Category: Squad

Omid Team Squad announced

The FFIRI website announced that Mehdi MahdaviKia, the head coach of the Omid team, announced the final names of the U23 squad to participate in the Iraq training camp and the U-23 championship in Uzbekistan.

After replacing Reza Kakhsaz and Parsa Jafari. The two goalkeepers of Peykan and Zobahan instead of Sina Saeedifar and Alireza Rezaei, the goalkeepers of Esteghlal, announced the following: Amir Ali Sadeghi (Esteghlal) Yasin Salmani, Arya Yousefi (Sepahan) Alireza Bavieh, Mohammad Amin Hezbavi (Foolad Khuzestan) Reza Kakhsaz , Erfan Shahriari Khalaji, Saman Fallah Vernami (Peykan) Parsa Jafari, Milad Kerr, Mohammad Hossein Eslami, Mohammad Khodabandeh Lou (Zobahan) Payam Parsa, Ahmad Shariatzadeh, Mohammad Hossein Zavari (Naft Abadan) Mohammad Ghorbani (Nasiji Mazandaran) Mohammad Mehdi Ahmadi, Mehdi Hashemnejad (Naft Masjed Soleyman) Amir Jafari Siglani (Shahr Khodro) Ali Javad Kalmarzi Sabet (Roda JC Netherlands) Yadegar Rostami (playing in the Polish league) Bilal Arazi, Ali Pilaram (South Pars) Alireza Khodaei (Saipa)

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.

 

 

 

 

Team Melli squad vs Lebanon & Syria

Team Melli squad 

 

BEIRANVAND, Alireza
Club :
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Boavista
22.Sep.92
Khorramabad
195 cm
Iraq 04.Jan.15
Goalkeeper
28
 ABEDZADEH, Amir
 Club :
D.O.B:
Born
Height
International Debut:
Position:
Age:
 SD Ponferradina
26-Apr-93
Tehran
186 cm
Uzbekistan 19.05.2018
Goalkeeper
27 years
 
NIAZMAND, Payam
Club :
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Portimonense
06.Apr.95
Babol
193 cm
xxx
Goalkeeper
25
NOORAFKAN, Omid
Club
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Sepahan
09-Apr-97
Shahr-e-Rey
182 cm
Sierra Leone 17.03.2018 Midfield
23
HAJSAFY, Ehsan
Club
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
AEK Athens
25-Feb-90
Kashan
168 cm
Zambia 25.May.08
Defender/Midfield
30
HARDANI , Saleh
Club
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Foolad Khuzestan
14-Sep-98
Dishmook
176 cm
Syria 02.Sep.21
Midfield
23
HOSSEINI, Majid
Club
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Kayserispor
20-Jun-96
Tehran
184 cm
Uzbekistan 19.May.18
Defender
25
KANANI-ZADEGAN, Hossein
Club
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Al-Ahli
23-Mar-94
Mahshahr
186 cm
Uzbekistan 11.Jun.15
Defender
26
KHALILZADEH, Shojaa
Club
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Al-Rayyan
14-May-89
Ghayemshahr
182 cm
Mozambique 02.May.2012
Defender
31
MOHAMMADI, Milad
Club :
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
AEK Athens
29-Sep-93
Tehran
178 cm
Uzbekistan 11.Jun.15
Defender
27
MOHARRAMI, Sadegh

Club
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Dinamo Zagreb
01-Mar-1996
Talesh
174 cm
Bolivia 16.10.2018
Defender
24
YAZDANI, Siavaush
Club :
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Esteghlal
27.Feb.92
Mashad
190 cm
xxx
Center Back
29
VAHID AMIRI Club :
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Persepolis
02-Apr-88
Darreh-ye Badam
191 cm
Iraq 04.Jan.15
Forward- Midfield
32
EZATOLLAHI. Saeid
Club :
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Vejle Boldklub
01.Oct.96
Bandar Anzali
190 cm
Uzbekistan 11.Jun.15
Midfield
25
GHODDOS, Saman
Club :
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Brentford
06-Sep-93
Malmo, Sweden
177 cm
Lithuania 08.Jun.18
Midfield
27
GHOLIZADEH, Ali
Club :
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Charleroi
10-Mar-96
Nain
176
Sierra Leone 17. Mar.18
Midfield
25
JAHANBAKHSH, Alireza
Club :
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Feyenoord
08-Oct-93
Jirandah
180 cm
Lebanon 19.Nov.13
Forward/winger
28
NOORALLAHI, Ahmad
Club
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Shabab Al-Ahli
02-Feb-93
Azadshahr
185 cm
Trinidad & Tobago 15.Nov.18
Midfield
27
TORABI, Mehdi
Club :
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Persepolis
10-Sep-93
Karaj
185 cm
Uzbekistan 11.Jun.15
Midfield
27
RAFIEI , Soroush
Club :
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Sepahan
24.Mar.90
Shiraz
175 cm
South Korea 18.Nov.14
Midfield
31
SALMANI, Yasin
Club :
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Sepahan
27-Feb-2002
Gorgan
183 cm
xxx
Midfield
19
SARLAK, Milad
Club :
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Persepolis
26-Mar-95
Esfahan
181 cm
Cambodia 11-June-21
Midfield
26
SAYYEDMANESH, Allahyar
Club :
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Zorya
29-Jun-01
Amol
182 cm
Syria 06-June-19
Forward
19
ANSARIFARD, Karim
Club
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
AEK Athens
03-Apr-90
Ardabil
175 cm
Iceland 10.Nov.09
Forward
30
AZMOUN, Sardar
Club :
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Zenit St. Petersburg
01-Jan-95
Gonbad-e Kavus
185 cm
Montenegro 26.May.14
Forward
25
REZAEI, Kaveh
Club :
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
OH Leuven
05-Apr-92
Eslamabad-e-Gharb
185 cm
Guam 03.Sep.15
Forward
29
GHAEDI, Mehdi
Club :
D.O.B :
Born :
Height :
International Debut :
Position :
Age :
Shabab Al-Ahli
05-Dec-98
Bushehr
166 cm
Uzbekistan 08.Oct.20
Forward
22

List for UAE And Korea Rep matches announced.

Dragan Skocic announced the list of Team Melli players to play against the UAE and South Korea in the final qualifying rounds of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Majid Hosseini, Ehsan Haj Safi, and Kaveh Rezaei are the three changes from the last squad in an otherwise unchanged squad.

With a perfect winning record and players who have delivered, Skocic rightly stuck to the same skeleton of Team Melli players. With two tough matches ahead, Team Melli can set very comfortably at the top of the table with a high chance of qualifying to Qatar with all the six points of the October matches.

Despite the lack of preparation and minimal training before the first match against UAE, the team seems to have a good understanding and performed quite well in the last two matches.

Team Melli is currently at the top of Group A of the 2022 World Cup final qualifiers in Asia with 6 points, two ahead of nearest rivals South Korea whom they meet in Azadi.

Goalkeepers

Alireza Biranvand, Amir Abedzadeh, Payam Niazmand.

Defenders

Shoja Khalilzadeh, Mohammad Hossein Kananizadegan, Majid Hosseini, Milad Mohammadi , Omid Nourafkan, Sadegh Moharremi,  Saleh Hardani, Siavash Yazdani,  Ehsan Hajsafy

Midfield

Ahmad Noorollahi, Milad Sarlak, Yasin Salmani, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Saeed Ezatollahi, Vahid Amiri, Saman Ghoddos, Mehdi Torabi , Ali Gholizadeh.

Forwards

Karim Ansarifard, Mehdi Ghaedi, Kaveh Rezaei, Sardar Azmoun and Mehdi Taremi.

 

 

List of Team Melli Players vs. Syria and Iraq

The Football Federation website published the names of the 27 players invited to the Team Melli camp by the coaching staff.  The training camp is already active with the Europen players starting to arrive in Tehran to join the domestic players. The list is as follows:

Goalkeepers

Alireza Biranvand, Amir Abedzadeh, Payam Niazmand.

Defenders

Shoja Khalilzadeh, Mohammad Hossein Kananizadegan, Milad Mohammadi , Omid Nourafkan, Sadegh Moharremi, Jafar Salmani, Saleh Hardani, Siavash Yazdani, Aref Aghasi, Milad Sarlak.

Midfield

Ahmad Noorollahi, Mohammad Karimi, Yasin Salmani, Zubair Niknafs, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Saeed Ezatollahi, Vahid Amiri, Saman Ghoddos, Mehdi Torabi , Ali Gholizadeh.

Forwards

Karim Ansarifard, Mehdi Ghaedi, Sardar Azmoun and Mehdi Taremi.

 

Team Melli’s next match is on Thursday September 2nd against Syria in Azadi Stadium. It will be the opener of round 3 of FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar qualifiers