Category: Squads

Iran U20 starts AFC Asian Cup 2023 with victory.

Iran’s U20 team started the AFC U20 Asian Cup 2023 with a positive win against Qatar in Istiqlol Stadium, Fergana.

The only goal of the match came from a penalty that was beautifully struck by Amin Hezbavi in the 65th minute.

Despite the close result, Iran’s U20 dominated the field and was the team most likely to score but for a series of brilliant saves from Qatar Keeper Amir Hassan and some lax finishing by the Iranian players.

In the first half, Iran’s players in their all-white kit started the game aggressively and could have opened Qatar’s goal in the first few minutes, but the Qatari goalkeeper displayed brilliant reflexes to deny the Iranians players. Despite the fact that Iran was the better team in the first half and had many opportunities to score , the half ended in a goalless draw.

In the second half, Samad Marfavi’s players’ stepped up a notch or two and were on the move from the start. The team was more settled and played some beautiful football too.  Qatar were denied any opportunity until the last minute of the injury time when Iran’s keeper Adib Zarei made a finger-tip save to deny Qatar an undeserved equalizer.

While the Iranian team was careful not to fall prey to the Qataris’ quick counter-attacks and opportunism, they continued pressing the Qataris until they were awarded a penalty. In the 65th minute of this match, Iran finally took the lead and scored the winning goal on a penalty kick by Amin Hizbavipour.

Iran always looked the better side in control limiting Qatar to the occasional attacks which bore no fruit for the Marooni of Qatar.

While the team looked side physically and technically with an added bonus of individual skills, There were however those perennial shortfalls in Iranian players, like slowness, poor finishing, wastefulness, and mental strength. These are fundamental weaknesses that have their origin in grassroots football as the result of poor infrastructure, antiquated basic training methods from early ages, and poor tactical discipline. A coach such as Samad Marfavi can do so much in the short span of time that he has with the group to prepare a team for a major championship, however, he must be commended on the fine display by this Javanan team.

Next Match

on Saturday, the 13th of March, Iran will meet Australia at 15:00 local time and  (13:30 Tehran).  The Australians lost their first match against Vietnam in the match earlier.

Group B Standing

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  Vietnam 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
2  Iran 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
3  Australia 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
4  Qatar 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0

 

IRAN U2O SQUAD

# Pos Player Name Date of birth (age) Club
1 GK Mohammad Khalifeh 19 August 2004(age 18) Persepolis
12 GK Adib Zarei 19 January 2004(age 19) Shahin
22 GK Mohammad Sadegh Salehi 5 March 2004(age 18) Sepahan
2 DF Milad Kor (captain) 19 October 2003(age 19) tractor
5 DF Mehran Feyzabadi 8 July 2003(age 19) Esteghlal
18 DF Ali Akbar Ranjbar 2 February 2004(age 19) Paykan
5 DF Amin Hazbavi 6 May 2003(age 19) Foolad
4 DF Ali rezaei 26 March 2003(age 19) Be’sat Kermanshah
14 DF Mersad Seifi 11 August 2003(age 19) Nassaji Mazandaran
13 DF Amin Pilali 7 January 2003(age 20) kia
6 MF Farhad Zavoshi 8 February 2003(age 20) Havadar
7 MF Hossein Nokhodkar 24 February 2002(age 21) Gol Gohar
8 MF Mohammad HIranossein Zavari 11 January 2001(age 22) Sanat Naft
15 MF Mohammadreza Torabi 18 July 2004(age 18) Esteghlal
16 MF Mohammadreza Bordbar 26 August 2004(age 18) Malavan
21 MF Ahmad Reza Jenadeleh 20 March 2001(age 21) Foolad
23 MF Seyed Reza Mousavian 24 June 2001(age 21) Foolad
9 FW Amir Ebrahimzadeh 31 January 2004(age 19) tractor
19 FW Mojtaba Fakhrian 15 May 2003(age 19) Aluminium Arak
11 FW Salim Toomaj 9 January 2005(age 18) Fenerbahçe
17 FW Amirreza Eslamtalab 30 January 2003(age 20) kia
18 FW Amir Shahim 18 September 2003(age 19) Gol Gohar Sirjan
10 MF Erfan Bagheri 15 December 2003(age 19) kia
20 FW Saeid Saharkhizan 26 January 2003(age 20) Havadar

Team Melli flies to Doha after finalizing the squad.

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.

Confirmed squad

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)

Futsal Team Melli squad named for training camp.

The list of 23 members of the national futsal team for the AFC Futsal Asian Cup was announced today. The 2022 AFC Futsal Asian Cup will be the 17th edition of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup and will be held in Kuwait between 27 September and 8 October 2022. after a delay of over a year.

Iran is the defending champion which was last won in 2018. Iran is in Group C of the championship along with Lebanon, Indonesia, and Chinese Taipei

The most significant absentee is Hossein Tayebi who is a legionnaire in Spain.

As quoted by the Football Federation website, the preparation camp for the national futsal team for the 2022 AFC Futsal Asian Cup in Kuwait will start on the second day of Shahrivar at the National Football Center.

The most significant absentee from the squad is Hossein TabibiThe players invited to the camp are as follows:

  • Mehdi Asadshir, Sina Perkas, Reza Sepandar [Sun H.]
  • Mohammad Hossein Derakhshani, Mehdi Karimi, Masoud Yousef, and Saeed Ahmad Abbasi [Giti Pasand Esfahan]
  • Mohammad Reza Seng Sefidi, Hamzeh Kodkhodaei, Salar Aghapour [ Mes Songon,]
    Sajjad Babaei [Foolad Zarand]
  • Behrooz Azimi  [Moghavamat  Alborz]
  • Saeed Afshar, Ali Akrami, Saeed Momeni, Ali Rafieipour, and Alireza  [Jawan Crop Alvand]
  • Mohammad Ali Mirzaei, Mohammad Baziar  [Hormozgan Industries,]
  • Behrooz Asdi, [Gohar Zameen]
  • Masoud Abbasi [Catherine Amol]
  • Bahman Jafari [Farsh Ara]
  • Moslem Olad Qabad [Palma, Spain]

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)

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

 

 

 

 

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!!

Squad for Iraq and UAE games announced.

Team Melli which is on the verge of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, will play against Iraq and the UAE on January 27th and 2nd February. Iran needs one win only to qualify. The coaching staff has announced the list of players invited to the national team camp.

The names of the invited players and the waiting list of players for the team :

    • Goalkeepers:
  1. Alireza Biranvand
  2. Amir Abedzadeh
  3. Payam Niazmand
    • Defenders:
  4. Sadegh Moharremi
  5. Mohammad Hossein Kananizadegan
  6. Shoja’a Khalilzadeh
  7. Majid Hosseini
  8. Omid Nourafkan
  9. Milad Mohammadi
  10. Siavash Yazdani
  11. Saleh Hardani
    • Midfielders:
  12. Saeed Ezatollahi
  13. Milad Sarlak
  14. Ehsan Haj Safi
  15. Vahid Amiri
  16. Mehdi Torabi
  17. Ahmad Noorollahi
  18. Saman Ghoddos
  19. Alireza Jahanbakhsh
  20. Ali Gholizadeh
  21. Allahyar Sayadmanesh
    • Forwards:
  22. Mehdi Taremi
  23. Sardar Azmoun
  24. Karim Ansarifard
  25. Kaveh Rezaei
  26. Mehdi Ghaedi
  27. Shahab Zahedi

 

the Standby List: Mohammadreza Akhbari, Danial Ismailifard, Aref Aghasi, Kamal Kamyabi Nia, Zubair Nikonfs, Soroush Rafiei

The following players have been excluded due to positive results of the Coronavirus test:  Mehdi Mehdipour & Amir Hossein Hosseinzadeh

List of Iran National Women Football Team for AFC Asian Cup 2022

 

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 GK Zohreh Koudaei 24 November 1989 (aged 32) 30 0 Iran Zob Ahan
2 DF Fatemeh Amineh 3 June 1997 (aged 24) 12 0 Iran Shahrdari Sirjan
3 DF Hadieh Kor 0 0 Iran Malavan
4 DF Melika Motevalli 6 May 1998 (aged 23) 15 2 Iran Shahrdari Sirjan
5 DF Ghazaelh Banitalebi 5 0 Iran Zarebatrie
6 MF Zahra Sarbali 13 August 1993 (aged 28) 21 0 Iran Bam Khatoon
7 FW Afsaneh Chatrenoor 14 April 1998 (aged 23) 16 0 Iran Shahrdari Sirjan
8 DF Behnaz Taherkhani 22 May 1995 (aged 26) 20 3 Iran Bam Khatoon
9 FW Sara Ghomi 20 August 1987 (aged 34) 52 17 Iran Heyat Alborz
10 MF Sara Zohrabi 13 November 1996 (aged 25) 25 6 Iran Sepahan
11 MF Samaneh Chahkandi 28 March 1989 (aged 32) 21 3 Iran Bam Khatoon
12 GK Maryam Yektaei 19 June 1993 (aged 28) 32 0 Turkey Beşiktaş
13 MF Yasaman Farmani 12 February 1995 (aged 26) 8 0 Belgium Charleroi
14 MF Elham Farahmand 12 September 1993 (aged 28) 10 0 Iran Zob Ahan
15 DF Zohreh Jalali 16 February 1999 (aged 22) 0 0 Iran Zarebatrie
16 MF Zahra Masoumi 18 June 2004 (aged 17) 3 0 Iran Heyat Alborz
17 FW Negin Zandi 20 January 2004 (aged 18) 4 1 Iran Bam Khatoon
18 MF Melika Mohammadi 28 March 2000 (aged 21) 6 0 Iran Bam Khatoon
19 DF Fatemeh Adeli 16 July 1995 (aged 26) 22 0 Iran Sepahan
20 FW Hajar Dabbaghi 22 March 1999 (aged 22) 16 6 Iran Sepahan
21 MF Marzieh Nikkhah 25 November 1992 (aged 29) 3 0 Iran Sepahan
22 GK Arefeh Seyedkazemi 1 0 Iran Shahrdari Sirjan
23 MF Sana Sadeghi 12 June 2000 (aged 21) 7 1 Iran Sepahan

Taremi is out of Team Melli squad for Lebanon & Syria matches

The names of twenty-seven players invited to the camp of the Iranian national football team were announced.

Team Melli will face Lebanon and Syria in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers on November 11 and 15, respectively. For this mission, the names of the players invited to the national team by Dragan Skocic were announced as follows:

GOALKEEPERS:Alireza Biranvand ,Amir Abedzadeh ,Payam Niazmand

DEFENDERS: Shoja Khalilzadeh, Hossein Kananzadegan, Majid Hosseini, Siavash Yazdani, Milad Mohammadi, Omid Nourafkan, Sadegh Moharremi, Saleh Hardani, Ehsan Haj Safi

MIDFIELD: Saeed Ezatollahi, Ahmad Nourollahi, Vahid Amiri, Milad Sarlak, Saman Ghoddos, Soroush Rafiei, Yasin Salmani, Ali Gholizadeh, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Mehdi Torabi,

FORWARDS: Mehdi Ghaedi, Sardar Azmoun, Karim Ansarifard, Allahyar Sayyadmanesh, Kaveh Rezaei

The shock of the list, although expected, was the exclusion of Mehdi Taremi.

The FC Porto Player was the best Iranian scorer in the third qualifying round of the World Cup but his remarks against the coach in a social media posting have angered Dragan Skocic.

In a recent interview with the media in his country, Dragan Skocic described Iranian players as lacking in tactical ability, despite past praise: “Iranian footballers are technically and physically strong and are at an enviable level. What they lack, and I see progress there, is tactical ability. Iranian players are still not that good in tactical ability, but in the long run, it can be improved.”

Following that remarks, Porto-based Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi, who scored the most goals for the national team during Skocic’s tenure, tweeted against Skocic: “I have to say that in addition to individual technique, Iranian players and Fighting and.… Have a very high understanding in terms of football knowledge and tactics, but unfortunately, the problems lie. elsewhere. Long Live Iran”.

This issue was associated with a lot of controversy in Iran, forcing the Manager of the national team, Mojtaba Khorshidi, to declare “This is a family problem and it will be solved. There is nothing to worry about.”

Taking Taremi’s place is the young striker Allhyar Sayyadmanesh who has been brilliant this season with Zorya in Ukraine. He has been scoring goals and with his compatriot, Shehab Zahedi helping the club win matches in the Europa Conference league.

Another bright edition is the star of Omid team the 19 years old Yasin Salmani. By far the best player in the recent AFC U23 qualifiers held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, the Sepahn Midfielder makes his first appearance in the squad.

Also back on the list are three former players Soroush Rafei, Sivaush Yazdani, and Kaveh Rezaei.

Omid team list announced

Mehdi MahdaviKia, the head coach of the national under-23  Omid team, announced the names of the players who will take part in the Asian Championship qualifiers in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, as follows:

SQUAD LIST

Name Positions DoB Club Birth Place
Ahmad Reza Jalali Defender 14/08/2001 Foolad Dasht-e Azadegan,
Alireza Bavieh Midfielder 21/08/2002 Foolad Khuzestan Ahvaz
Alireza Rezaei Goalkeeper 11/12/1999 Esteghlal Qazvin
Amir Ali Sadeghi Midfielder 09/02/2001 Esteghlal Tehran
Amir Hossein Nikpour Goalkeeper 02/04/2002 Gol Gohar Behshahr
Arya Barzegar Forward 10/10/2002 Persepolis Shiraz
Farzan Dana Forward 16/05/1999 Fajr Sepasi Shiraz
Hossein Nokhodkar Forward 24/02/2002 Gol Gohar Tehran
Mehdi Hashemnejad Rahimabadi Forward 27/10/2001 Malavan Anzali
Mehdi Lamouchi Tarji Defender 23/11/1999 Ghashghaei Kazeroon
Milad Kerr Defender 01/01/2000 Shamooshak Bandar Turkmen
Mohammad Amin Hezbavi Defender 06/05/2003 Foolad Khuzestan Ahvaz
Mohammad Hossein Zavari Midfielder 11/01/2001 Sanat Naft Abadan Gorgan
Mohammad Khodabandehlo Midfielder 07/09/1999 Peykan Tehran
Mohammad Mehdi Mohebbi Midfielder 02/10/2000 Peykan Bushehr
Mohammad SoltaniMehr Midfielder 04/02/1999 Zob Ahan Tehran
Omid Hamedifar Midfielder 01/01/2000 Sanat Naft Abadan Abadan
Reza Kakhsaz Goalkeeper 21/01/1999 Mes Shahr Babak Shiraz
Saman Fallah Vernami Defender 12/05/1999 Peykan Sari
Sina Abdollahi Defender 15/04/2001 Machine Sazi Tabriz
Sobhan Khaghani Midfielder 27/01/2000 Esteghlal Mashad
Yasin Salmani Defender 27/02/2002 Sepahan Gorgan
Younes Akbarpour Defender 16/03/2002 Mes Rafsanjan Koh ‘e Chenar

The players whose teams played in the Premier League today will be added to the Omid team tonight. 23 players announced to participate in the qualifying round of The 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup (Group B) qualification in Tajikistan will leave Tehran for Dushanbe this morning on a chartered flight.

The Schedule

25 October 2021
First match 16:00  Second Match 19:00  Pamir StadiumDushanbe
Iran  v    Nepal
Tajikistan  v  Lebanon

28 October 2021
Lebanon  v  Iran
Nepal    v  Tajikistan

31 October 2021
Lebanon  v    Nepal
Iran  v  Tajikistan