On Monday , Team Melli will be facing the most serious opponent in its humble low-key series of friendlies when they meet Montenegro. The ex-Yugoslav country is relatively new member of world football community, nevertheless , they have shown some good promise and results,
During the World Cup 2014 qualifiers, Montenegro was grouped along with England, Ukraine , Poland, Moldova and San Marino. While England qualified directly at the top of the group , Ukraine came second and lost to France in the play-off. Montenegro was placed a respectable 3rd ahead of once mighty and more experienced Poland.
Iran and Montenegro have never met at international level before.
The match on Monday at the TSV Hartberg Fußballstadion, in Hartberg Austria , will probably be the first match where Queiroz has the luxury of fielding his strongest side which includes the legionnaires Dejagah , Ghoochannjad , Shojaei , and Davari. Those players joined the camp later than the rest. However, being a friendly match, changes or at least 6 of them is a forgone conclusion in the match.
In the Belarus game, fatigue was evident on the Iranian players. According to the sources close to the camp, the tough physical training has continued in Austria where it has left of in South Africa. This has obviously taken its toll during that match. With Queiroz betting on the high physical preparation of his players as a tool to counteract the more skillful and tactical oppositions in Brazil, it seems that the grueling training regime will continue in the Austria camp. As the result of the first match in the World Cup is so vital , as admitted by both Nigeria and Iran coaches, Queiroz has repeatedly stated that he wants to see a physically robust team. The result of friendlies does not matter to him, as much as the physical strength and players’ stamina. This match should be a good test for Team Melli. A strong defense and solid midfield will definitely make Queiroz much happier and hopeful of positive results in Brazil.
Montenegro does not have a good defensive record as they have conceded 17 goals in the WC qualifiers. That should wet the appetite of Ghoochannejad and co to try their luck at scoring for a change in a team that is shy on scoring.
On Friday , Montenegro lost to Slovakia 2-0 while in March they beat Ghana , one of the World Cup qualifiers, 1-0.
The match kick off time is 18:30 (21:00 Tehran time). A large number of Iranian expatriates fans are expected in Hartberg for the match. The ever loyal fans were present at the last game against Belarus and they created an ideal atmosphere for the boys with their chanting and singing.
IRIB will be broadcasting the match live for the rest of the world.