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
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.
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 Iran manager Carlos Queiroz cited British immigration laws in response to questions about the oppression of women in Iran, especially in protests over recent months, which have culminated in extrajudicial killings and arrests by the state.
The 69-year-old former Manchester United assistant coach, in his second spell in charge of Iran, made the remark as he left the team’s press conference at their Al Rayyan base west of Doha on Tuesday. Iran are England’s first opponent at the Qatar World Cup in group B on Monday, with the self-styled Islamic republic currently in tumult.
Around 14,000 people are estimated by the United Nations to have been arrested by the country’s security forces in recent months. Deaths as a result of security forces’ actions are estimated by human rights groups at more than 320, the BBC has reported. On Monday, Iran’s parliament voted for the use of the death penalty for those protesting in favour of womens’ rights, among other issues.
When Queiroz was asked at the end of his press conference about working for a nation that oppresses women he responded to the questioner directly. “How much you pay me to answer that question? How much you pay me? Talk to your boss and give me your answer. Don’t put in my mouth words that I don’t say. I’m asking how much money to answer.”
He made a final comment – in reference to Britain – as he left the room: “Think about what happened in your country with immigration”.
The leaders of Iran are facing unprecedented numbers of protests and civil unrest that has followed the death in custody of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini on Sept 16. In recent interviews, Queiroz has refused to discuss the subject. His players refused to sing the national anthem in a friendly this month in solidarity with protestors.
Earlier when asked about whether his players would be permitted to protest the treatment of Amini and others alleged to have died at the hands of the Iranian “morality police”, the veteran Mozambique-born Portuguese coach did not seem to rule it out.
Queiroz said: “Iran is exactly like your country. It follows the spirit of the game and the laws of Fifa. That’s how you express yourself in football. That’s part of how you express yourself in football. Everybody has the right to express themselves. You guys bend your knees in the games. Some people agree, some people don’t agree with that, and Iran is exactly the same.
“It is out of the question to think that the national team is… the players only have one thing in their mind which is to fight for their dream to be in the second round. They are people who understand one simple thing, if they were able to do that they will not only be part of history, they will make history. This is the sixth time Iran have been to a World Cup and they have never been in the second round.”
Twice an assistant manager at United, as well as briefly the Real Madrid coach, Queiroz took over the Iran squad – Team Melli – in September after the players fell out with his predecessor, the Croatian Dragan Skocic. Queiroz was manager of Iran from April 2011 to Jan 2019, during which time they qualified for the previous two World Cup finals.
He said that England should not be judged on their recent run of poor results. “Playing in Europe [Nations League] is a very competitive environment,” he said. “In terms of the attitude of the players and the fighting spirit, the belief in winning – they are very dangerous. They are a great team and they show that in their last game against Germany.”
He declined to answer questions about the current impasse between Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United. Queiroz recommended the club sign the teenage Ronaldo in 2003 and also coached him in his second spell as Portugal’s manager.
Tunisia defeated Iran 2-0 in Doha in the final preparations games for both teams before the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. The first half ended goalless while in the second half, Tunisia was awarded a penalty after Abolfazl Jalali was judged to handle the ball. Naim Al Slaiti scored the spot kick in the 62nd minute. Ali AlAyed scored seven minutes later.
The match saw wholesome substitutions which exceeded the FIFA International matches guidelines
As reported by the Iranian press, evidently in accurately, 22 players took part in the match. It mentions that Beiranvand only played 60 minutes but there was no mention of the substituted goalkeeper in the list.
Players’ jersey numbers and the minutes played are as follows:
1- Alireza Beiranvand 60
2- Mehdi Torabi 45;
3- Hossein Kananizadegan; 45
4- Abolfazl Jalali; 30 (75 minute dismissal)
5- Morteza Pouraliganji; 45
6- Seyed Majid Hosseini; 45
7-Vahid Amiri; 45
9- Karim Ansarifard; 45
10- Mehdi Tarimi; 45
11- Alireza Jahanbakhsh; 45
13- Rozbeh Cheshmi; 45
14- Ahmad Noorolahi; 45
15- Ehsan Haj Safi; 45
16- Ali Gholizadeh; 45
17- Sadegh Moharrami; 45
18- Saman Ghoddos; 45
19- Saeed Ezzatollahi; 45
20- Milad Mohammadi; 45
21- Ali Karimi; 45
23- Shoja Khalilzadeh; 45
25- Ramin Rezaian; 45
30- Seyed Hossein Hosseini; 30
Tunisia Starting Lineup
Ayman Dahman, Muntasir al-Talibi, Nader al-Ghandari, Yassin Miriah, Muhammad Darajer, Ali al-Abedi, Elias al-Sakhiri, Issa al-Aydouni, Hannibal al-Majbri, Youssef al-Masakni and Wahbi al-Khazri.
However, the Tunisian coach changed the whole team in the second half.
“Everybody wants to see a change,” Ghoddos says. “It’s a change that is very easy. What the people want is nothing special. It’s just freedom and I don’t want to say ‘Yeah, go fight for it’ because I don’t think violence is the right way. But something has to change and this has been going on for too long.”
If the words seem simple, they come from a hugely difficult situation, not least because of the intense focus on this Iranian team. Speaking out could bring significant repercussions, given the government have just issued the first death sentence over demonstrations. There’s also the fact that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s state are seeking to politically use the World Cup to present an image of normality.
Ghoddos nevertheless feels that players “of course” have some responsibility. He says the squad had been messaging about it “almost every day” before they met up this week.
“No one is happy about it,” Ghoddos says. “I don’t want to mix politics with football but football is coming to the side right now because people are losing their lives fighting for freedom… clearly a change needs to come, and it has already been going on for so long. We all want change.
“If you think it’s the right thing to do, I think you should because you’re a famous athlete. If you can put a light on what’s going on you should do it – with pressure or without pressure because it’s the right thing to do.”
It almost feels wrong to be discussing football in that context. It is why England’s opening game is one of the most politicized fixtures of this highly politicized World Cup. The United Kingdom’s fractious history with Iran feeds into the political strife, the state’s regional alliance with the controversial nation, and the recent claims that Khamenei’s regime is supplying drones to Russia in the Ukrainian war.
All of that has led to multiple calls that the team be thrown out of the World Cup. Ghoddos is diplomatic and nuanced on that, even though this is his dream.
“I’ve been reading about it and people have been asking my opinion about it. I understand what they are talking about and where they are coming from. But I don’t know if it’s the right decision to kick us out. I don’t know if it’s the right move for me. I don’t know if anything will change because of that. It’s better to change what the real problem is, not to kick the football side out of the World Cup. That’s my opinion.
“Everybody can see what’s going on, it’s not so pleasant, and if we can put a light on what’s happening and if we can make a change in that way, that would be a good thing.”
There’s also a notable comment later on, when Ghoddos talks of how they “play for people in Iran” – not the state. This is where the debates on these topics become so complicated, going right back to Argentina 1978 and even Russia 2018, because the population’s football culture will always be distinct from ruling powers.
Ghoddos does admittedly come from this with a different perspective than many of his teammates. He grew up in Sweden after his parents migrated, and was initially a Swedish international with two caps and a goal. Ghoddos hadn’t even visited Iran until he made the switch in 2017. That never meant he felt any less Iranian, though. He couldn’t.
“We spoke Iranian and had this culture in my home. I was never able to go because, every time my parents were flying there, I had an important football game or something like this.
“There are so many Iranians in Sweden and in the city I was born in, Malmo.”
That naturally means he has memories of his country’s previous appearances in World Cups, not least the emotional impact of another of the most politicized fixtures.
“I was five years old in 1998 but I remember the celebration against the USA,” he says of Iran’s historic 2-1 win. “We always taped the World Cup and watched it every time after school.”
Playing through the Swedish football system meant it was natural to accept a call-up when asked for two friendlies, as tends to be the case for many of dual nationality. If Ghoddos didn’t exactly experience any internal debate about his choice, it was Iran manager Carlos Quieroz who offered some certainty.
“I was in the squad and for me it was a big honour but then I didn’t hear anything from Sweden. I didn’t think I was going to start. Then I got a call from Carlos Queiroz wondering if I would like to play for Iran. I never thought about it and I said ‘yeah of course’. He said he would invite me to a camp but he won’t play me because he doesn’t want to put pressure on me, and then I’m stuck to Iran.
“So he said ‘I will invite you, you train with us, and then for the next camp you can choose by yourself. For me, that was like ‘this is amazing. I’d heard about these players who get one minute [for one country] and then they’re stuck, then they can’t change, and I really appreciated the way he did it. Then Sweden wanted me to play. For me, it felt like it’s a bit too late now… so I said I want to play for Iran. I made my decision.”
His parents only ever encouraged Ghoddos to do what felt right, as they would be proud regardless, but his decision felt perfect when he experienced the response of his extended family.
“They’re just so happy every time I go with the national team and to be able to play and have their last name on my back. That’s a proud moment for them and that makes me happy.
“I never thought the people were so into football in Iran, and the kindness they have. It was very big for me.”
It felt even better when he was picked for the 2018 World Cup.
“That was the biggest thing I’d done in my life. I was like ‘I need to do this again.’ The atmosphere was something else. You just feel the energy. Now we’re there, it’s a very special moment for me. I’m very proud. I’ll try to make the best of it.
“I’m trying to get my family to come and watch but flights and hotels are very difficult. We have some rooms we can give them and the flight tickets from me. I’m trying to get them as much as possible because the World Cup is every four years and you need to be there. My family wasn’t in Russia but my friends came and they will talk about it their whole life so I’m trying to get my family, as many as possible, to come and watch.”
It reminds of the other side of the political use of football, which is the people’s enjoyment of it. It is all the more reason that Ghoddos feels an obligation – as well as an optimism. He firmly believes Iran can get out of the group for the first time.
“I rate it very high. If I’m looking at the squad for the other World Cups, I think this is the best Iran has ever had. The players we have right now, Mehdi Taremi doing well with Porto in Champions league level, same with Sardar Azmoun at Bayer Leverkusen. OK, maybe before with Ali Daei, Ali Karimi, these were exceptional players but it wasn’t so many. Now it feels like there are more of us, it’s more like a team spirit we have. It’s the same like with Brentford. We are really together and I think, with that, you can go through even if you are not as good a team on paper.
“Of course we are underdogs against England. That’s nothing to hide. I would rather fight from the underdog position and try to achieve something from there.”
The manager, Queiroz, is well versed in that. His football isn’t always enjoyable, but it is effective. The Portuguese made Iran a hugely difficult team to play against in the last two World Cups, bringing both Spain and Portugal to the brink of elimination in 2018 – as Quieroz’s team finished on four points to their five apiece – and forcing Argentina into a stoppage-time long-range winner from Lionel Messi in 2014. Monday is unlikely to be all that enjoyable for England.
Iran are going to be very well drilled. Queiroz has been sending the players videos of what he wants for weeks.
“You know when you’re coming in what you have to do,” Ghoddos says. “It’s very tactical and the message he is sending is very clear. Everybody knows their job, and he’s trying to put it in your spine. Like, if the ball is here, you have to do this – and it’s every day.”
That tactical application will be reinforced by an emotional intensity. The Iranian squad don’t actually play national music in the dressing room, because it’s “more beautiful music”, as Ghoddos puts it. They want to be pumped.
“Right now it’s the Stormzy song, Mel Made Me Do It,” Ghoddos laughs.
“But it’s very important to make sure the energy does not get to you because when you have too much it can affect your game. As long as you can see it as a normal game, of course, you need the energy to get to a new level and we’ll need that but it will be so special because if, you play for people in Iran, the energy and level we have will help us.”
Those last few words are among the most significant of all. Ghoddos sees himself as playing for the people – and he’s been courageous in speaking for them.
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Carlos Queiroz announced Team Melli’s squad for the FIFA World Cup 2022 with predictable familiar names but with a bit of a small twist. The team flew to Doha to start preparation which includes a friendly game behind closed doors against Tunisia in Doha on 16th Nov.
A couple of additions to the squad that was not in the normal Queiroz favorites list are Ali Karimi and Abolfazl Jalali. These two additions plus the surprise omission of Omid Noorafkan, are generating a few interesting discussions amongst the faithful Team Melli fans.
By selecting these players, Iran’s team is officially the oldest team in the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand (Persepolis), Amir Abedzadeh (Ponferradina), Seyed Hossein Hosseini (Esteghlal), Payam Niazmand (Sepahan)
Defenders: Ehsan Hajsafi (AEK Athens), Morteza Pouraliganji (Persepolis), Ramin Rezaeian (Sepahan), Milad Mohammadi (AEK Athens), Hossein Kanaanizadegan (Al Ahli), Shojae Khalilzadeh (Al Ahli), Sadegh Moharrami (Dinamo Zagreb), Rouzbeh Cheshmi (Esteghlal), Majid Hosseini (Kayserispor), Abolfazl Jalali (Esteghlal)
Midfielders: Ahmad Noorollahi (Shabab Al Ahli), Saman Ghoddos (Brentford), Vahid Amiri (Persepolis), Saeid Ezatolahi (Vejle), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Feyenoord), Mehdi Torabi (Persepolis), Ali Gholizadeh (Charleroi), Ali Karimi (Kayserispor)
Forwards: Karim Ansarifard (Omonia Nicosia), Sardar Azmoun (Bayer Leverkusen), Mehdi Taremi (Porto)
GARETH SOUTHGATE has named his 26-man squad for England’s World Cup campaign with Conor Gallagher and Callum Wilson the shock picks.
The Three Lions manager has whittled down his 55-man provisional list to the special 26.
After announcing his selections, Southgate said: “We’re excited by the group. We think there’s a lot of talent within it.
“But the group has to come together. We’ve got to adapt better than anybody else in the coming period.”
Harry Kane will once again spearhead Southgate’s troops, looking to win his first competition.
The Spurs man was the top scorer at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Jordan Pickford has never let anyone down for England, and he will be given the gloves in Qatar. The much-maligned Harry Maguire might not have found much form for Manchester United this season, but he is one of Southgate’s favorites in the squad.
James Maddison’s inclusion is arguably the biggest talking point. He appears to have finally won over Southgate after his stunning form for Leicester dragged them off the bottom of the Premier League.
Iran is the first of England’s opponents on 21st Nov 2022.
Iran’s last home game before the FIFA World Cup ended up in a mundane 1-0 win for Team Melli. Torabi scored the only goal in the First half.
Nicaragua, ranked 120 steps below Iran, managed to limit World Cup-bound Team Melli to two shots on target in the entire 90 minutes +, one of which ended up in a goal.
Behind the closed door and playing with mostly domestic league players, there was little to be gained from the World Cup preparations perspective, except for perhaps some last-chance look by Queiroz and his coaching staff on which domestic league players will make it on the plane to Doha
Playing weaker teams, however, had always been a risk and that proved true this time against Nicaragua. Omid Ebrahimi, one of the veterans of the team and almost certain to be included in the World Cup squad, left the field of play after only a minute or two from being substituted in, falling a victim to a clumsy challenge by the Nicaraguan player. He was treated on the field but then left on a stretcher. His conditions looked serious enough for him, to miss the World Cup.
The goal scored by Mehdi Torabi in the 15th minute was perhaps the only decent move by Team Melli in the entire match. Noorafkan gifted an accurate pass to Torabi who beautifully controlled the ball while neatly wrong-footing his marker, before slotting powerfully into the Nicaraguan goal.
The rest of the match was concentrated mostly in the middle of the field. Surprisingly, the Nicaraguan players seemed to be the more energetic of the two sets of players. Coming from tropical weather to Tehran, all of them protected themselves against the cold temperature by wearing gloves. However, they were more energetic than Team Melli players despite their long trip. The guests were not shying from any tackles and challenged every ball, sometimes too roughly, and gave the host a run for their money.
On a positive note, Queiroz introduced 3 new young players by giving debuts to Aria Brazegar, Mehdi Hashemipor, and Ali Sadeghi. Barzegar who was on the starting lineup had a truly dreadful debut as he could not pass or shoot any decent ball. The others substituted in, however, showed some nice touches and enough confidence even daring to try long-range shots.
Team Melli meets Tunisia next. A much more serious challenge. However, the whole squad will be available by then.
Team Melli will meet Nicaragua in Azadi this evening at 19:30 behind closed doors in the first of the last two matches before the FIFA World Cup.
Under Queiroz, Team Melli has been training full-time in an effort to maximize the utilization of the time before the start of the FIFA World Cup. The camp’s objective was to allow the coaching team to recognize the players’ shortcomings and readiness. The training camp was restricted to the domestic league players, except for the periodic appearance of Khalizadeh, Kananizadeghan, and Ebrahimi from Qatar Star League which has taken an early break until after the World Cup. The rest of the Team Melli players who are in Europe were absent.
The whole training camp has been under the shadow of the recent widespread protests across the country following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the moral police. Since a few Iranian players have dared to speak up against the regime recently and the silent protests of many players in all forms and shapes, including not celebrating goals in matches, the FFIRI, AKA the regime, has put a strict virtual barrier around the camp. Players and officials are not allowed to speak to the press unless prior permission is obtained from the security or Herasat. Queiroz is an exception, however, he has been fully briefed on what he is allowed to utter and must follow the party guidelines.
It is not known how much this Political turmoil had an effect on the players’ morale. In any case, Team Melli should not have much of a problem facing Nicaragua even with the second-string lineup.
The opponent for the day, Nicaragua is one of the weaker teams in CONCACAF. Coached by Marco Antonio Figueroa the central American team is playing the match against Iran after 3 consecutive defeats against Surinam, Ghana, and Qatar. The Nicaraguan national team is ranked 142 in the FIFA ranking and currently has no member of the team playing in Europe., A few of them play in neighboring countries’ leagues.
Nicaragua achieved its first qualification to a major international competition in 2009, as they qualified for the 2009 Gold Cup as the last entrant from Central America, after a 2–0 win over Guatemala in the fifth-place match in the 2009 Nations Cup.[However, the team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup.
Due to American influence throughout the country’s history, baseball has more of a following as both a pursuit and spectator event in Nicaragua than football.
Iran’s last friendly match will be against Tunisia in Doha.
Saeed Ahmad Abbasi, the Iran national futsal team player, finally left for Spain yesterday after three months of negotiations with Viña Albali Valdepeñas club and signing a contract with this Spanish league team.
Ahmad Abbas, who left Tehran on Monday morning for Spain, finally arrived in Madrid after nearly 12 hours of flight. David Ramos, the head coach of the Wine Albali team, personally greeted and welcomed Ahmad Abbasi at the airport too. Saeed left the airport with his head coach and traveled from Madrid to Valdepeñas in Ramos’s car. The city to which the Vinalbali team belongs and the passionate fans of this club are famous in Spain.
After a photo session and a short rest, the player participated in the training yesterday evening and was introduced to other players. Ahmad Abbasi continued to train with this team to prepare for Friday’s crucial game against Palma. The opposing team has Hossein Tayyebi and Moslim Oladaghbad, two of Ahmad Abbasi teammates in the Iranian national team. FS Viña Albali club website wrote commented on Ahmad Abbasi’s presence in this team: “This Iranian player has started preparing to speed up his acclimatization and coordination and can help the team from the very first moment.”
Ahmad Abbasi expressed his excitement and joy on his arrival in Valdepeñas. In turn, they welcome him from Viña Albali and wish him the best of luck in this exciting phase, which starts on Monday.
