Young Sardar Azmoun who made his debut against Angola on 30th May in Hatrberg , Austria said that his injury is not serious and nothing to be worried about.
The Rubin Kazan forward Azmoun was substituted on the 23rd minute of the first half after he suffered what looked like breathing difficulty as he sat on the ground for sometime before he could manage to walk off the pitch.
“It was noting too serious now. In the match , an Angolan defender kicked me in my chest . It was quite painful and difficult for me to continue. However , there was no damage and I am back to normal now.” Said the young forward who displayed a few nice glimpses of his skill during the 23 minutes he was playing.
Asked whether he thinks he will make the final 23 players list , Azmoun was cautious and said “This is up to the coach. In all cases , I wish Team Melli all the success in Brazil whether I am around or not.”
Meanwhile , the other young star of the team , Alireza Jahanbakhsh was more resolute in making the list. “Of course it is up to Carlos Queiroz to decide, but as far as I am concerned, I really want to be in the list and do well.”
“We had a very good training camp in Austria, We worked hard and ii believe it was a good training for everyone.” Jahanbakhsh said.
Asked if he will select Ajax or Manchester United as his next destination , Jahanbakhsh said “I will most probably continue my football in Holland. I will not be looking at big name clubs. FC GRONINGEN has been mentioned , but I dearly like to play with a club that will be competing in the Europa league or Champions league next season. It is important competition and I like to be part of it.”
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, many feared a gap developing at a critical time of the qualifiers. Rahman Ahmadi answered the call and in fact, did very well to become one of the key players who guided Team Melli to the finals of the World Cup. There will be two more keepers in the team beside Ahmadi, but none of them can be compared to the Sepahan keeper. Daniel Davari short stint with the team has been nothing but embarrassment conceding goals that no goalkeeper at this level should concede. The latest was the very soft goal against Angola where he was a spectator when the ball was headed in the net. Sousha Makani has not featured much in the team but at club level he has been both brilliant and a calamity. Haghighi’s standard is really unknown since very few people in Iran have seen him play en force.
Defensive strategy is hardly a pretty thing to watch and for the perfectionist, it’s a game killer. Realistically speaking though, Queiroz can only play with the cards on hands and what players he has, seems to fit his plans well. With number of solid defenders in Hosseini , Sadeghi or Montazeri , Heydari , Pooladi or Beikzadeh and a strong goalkeeper in Ahmadi at the back It seems that this line can do the job well. With Nekounam and Teymourian admirably doing the defensive midfield work, Team Melli can be pretty assured of possessing a quality defensive system. On paper, Iran has a reliable defense capable of holding the onslaught that the opposing teams might deploy on them. Although It is doubtful if any of the 3 teams will use an all-out attack game plan on Iran, not unless they are a gambling lot.
The most senior, high profile or experiences Team Melli players in the squad are mostly the midfield Players. The Captain Javad Nekounam , with 142 caps and 37 goals in his 14 years of Team Melli service, Andranik Teymourian, 78 Caps and 9 goals form the core of the Midfield holding (defensive) system but very well capable of attack and shooting from long range. Haghighi and Haddadifar are also capable backups in case they are required. Nekounam and Teymourian have a good understanding of each others role as they have been playing beside each others for years. In attacking sense, Ashkan Dejagah and Masoud Shojaei will be carrying out the duties on the flanks while several other options are available for Queiroz to enhance these two depending on the type of plan he has in mind. Khalatbary , Hajsafy and Rahmani are fine option when needed. 
y sign of potent offensive strategy, although Team Melli has the potential to inflict damage to any of the teams in the group with the players in hand. Ashkan Dejagah coming from behind the lone forward can be effective and score goals. His individual skills, explosive runs, accurate and powerful shooting are all attributes that augurs well for the Midfielder cum winger that helped him score many goals in his career. In the central forward position, be it Ghoochannejad or Ansarifard in the lone striker role, both the players have a proven record of prolific scoring. In case these two players fall short, Queiroz has the chance to introduce the yet unproven qualities of Jahanbakhsh or Azmoun. Both these youngsters lack any experience at top level, but their youthful energy and audacious tactics, can possibly yield some results. Their lack of experience could be an advantage in situations where senior players shy away from making some moves, but the younger ones would give it a go.
