3rd place for Futsal Team Melli in Brazil’s Grand Prix 2013

Iran won the third place play off against Paraguay in the 2013 Grand Prix. While Brazil won the title after defeating Russia in the final match on penalty kicks. The match ended 2-2 in regular time , and 3-3 in the extra time.

 

Team Melli did not have much problem winning 6-2 against the South Americans who have earlier given Brazil a tough time in the semi finals.

Iran finished the first half comfortably ahead with a 3-0 result.

Ghodrat Bahadori , one of the stars of Iran futsal team in this championship scored 4 goals for Iran , while Farhad Fakhim and Javad Asghari scored the other two.

Richard Mendoza and Gabriel Ayala scored Paraguay goals.

 

 

Grand Prix 201327/10/2013 – 07.00 Local Time
Maringá (Brazil)
Iran – Paraguay
6 – 2  (3 – 0)
Match details:
Hall: Ginásio Chico Neto

Futsal Team Melli fails to make it to the final.

Maringá (PR)

Iran’s Futsal Team Melli failed to make it to the final after losing the semi final match against Russia.

In the second semifinal of the Brazil Futsal Grand Prix 2013 , Russia beat Iran by 4-2 and qualified to the final match against host Brazil . The Russians went ahead in the 13th minute of the first half goal from Milovanov after pass from Brazilian-born Russian Cyril . Six minutes later , Shayakhmetov extended Russia’s lead , closing the halftime score at 2-0 .

In the second period , Hassanzadeh played for Iran as line goalkeeper to pressure the Russians and look for a goal to recover the two goals deficit. An  oversight by advancing Iranian goalkeeper allowed  Gustavo kick to find the Iranian empty net at 12th minute to score Russia’s third – the ball has touched the crossbar before entering . At 15th minute , Iran came back into the game when Tayebi  scored to make it 3-1 and the match was on again, however a minute later , Fakhrutdinov scored again for Russia , throwing a bucket of cold water in the reaction of the Iranian players who were looking good. In the final minute , Bahadori scored for Iran to make it 4-2 but it was too late .

Russians celebrating a goals against Iran in the semi-fnal mach of 2013 Futsal Grand Prix.
Russians celebrating a goals against Iran in the semi-fnal mach of 2013 Futsal Grand Prix.

Iran will play Paraguay for the third place against on Sunday at 7pm . On Friday , Argentina and Guatemala competed for  fifth. est The Argentines , won 2-1 . In the match for the seventh place , Serbia beat Japan by 7-4 .

Lineups :
Russia: Gustavo , Romulus , Milovanov , Cyril and Antoshkin . Entered : Pereverzev , Fakhrutdinov , Shayakhmetov , Shisterov , Eder Lima .

Coach: Sergey Skorovich .

Iran : Nasirniae , Vafaie , Hassanzadeh , Tavakoli and Tayebi .

Entered : Bahadori , Hasannejed , Asghari Moghadam , Shafiee , Fakhim , Daneshvar and Kiaei .

Coach: Jesus Candelas .

‘There is no better ambassador than football’: Meet the US soccer coach in Iran

 
By Alexander Smith, NBC News contributor

One American enjoys a unique view of life in Iran – from the sidelines of Tehran’s main soccer stadium typically packed with more than 100,000 screaming fans.

Dan Gaspar, 58, is the assistant coach of the Iranian national soccer team.

“My experience is not one I’ve seen on TV or read in a newspaper. I live here, it’s real life,” said Gaspar.

“It may sound strange to most people, but I’ve worked on four continents and Iran is one of the safest places I’ve worked in,” he said. “When I read and hear and see things through the media and then go out to the balcony of my apartment and look into Tehran that is not what I see.”

‘No negative reactions’ 
Gaspar, who spends all but six weeks of the year living in Tehran, says the typical American representation of Iran as an isolated place does not resemble his experience.

“You would be surprised, it is very multicultural, far more than I had anticipated,” he said. “In the apartment complex I live in you often see lots of other internationals.”

Socially, Gaspar says he spends time with the other staff on the soccer team, cooking meals for each other at home. Although, he did speak highly of Tehran’s restaurant scene.

“I have eaten Mexican food, I have eaten Italian food, French food,” he said. “There are no bars and no night-life, publicly, so going out to restaurants is a big part of the way people socialize. Their restaurants are of a high standard, compared to any other country in the world.”

While conceding that the universally warm reception he has received may have something to do with his involvement in the increasingly successful national team, he said he’s generally had a positive experience.

“Out and about in the city, when people discover that I’m an American they are interested by it,” he said. “It opens up a discussion, in a positive way.  I have had no negative reactions.”

Winding path to Tehran 
Gaspar took a winding path to Tehran. He began coaching in the 1970s in the amateur soccer leagues in Connecticut. From there, he went on to several roles in Portugal — Gaspar has duel Portuguese-American citizenship and is multilingual — before returning in 1996 for a stint on the staff at the New York Metro Stars, where he reached the MLS playoffs.

He has also worked in Japan’s J-League and in South Africa. But it was working under head coach Carlos Queiroz on the Portuguese national team which offered his unusual avenue to Tehran.

Queiroz is something of a legend in coaching circles, having won trophies at Real Madrid and Manchester United. But he was fired as head coach of Portugal in 2010 after allegedly insulting an anti-doping team attempting to take samples at his training ground.

In April 2011 Queiroz was announced as Iran’s new head coach — quite a coup for a relatively small soccer nation — and he asked Gaspar to come with him as his assistant and goalkeeping coach.

“Professionally I felt this was an incredible and interesting challenge. It’s a unique opportunity,” Gaspar said.

While in the U.S., soccer takes a back seat to the pigskin, baseball mitt, and basketball hoop. In his new home, the world’s biggest sport is firmly center stage.

“Iran is a passionate country about football,” said Gasper, using the term for soccer outside the U.S. “There is no doubt that the Iran fans are one of the most passionate fans in the world — they love their football.”

“It’s not uncommon to have 120,000 fans attend our matches at the Azadi stadium, in Tehran. The atmosphere is electric with a sea of green, red, and white flags filling the stadium, along with the most intense noise-levels I’ve ever heard from the crowd, supporting their football heroes,” added Gaspar, who has been in the job as assistant and goalkeeper coach since 2011.

Gaspar claims his “expertise is not politics,” but he has met both the recently elected President Hassan Rouhani and his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – who he said had an impressive knowledge of soccer.

A moment of ‘national optimism’
Rouhani’s election on June 15 came at a particularly interesting time. It was followed three days later by Gaspar helping guide the Iranian soccer team to victory in Ulsan, South Korea — and with it, to qualification for next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

He said these two events created a “perfect storm” which created an “incredible feeling of national optimism.”

“There was a happiness among the people and you could sense there was this hope that things would improve,” he said.

He described helping Iran to qualify for the World Cup as the happiest moment in his career.

“Imagine this: You have the pressure of 75 million people on your shoulders, with the hopes and aspirations that we qualify their nation to the 2014 Brazil World Cup, and we delivered that mission,” he said.

“The celebration after in the locker room after the South Korean match, when we qualified for the tournament, was very emotional. There were tears of joy, hugs, singing, and plenty of high fives.

But he said even he was surprised when the Iranian ambassador to South Korea brought a ballot box to the team’s hotel where they were staying in the run-up to the qualifier, just so players and staff could vote in the election even though they were out of the country.

“I don’t think anyone from the outside world would believe that kind of thing would take place,” he said.

 

Soccer diplomacy
Gaspar’s role could take on increased significance next year, if U.S. plans bear fruit to host Iran in a World Cup warm-up game on U.S. soil.

“Talks are only at a preliminary stage at the moment, but there appears to be a genuine interest on both sides to make this match to become a reality,” he said.

The two countries have only played twice before. Iran beat the U.S. 2-1 at the 1998 World Cup in a game of historic significance, both in terms of sport and diplomacy. This was followed by a non-competitive game in Pasadena, Calif., 18 months later.

Gaspar realizes the how important playing another match next year could be, coming at a crucial diplomatic stage between the nations.

“For 90 minutes it will be an ideal gesture towards diplomacy,” he said “Who knows, football may be a launching pad towards respectful, honest and peaceful solutions between nations?

“Certainly the world would benefit from such discussions.  History has demonstrated that football has proven to bridge nations. The power and influence of football is amazing. There is no better ambassador than football.”

Both the USSF and U.S. government have refused to confirm or deny they are in talks with Iran about the game.

But U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told a briefing earlier this month: “We’ve always said we were open to direct negotiations and talks with the Iranians, so where a better place than on the soccer field, right?”

 

[divider]

At schools, in shops, and on the streets of big cities and small towns, daily life plays out in Iran.

 

Masoud : “I played one of the worst games of my life “

Las Palmas midfielder blames the 18 HOURS RETURN JOURNEY AFTER PLAYING FOR TEAM MELLI

Team Melli’s midfielder Masoud Shojaei complained about what he referred to as “ten days of  training to play a single game!” and the differences of style and training regime between country and club (Team Melli and UD Las Palmas ) . “The training sessions we conducted back home were all in the afternoon  with a football style more direct and physical than I am used to, while on return to Gran Canaria it is completely different style & ENVIROMENT hence it is sometimes difficult to adapt “. Shojaei, however,   admitted that as a “professional football player“ he must adapt to such differences and make the necessary adjustments.

Masoud Shojaei has acknowledged that he played last Sunday “one of the worst games of his life”. The UD Las Palmas midfielder was referring to the match against Real Murcia which ended goalless despite the visitors were a man short from the 25th minute.

The Iranian international explained the possible reasons for his poor form. “ I did not feel comfortable , but I assure everyone that I will play a lot better. Perhaps it was the long journey of nearly 18 hours after playing for Iran and the different mentality and tactics used by Team Melli under coach Carlos Queiroz .

Masoud was complaining of the ten days training camp to play a single game! Practicing in the afternoons, with a football style more direct and physical.  “There is no hiding that UD should improve in the finishing and next Sunday the team has a good chance in Gijon , against Sporting “ Masoud said about the next match. “We can win that match.” Masoud believes that ” not much difference exists between teams from the Liga Adelante, but how you play the Asturian team , very different from the last opponent, but admits it will be ” a difficult game ” .

Masoud Shojaei , had a dreadful season in which he had great difficulty reaching form since he recovered from his long term injury. Despite all the weak performances, Queiroz obstinately insisted on including him in the squad and going one better by playing the Midfielder as a fix starter to the detriment of other much better and in form players.  For his poor form displayed in all of Team Melli matches, the fans in Azadi singled him out for boos and shouting vulgarities while demanding his exclusion from Team Melli.   While Carlos Queiroz is the accountable person for consistently allowing an under-performing player with fitness and form issues to play, the coach was hardly questioned about his reasons, leaving the player getting the wrath of the fans.

Carlos Queiroz , who time and again has shown little tolerance for any criticism from the press & media, he has been even less tolerance for complaining players. After standing by the lackluster Shojaei , as  it seemed that he (Queiroz) was the only one believing that shojaei is capable to deliver while the ex-Osasuna player never reproduced any of his pervious form in TeamMelli games, it will be interesting to see the reaction of the Portuguese coach on reading this short interview and the complaints by Shojaei.

Will he join Rahmati and Aghili in his black book or not is interesting for many observers.

Team Melli qualifies for the next round by defeating Austria.

Iran edge Austria to stamp ticket
© Getty Images

Iran booked their place in the Round of 16 of the U-17 finals in UAE after a 1-0 win over Austria in Al Ain saw them finish second in Group E. Their opponent in the first knockout round will be none other than Nigeria, who return to their home-base in the desert after topping their section. Austria and Canada are both eliminated after the night’s results, while Argentina win Group E and move on the next stage.

Playing in their first game at a new venue, Iran and Austria didn’t look uncomfortable at all in the early minutes from the Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium. After 16 minutes, an Austrian corner-kick was headed powerfully by David Domej from six yards out. The effort went just over the bar and the no-nonsense captain simply turned around and ran back to his defensive post.

Three minutes later and it became clear that the Europeans’ most dangerous weapon was the set-piece. Adrian Grbic looked like he would float in a cross from 25 yards out, but he went for goal with his free-kick instead. It had Mahdi Amini beaten at his near post, but it slammed off the crossbar rather than ending up in the back of the net.

There was a similar free-kick up the other end in the 27th minute, but Ali Hazimi’s effort could only fly up and over the bar. It was a hint of things to come, however, as the Iranians took the lead in the 36th minute. Yousef Seyyedi had nowhere to go, with his back to the goal and swarmed by defenders, but his quick turn left Dominik Baumgartner for dead. He zipped past two more Austrians before toe-poking home from close range.

Daniel Ripic pulled off some dazzling moves in the Iranian penalty area as the Austrians – needing a win – pushed for an eqauliser in the second half. The Red Bull Salzburg man turned, swiveled and shimmied, and looked to be dragged down in the area near the hour mark. But the Bolivian referee waved away his protests dismissively.
The Austrians were pressing hard at this point and in the 66th minute Michael Endlicher, on as a substitute, fired a wicked shot in from the edge of the box that had Amini scrambling. The more the Europeans pressed, the more they were exposed, and twice in the last quarter-hour Amir Mazloum threatened to extend Iran‘s lead on the break.

In the end, the 1-0 result was enough to see Iran through behind Argentina in Group E, while Canada and Austria board the early flights home from UAE 2013.

 

[divider]

FIFA U17 WORLD CUP UAE 2013
CANADA vs. IRAN vs. AUSTRIA

1-0 (1-0)

Goals:
Yousef SEYYEDI (36′)

Venue Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium , Al Ain City
Referee:  Raul OROSCO (BOL)

Attn: 8,000
IRAN
1 Mahdi AMINI (GK)
2 Mostafa HASHEMI
3 Sasan JAFARI
4 Komeil HAGHZADEH
5 Majid HOSSEINI (C)
6 Saeid EZATOLAHI
8 Mohammad BAZAJ (18 Sadegh MOHARRAMI 63′)
9 Amir MAZLOUM (14 Ali GHOLIZADEH 84′)
10 Amirhossein KARIMI
17 Ali HAZAMI
19 Yousef SEYYEDI (11 Reza JAFARI 71′)

AUSTRIA

1 Alexander SCHLAGER (GK)
3 Stefan PERIC
5 Michael LERCHER
7 Adrian GRBIC (9 Tobias PELLEGRINI 46′)
8 Sascha HORVATH
10 Valentin LAZARO
11 Petar GLUHAKOVIC
15 David DOMEJ (C) (16 Marko KVASINA 68′)
17 Nikola ZIVOTIC (2 Michael ENDLICHER 56′)
18 Dominik BAUMGARTNER
19 Daniel RIPIC

Iran Futsal in the semi-Finals despite loss to Brazil

Maringá (PR) –

Team Melli Futsall team lost the last group match against host Brail 7 -2 on Thursday , however despite that loss Iran booked a place in the semi-finals  and will be facing Russia on Friday.

Russia completed the Group B matches with full marks gaining 9 points.

In another good display, the Brazilian team beat Iran by 7-2 late on Thursday (24/10), in the Grand Prix VIII. The result leaves the team led by coach Ney Pereira top of Group A. Brazil started the game in a lightening style with Daniel, with less than a minute, wiped the edge of the area and beat keeper to open the scoring. The Iranians tried to respond in the 3rd minute  with a free kick, but Guitta was attentive and defended well. During the match, the lights in the Gym Chico Neto went off due to a power outage in the area. Fifteen minutes later, the game resumed and a shock was awaiting the host as the , the fixed player Rodrigo was hurt in a collision in the knees. However, the pain was fleeting and soon after, the captain returned to the court.

Iran vs. Brazil Futsal Grand Prix
Iran vs. Brazil Futsal Grand Prix

Seeking the top of Group A, Iran gave no cakewalk and attacked strongly. The clearest chance was Hassanzadeh, who intercepted  the pass from Brazilian Falcon to counterattack. The ball hit the left post of Guitta. Ney Pereira The coach  then asked time out and changed his plans. Their tactics work in sequence: receiving a pass from Ricardinho,  Dyego scored the second of Brazil, at 14th minute. The next minute, number 10  almost scored again Towards the end of the half, after advancing down the left and end precisely at sixteen. Shortly after, with two minutes to the end of the stage was Fernandinho who scored after receiving pass from Daniel in the area. More Brazilian show Brazil started going up in the second half. With two minutes from the start of the half Zico dribbled the area and the goalkeeper, but the Iranian defense took over and cleared from the line. They tried a lot over the first eight minutes to reduce the defecit.  Hassanzadeh. took was three minutes to disenchant Hawk again. At eleven minutes, the no 12 scored twice and doubled the lead Brazilian court. At 14, Daniel pulled the counterattack and Zico played for that first, hid-line and keeper marciu the seventh Brazilian goal. Iran insisted and decreased with Bahadori, in long shot, but it was too little too late.

Brazil Futsal Grand Prix 2013

 Chico Neto – Gymnasium Maringá , Brazil

24-Oct-2013M

Group A

BRZAIL – IRAN

7 – 2 (4-0)

Match Details

Brasil Starting line up: Guitta, Rodrigo, Daniel, Dyego and  Sinoê.

                         substituted in: Falcão, Leco, Fernandinho, Bateria, Zico, Serginho Paulista , Rennan.

Coach: Ney Pereira.

Iran Starting line up: Nasirnia, Tavakoli, Hassanzadeh, Daneshvar and Tayebi.

substituted in: Vafaie, Bahadori, Asghari Moghadam, Khayamraini, Shafiee, Hasannejed

Coach: Jesus Candelas.

Iran claims the Asian classic in Grand Prix de Futsal

Team Melli Futsall team defeated Japan 3-1 and climbed to second in the table of Group “A” behind leaders and hosts, Brazil.

Latter on the day , Argentina must defeat the Japanese while Brazil must winIran by more than a handful of goals for the Argentinians to qualify  attention to goal  for semifinals.

The derby between the two Asian powers marked the culmination of the second day of the eighth Grand Prix in Maringá, in the duel of the two experienced Spanish coaches (Jesus Candelas and Miguel Rodrigo), and knowing that the winner would stand a good chance to qualify for the semifinals after crushing Brazil win against Argentina 11-1

Japan GK blocks a shot from Iranian player. futsal.

The 3-1 victory for Iran was recorded with goals by Takita (o.g.) , Tayebi and Asghari Moghadam, while the consolation for Japan was by Murakami. The Iranians were able to hit at the right times, with individual goals at the start and end of the first half to go into the break 2-0 up. In addition, Japan could not get the break and ended up in the final minutes of  the match with Osodo playing as a goalkeeper and outfield player. Moghadam stretched the result to three minutes from time, but after that goal the Japanese quickly responded with a goal, which ultimately could not change the outcome and thus the Asian champions were eliminated.

 For its part, Iran, with 4 points, seek to obtain a positive result on Thursday (even a defeat by a few goals) to the already-qualified Brazil (6). The Candelas have the advantage of playing before the Argentina (close the third round against the Japanese)

Match details.

Iran: Nasirniae, Vafaie, Hassanzadeh, Tavakoli, Tayebi. Entered: Shafiee, Bahadori, Asghari Moghadam, Fakhim, Khayamraini, Kiaei, Daneshvar.

Coach: Jesús Candelas.

 Japan: Sekiguchi, Morioka, Henmi, Hoshi, Nibuya. Entered: Murakami, Osodo, Nishitani, Takita, Kitahara, Watanabe.

Coach: Miguel Rodrigo.

Goals First half : 2m26s Takita, Own goal, 17m54s Tayebi (IRN).

Goals ST: 17m05s Asghari Moghadam (IRN), 17m27s Murakami (JPN).

 

Referee: Kadykov Vladimir (Russia)-principal-and Damir Radovic (Serbia)-assistant.

 

#

Team

P

W

D

L

Goals

GD

  PTS
1. Brasil 2 2 0 0 18:3 +15   6
2. Irán 2 1 1 0 5:3 +2  4
3. Argentina 2 0 1 1 3:13 -10   1
4. Japan 2 0 0 2 3:10 -7    0

Doustimeher urging for Fans support.

Ali Doustimehr declared said “it’s our fault, because the U-17 team should have at least grabbed 4 points from the two games played against Argentina and Canada. We could have wrapped it up and done the job there and then, instead we have put ourselves in this situation were qualification to the next round is a bit more difficult”.

Speaking in the pre-match press conference in Al Ain , UAE where Iran`s U-17 team is scheduled to meet Austria in the final game of Group Ali Doustimeher added “we have a tough task against Austria, “

“We lost great scoring opportunities against the Canadian, The players and the fans are still lamenting those wasted chances. Some players are still affected by that and still quite upset as we speak. It is not much use talking about it. Now our goal is to qualify and to do that we need to win rather than hope to qualify based on the best second teams results.

About the preparations and plans for the Friday game against the Austrians,  the U-17 coach said “Much of our preparation was in form of recovery and reducing the tension that was felt after the last game.  We had a good couple of days in the recovery phase.  We analyzed Austria based on the games they played and the European style they deploy and hence the training was adjusted as such to ensure we achieve our goal in the match”

 Asked what does he think about the other match played at the same time between Argentina and Canada and what does he hope the result would be?, He pointed out that it does not matter to him what is the outcome of that match. “For me , the match against Austrian is what matters. We MUST win this one. I would not even bother to check the results of the other game as I want to focus completely at the task in our hands, not a one that we have no control on” Doustimehr said.

 Regarding the attendance and the fans, the coach said he was quite impressed by the support of the Iranian fans in Dubai and he is very grateful for them for creating such a great atmosphere. “Our fans inspired us and we sincerely hope that similar numbers of supporters travel to Al Ain for this crucial match. We are very much counting on their support.”

Doustimehr , stressed upon the role of the fans and attendance in the stadiums. He said he was satisfied by the attendance figure in Dubai” Football does not mean much without fans, even if all the major players, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Maradona and Pele lead two teams to play a game, under coaching of the likes of Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, without the fans such match is tasteless and loses all it value.”

“I am very pleased with our fans. In General the attendance of our matches have been very good, with a good mixture of Iranians , Arab and expatriate fans from different communities present.  Iran had a good support and hopefully they will come to Al Ain and support us again”

The last group matches on Friday will be played at the same time in Dubai , where Argentina will face Canada, and Al Ain where Austria will face Iran. Argentina is leading the table with 4 points , while Iran is third with 2 points from two matches. A win for Iran by any margin will assure them of qualification. Any other result will mean they have to wait for the result of the other groups.

 

Heshmat Mohajerani “Mahdavikia should work along with Queiroz”

Dubai

 Iran’s legendary football coach Heshmat Mohajerani praised the Iranian U-17 team and said this team should easily win its two remaining matches after their sterling display against Argentina, the current champions of South America. Mohajerani singled out Ali Doustimehr for rave commendation calling him a dedicated coach who has tremendous ability to work with youngsters and inspires them to do their best. “Doustimehr, time again showed us his quality and capabilities. He is a dedicated coach who has the interest of the boys at heart and works tirelessly with them to achieve a high standard of performance and create a team spirit and camaraderie in these youngsters.  They are able to deliver largely to the inspirational and technical powers of Ali Doustimehr. He is an asset for Iran.”

Mohajerani was speaking to reporters in Dubai during his visit to the Team Melli U-17 training camp where the U-17 are participating in the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2013 . The veteran coach who is a resident of Dubai told the press “I hardly attend the senior team’s matches, but for the youngsters, I would not miss the opportunity to watch them live. It is a delight when you see these young ones play to such a level of football”. Mohajerani also praised the role that Mahdavikia is playing with the team. “Mehdi was a tremendous player; he is also a gentleman that has a lot to offer for Iran’s football if he elects to go into coaching. I have a lot of confidence in the potentials of Mahdavikia. His excellent character for a starter is a big advantage that is in short supply in Iran’s football. In fact I strongly suggest from now that Mahdavikia should work along with Queiroz as step in his career progression.”

Mehdi Mahdavikia is currently accompanying Team Melli U-17 in an advisory role. He has been praised by Doustimehr for the work he carried out for the team, including his exceptional effort to organize the Germany camp where the team had valuable matches with strong German clubs youth teams. Mahdavikia’s contacts in Germany and the respect that he is awarded there, enable Team Melli U-17 to set up the camp.

Commenting further on the potentials of Mahdavikia , the former Team Melli coach who took Iran to the 1978 World Cup , believes  apart from Mahdavikia calm character and the respect that he has for player and people around him, his long experience in Germany working under professional environment, will ensure that new ideas and mentality in introduced in Iran`s football.

Second tie for Iran U-17 in FIFA championship

Canada’s 1-1 draw against Iran in Group E of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Dubai is their fourth on the trot in U-17 world finals play. Amazingly, they have not won in 17 straight contests at this tournament and there was an air of the fortunate about the point they picked up today against the talented Persians at the Sheikh Rashid Stadium.

Iran came out stronger in the first half, with the Canadians unable to get much going in attack. Hanson Boakai’s blocked shot after five minutes was the best chance the North Americans would have in the opening period.

Four minutes later, the Iranians took the lead. Amir Mazloum collected a throw-in from the left and laid the ball back for Amirhossein Karimi, who fired a perfect shot into the corner, sparking off wild celebrations in the Iran technical area.

Canada did their all to haul themselves back into the game, but they lacked precision in the final third. Jordan Hamilton’s shot after 11 minutes fooled some in the crowd, but it only rippled the outside of the net.

From the 20th minute on, it was all Iran and they were unlucky not to increase their lead. Amirhossein Karimias was denied by the sliding Elias Roubos. Reza Jafari then saw his good shot batted away by goalkeeper Marco Carducci before Saeid Ezatolahi went close with a free-kick.

The Canucks sprang to life early in the second half. A cross from Boakai in the 48th minute was missed by Iran keeper Mahdi Amini and Roubos both, but Hamilton made no mistake slamming home at the back post.

The contest swung back-and-forth from there on out, but Iran had the more dangerous chances to break the deadlock. Twice they hit the woodwork, first through Mohammad Bazaj in the 71st minute and then three minutes later from Majid Hosseini’s vicious shot from distance. In the end, the Canadians were fortunate to escape with what is their fourth draw on the trot at a FIFA U-17 World Cup and their second point here in UAE.

The North Americans next meet Argentina in their next game on 25 October in Dubai, while Iran look to finish strong against the Austrians in Al Ain. 

 

 

FIFA U17 WORLD CUP UAE 2013

CANADA vs. IRAN

CanadaIran

1 –1 (0-1)

Goals:  

  • Amirhossein KARIMI (9′)
  • Jordan HAMILTON (48′)
Venue Rashid Stadium ,Dubai
Referee:  Heber LOPES (BRA)

Attn: 18,000

IRAN

1 Mahdi AMINI (GK)
2 Mostafa HASHEMI
4 Komeil HAGHZADEH
5 Majid HOSSEINI (C)
6 Saeid EZATOLAHI
8 Mohammad BAZAJ  (14 Ali GHOLIZADEH 61′)
9 Amir MAZLOUM
10 Amirhossein KARIMI
11 Reza JAFARI (19 Yousef SEYYEDI 76′ )
17 Ali HAZMI (15 Hossein MEHRABAN 84′)
18 Sadegh MOHARRAMI

 

CANADA

1 Marco CARDUCCI (GK)(C)
4 Alexander COMSIA
3 Elias ROUBOS 
9 Jordan HAMILTON
10 Hanson BOAKAI
12 Kevon BLACK
13 Eric DAVIES
14 Andrew GORDON
15 Matthew CHOW  (17 Marco BUSTOS (+64′)

16 Marco DOMINGUEZ  ( 11 Jordan HAYNES 34`)
19 Kianz FROESE

 

 

Group E
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Canada 2 0 2 0 3 3 2
Iran 2 0 2 0 2 2 2
Austria 1 0 1 0 2 2 1
Argentina 1 0 1 0 1 1 1