Al Enzi getting his marching orders after picking up a second yellow card for a foul shortly after.

Iranian football federation announced the list of 30 players who will be participating in the training camp for the upcoming West Asian Football Federation tournament to be held in Kuwait in December.

The strong list of players , which is a good mixture of Team Melli players and the younger promising members of Iran’s U-22 team , is indicative of the federation intent of regaining the title they have lost to Kuwait in the last edition of this competition. The Under-22 teams has seven representative in the list.

The bulk of the players that have played against Tajikistan in the friendly , which ended 6-1 to Team Melli , are included in the list. The competition rules allows 22 players only. The final list will be announced in due date.

GK: Alireza Haghighi (Ruben Kazan), Sousha Makani (Naft Tehran), Hamed Lak (Saba Qom), Ali-Reza Piranvand (Naft Tehran)
DF: Hossein Mahini (Perspolis), Milad Fakhreddini (Tractorsazi Tabriz), Vahid Esmailbeigi (Mes Kerman), Pejman Montazeri (Esteghlal), Mohammad Khanzadeh (Perspolis), Maziar Zare (Malavan Anzali), Shoja’a Khalilzadeh (Mes Kerman), Mehrdad Pooladi (Perspolis), Ehsan Hajsafi (Tractorsazi Tabriz)
MF: Omid Ebrahimi (Sepahan Esfahan), Reza Haghighi (Fajr Sepasi), Omid Nazari, (Ängelholms FF), Shahram Goudarzi (Mes Kerman), Abolghasim Dehnavi (Tractorsazi Tabriz),  Milad Nouri (Saba Qom), Mohsen Mosalman (Malavan Anzali),
FW: Yaghoub Karimi (Naft Tehran), Arash Afshin (Foolad Khuzestan) Ahmad Hassanzadeh (Mes Kerman), Payam Sadeghian (Zob Ahan), Milad Gharibi (Saipa Alborz) , Mehdi Nazari (Fajr Sepasi), Jalal Rafkhaei (Malavan Anzali), Karim Ansarifard (Perspolis), Mostafa Shojaei (Mes Kerman), Mehrdad Oladi (Malavan Anzali).

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.