Category: News

Iran- Lebanon : Match preview

Mashhad: Lebanon will look to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, while Iran’s focus rests on clinching top spot in Group A when the two sides meet in their final AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar™ Group A fixture on Tuesday.
A 3-0 home loss to already-eliminated Syria last time out did severe damage to Lebanon’s hopes of reaching their first ever global Finals via June’s playoffs but results elsewhere mean Ivan Hašek’s retain a glimmer of hope going into Matchday 10.


Three points behind third-placed United Arab Emirates, and two short of fourth-placed Iraq, the Cedars can still claim the playoff spot for themselves should they defeat high-flying Iran, in addition to results in the group’s two other fixtures all their way.

Even the first element of that scenario is no easy task.

 

Team Melli hasn’t lost a FIFA World Cup Qualifier on home soil since November 2012 and has been similarly difficult to beat there in this campaign, with Son Heung-min the only player in Group A to find the back of the net for a visiting team in Iran.

Dragan Skočić’s side – who qualified for Qatar 2022 weeks ago – will welcome back Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who missed Thursday’s 2-0 defeat to the Korea Republic due to COVID-19, while Sardar Azmoun is expected to lead the line in the absence of Mehdi Taremi, who also returned a positive test prior to the match in Seoul.

But while the Iranian squad is filled with European-based stars, Lebanon’s biggest task may well be to overcome the disappointment of Thursday’s defeat.

With a playoff place on offer, the Cedars failed to perform in Saida, slumping to a disastrous 3-0 defeat to a side that had taken just two points from their previous eight matches in Group A.

That result came as a devastating blow, but Iraq’s win over the United Arab Emirates a few hours later meant that Lebanon’s campaign retains a sense, however slight, of final day optimism.

Hašek and his players may well take confidence from their earlier meeting with Iran, played last November, when a Soony Sadd goal had Lebanon 1-0 ahead going into second-half stoppage time, only for late goals from Azmoun and Ahmad Nourollahi to dramatically snatch all three points for the visitors.

The Lebanese outfit also seems to thrive away from home. While their five home games have produced only a solitary point, they have taken five from four matches on the road, with their only away defeat coming against group leaders the Korea Republic.

They have never beaten Team Melli in Iran, but they did famously claim a 1-0 win in a World Cup Qualifier in Beirut back in 2012.

If the Lebanese class of 2022 can shrug off the disappointment of last week’s defeat and produce a shock of their own, all eyes will turn to Dubai, where the results of both the United Arab Emirates and Iraq will reveal the final twist in what has been a dramatic Asian Qualifiers tale.

Head2Head

 

H / A / N Matches W D L Goals + / –
H 4 4 0 0 14 – 0 +14
A 6 4 1 1 13 – 3 +10
N 1 1 0 0 2 – 0 +2
Total 11 9 1 1 29 – 3 +26
Date Comp. H / A / N Final score Stadium Attendance
11.11.2021 World Cup Qualifier / Round 3 – Group A A 2 – 1 Saïda International Stadium (Saïda ) 100
19.11.2013 Asian Cup Qualifier A 4 – 1 Sports City, Beirut 0
11.06.2013 World Cup Qualifier H 4 – 0 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 91,300
06.02.2013 Asian Cup Qualifier / Group B H 5 – 0 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 19,733
11.09.2012 World Cup Qualifier A 0 – 1 Camille Chamoun Sports City, Beirut 10,000
17.06.2004 WAFF / WAFF H 4 – 0 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 40,000
28.11.2003 Asian Cup Qualifier H 1 – 0 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 20,000
19.11.2003 Asian Cup Qualifier A 3 – 0 Sports City, Beirut 5,000
03.09.2002 WAFF / Group 1 N 2 – 0 Al Abbassyin  Stadium, Damascus 2,000
12.10.2000 Asian Cup / Group A A 4 – 0 Sports City, Beirut 52,418
13.11.1996 Friendly / Friendly A 0 – 0 Beirut 50,000

Created by www.teammelli.com . All rights reserved © 2009 Team Melli Website – Updated Jan. 2022
 

 

South Koreans grab a win against Iran.

Seoul: Korea Republic moved to the top of Group A in the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar™ after a 2-0 victory over the Islamic Republic of Iran on Thursday saw them climb above their opponents with a game to play.
After dominating the first 45 minutes at Seoul World Cup Stadium, Korea opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time through Son Heung-min before Kim Young-gwon doubled their advantage in the 63rd minute with the goal that ultimately killed off the Iranian challenge.
The victory meant Korea claimed a first win over Iran in more than a decade as they also dealt the Iranians their first defeat in Group A to mean they go into their final game away to the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday knowing three more points would see them win the group.
While both sides had already secured their passage to the FIFA World Cup, there remained top spot in the standings left to play for as Korea also sought their first win over the Iranians since the 2011 AFC Asian Cup™, with the sides having faced off seven times since.

Both Son and Hwang Hee-chan returned to the Taeguk Warriors’ line-up having missed the previous qualifiers, while Team Melli were without leading scorer Mehdi Taremi, captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Saman Ghoddos, with COVID-19 ruling the trio out.
And it was Paulo Bento’s side who had the first chance of note when just before the 10-minute mark Hwang Ui-jo slipped the ball to Son on the left before darting to the near post and heading the Tottenham Hotspur forward’s first-time delivery just wide.

Korea controlled the majority of the play in the opening 45 minutes but an Iranian backline that had conceded just twice in eight matches to date stood firm until first-half stoppage time when Son’s third goal in Group A broke the deadlock.
The Korean captain was first to a loose ball, skipping round Ahmad Noorollahi in the process and advancing goalwards before unleashing a fizzing shot from 25 yards that proved too hot to handle for ‘keeper Amir Abedzadeh who in truth should have done better.

Korea could have doubled their lead shortly after the restart when Hwang Hee-chan raced through the Iranian defense before slipping in Son, only for the forward to be denied by a superb save from the outrushing Abedzadeh, who was then up quickly to keep out Hwang Ui-jo’s follow-up as he went some way towards making amends for his earlier error.
Bento’s side then did open up a two-goal cushion when good interchange play between Lee Jae-sung and Hwang Hee-chan down the left led to the former playing a low ball into the center for defender Kim – up for a corner just moments earlier – to send home from six yards.

The visitors had their best chance of the night with a little over 10 minutes to play when substitute Allahyar Sayyadmanesh delivered an inviting ball in from the right that the diving Sardar Azmoun could only head into the hands of a grateful Kim Seung-gyu.
Azmoun then played a lovely backheel into the path of Sayyadmanesh just seconds later but, with only Kim to beat, the Hull City forward dinked the ball over the ‘keeper and wide.

Son could have killed the game off with six minutes remaining but saw his goalbound effort deflected wide by Hossein Kanani as the game ended 2-0 and the Koreans maintained their unbeaten record.

Korea now sits a point above Iran ahead of Tuesday’s Matchday 10 clash with the UAE in Dubai, where victory would see them win Group A. Iran, meanwhile, return to Mashhad to round off their campaign against Lebanon.

What are the options of Skocic against South Korea?

Any coach who loses nearly half of his starting players needs to be worried, Skocic is not an exception despite his assertion in the pre-match press conference that Iran will stick to the same game plan and will not resort to a defensive game.

Sadegh Moharrami, Saeid Ezatollahi, Alireza Jahanbaksh, Saman Ghoddod, and Mehdi Taremi, are the five players who started the last match against the UAE but will be missing from the game against South Korea.

Perhaps the two most significant and important players would be Taremi, whose goals have been pushing Iran up in the table and winning the games for Team Melli, and then Jahanbakhsh, an inspiration and a key player whose much-improved game has meant a powerful Iranian side that has not been defeated in the competition. It is not that the rest of the absentees are less important, but the reality is that Jahanbakhsh’s and Taremi’s absence has the biggest impact.

Despite that, Iran’s bench is far from poor and has many players that can fill the gap. Skocic will have to wight his options carefully and play a balanced game against the Koreans. He is right in saying that Iran will not go into a defensive mode, as this will just give the Koreans an advantage, so what are his options?

Expected Line-Up

In the goal, there is very little doubt that Amir Abedzadeh will continue being the number one ahead of Beiranvand.

Amir Abedzadeh

In defense, the absence of Moharrami can be easily covered with several options. Milad Mohammadi and Majid Hosseini are both available and capable despite the fact that it will not be their ideal posts. Mohammadi is a left-back while Hosseini normally plays in the center. A switch of posts is quite possible, however, since the team needs pace against the nifty Koreans, Mohammadi seems better suited for this match.

Shojaa KHALILZADEH
Hossein KANANI-ZADEGAN
Milad Mohammadi
Omid NOORAFKAN

Middle of the field, where Team Melli has had good control in the qualifiers, is the most affected with the loss of two key players. For the holding defensive Midfield, Milad Sarlak, is a player with industry and stamina seems to be a good option for a starting place along with Ehsan Hajsafy.  This selection will give Skocic another option as Hajsafy can also operate as the pseudo-right back and switch play at that post. For the offensive side, Nourollahi and Gholizadeh are the most suitable combination. With the scheming of Nourollahi, and the close tight control of Gholizadeh, the forward line will be fed properly in the offensive moves. Vahid Amiri can be employed slightly further up the line or operate as a winger in a 4-4-2 system. Skocic will most probably start him in the midfield role before seeing how the game is progressing.

Milad Sarlak
Ehsan HAJSAFY
Ali GHOLIZADEH
Ahmad Nourollahi
Vahid AMIRI

Upfront, there is little doubt that Sardar Azmoun will take his rightful place as the sole forward, Despite a drop in form after recovering from injury and covid, Azamoun remains the best options upfront in the absence of the talismanic Taremi.

Sardar Azmoun

Much will depend on the progress of the match but our prediction is that Skocic will start with 4-5-1 system that will switch to 4-4-2 in the offensive part.  Other players for consideration are Mehdi Torabi, Allahyar Sayyadmanesh, Karim Ansarifard.

 

 

 

 

Skocic : “We will not play a defensive game”

in the press conference before tomorrow’s match between Team and South Korea, Dragan Skocic announced that his team is not going into a defensive mode.

In response to a question from a Korean reporter that now that Iran has qualified for the FIFA World Cup, can one expect a defensive game against the Korean team? Skocic responded: “Do you really think that we will play a defensive game? I do not think so. Tomorrow we will stick to our usual style of play and the gameplan will remain the same despite the fact that we, both teams, have qualified for the finals.

“being first in the group is an important issue and we will be ready to achieve that goal. We are well prepared for this game. We lost several key players and in addition, jet lag (disruption of the body biological clock due to flight and time difference) and the gradual addition of players to the team yesterday and today added to other problems, but despite all these issues, we have displayed our quality in previous games and this is not the first time we have faced such difficulties.”

Skocic in response to the question of what is your plan to restrain players like Son Heung Min? He said: “We are aware of the quality of the Korean legionnaire players, but we have prepared for it and we try to give them the least space. The Korean players are respected, but we also have quality players playing in Europe.”

Regarding the absence of players such as Taremi and Jahanbakhsh, he said: “Of course, they are important and very valuable players, but it does not mean that we do not have the necessary players for tomorrow’s game. As in the game against Iraq, we did not have six players because of Coronavirus, but we ended the game in our favor.

Mahdavikia finalizes Omid Team list

Mehdi MahdaviKia finalizied a list of 27 players for Omid Team.

According to the official FFIRI website, after holding the initial training camp of the Iranian U-23 team at the National Football Center on March 17-18, Mehdi MahdaviKia, following the completion of six training sessions has invited 27 players to the team’s first camp in the new year. The team is preparing for the U-23 Asian Cup with the further aim of qualifying for the Paris Olympics. Players under the age of 21 have been invited to the upcoming camp.

The names of the players invited to the camp are as follows:

 

# Name Post DOB Club Age Height
1 Amir Hossein Nikpour GK 04-Apr-02 GolGohar Sirjan 20
2 Payam Parsa GK 22-Jun-02 Sanat Naft Abadan 19
3 Reza Naseri GK 30-Mar-01 Sepid ​​Rood Rasht 20
4 Milad Kerr DF 01-Jan-00 Zob Ahan 22
5 Mohammad Amin Hezbavi DF 06-May-03 Foolad Khuzestan 19 182
6 Mohammad Ghorbani DF 21-May-01 Nasiji Ghaemshahr 20 186
7 Mohammad Mehdi Ahmadi DF 10-Jan-01 Naft Masjed Soleiman 21 180
8 Saeed Ahani DF 09-Feb-01 Naft Masjed Soleiman 21 177
9 Saman Fallah DF 12-May-01 Peykan 20 184
10 Younes Akbarpour DF 16-Mar-02 Mes Rafsanjan 20
11 Ali Asghar Sadeghi MF Mes Rafsanjan 21
12 Alipour PourDara MF 04-Aug-01 Kuwait SC 20 172
13 Alireza Bavieh MF 21-Aug-02 Foolad Khuzestan 19 172
14 Amir Mohammad Mohkamkar MF 20-Dec-01 Sepahan 20 179
15 Behzad Salami MF 23-Mar-02 Tractorsazi Tabriz 19 183
16 Mohammad Hossein Eslami MF 13-Apr-01 Zob Ahan 20 180
17 Mohammad Hossein Zavari MF 11-Jan-01 Sanat Naft Abadan 21
18 Abolfazl Babaei FW 22-Oct-03 Fajr Shahid Sepasi 18
19 Ahmad Shariatzadeh FW 24-Feb-02 Sanat Naft Abadan 20
20 Ali Zare FW 14-May-01 Mes Rafsanjan 20 181
21 Amir Ali Sadeghi FW 09-Feb-01 Esteghlal Tehran 21 175
22 Amir Jafari FW 18-Jan-02 Shahr Khodro 20 176
23 Arya Yousefi FW 22-Apr-02 Sepahan 19 181
24 Fardin Rabet FW 29-Oct-01 Shahr Khodro 20 180
25 Hossein Nokhodkar FW 24-Feb-02 GolGohar Sirjan 20
26 Mehdi Hashemnejad FW 27-Oct-01 Naft Masjed Soleiman 20 177
27 Sina Hatami FW 19-Nov-01 Aluminum Arak 20 185

 

 

 

 

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.

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!!

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.