Payment fo the local coaches of Team Melli are still on hold!

Dragan Skočić has arranged the Training camp program in preparation for Team Melli games, but the task of his Iranian assistants and their involvement in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is still unclear. Karim Bagheri and Vahid Hashemian were the assistant coaches of Iran on the way to the World Cup, along with Mehrdad Khanban who is the team analyst. Apparently, the Football Federation has not yet been able to pay the full salaries of the national team’s local coaches, which resulted in a protest by Bagheri and Hashemian.

After the draw for the World Cup in Qatar, Skocic’s Iranian assistants asked for their bonuses and payment as per the contract, but the Football Federation’s response to this legitimate request was even stranger than before. The FFIRI declared lack of money as the main reason for the non-payment of its obligation to the local technical staff of Team Melli and stated that it will not be able to pay these amounts until the funds awed to Iran are credited to the federation by FIFA .

The financial resources of FFIRI are limited and the bank account is just about empty as FIFA is still withholding Iran’s dues from the qualification matches, despite the fact that the team reached the Qatar World Cup early. The most concerning issue is also the failure of FFIRI has still failed to sign contracts for friendly games with the world’s most prestigious football teams. It seems that the priority for Mirshad Majedi, the acting head of FFIRI and members of the board of directors, is still to hold a general assembly of the federation to determine the fate of Shahabuddin Azizi Khadem, the deposed head while Team Melli is still not a top priority despite the promises.

Doping in Saudi football!

JEDDAH: Al-Ittihad and Saudi national team striker Fahad Al-Muwallad is being investigated by the Saudi Arabia Anti-Doping Committee amid allegations that he failed a drug test, according to “Action with Walid,” the daily sports program broadcast on MBC action.

This marks the second time in three years that Al-Muwallad has failed an out-of-competition drug test. He accepted a one-year ban from SAADC on May 9, 2019, due to the use of prohibited substances during the team’s match against Al-Nasr in April 2018, within the Saudi Professional League.

The daily program revealed on Thursday that Al-Ittihad football club, which sits on top of the standings table of the Saudi Professional League, had received a notice two days earlier from the Saudi Doping Commission that the test on its striker returned a positive result and the final decision would be made after a hearing session.

The player and club are cooperating and responding directly with the SAADC. The player is now subject to a playing suspension locally and internationally while the matter is under investigation.

No official information about the suspension and the nature of the doping violation has been made by the SAADC until now.

A positive test for a banned substance that is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s prohibited list can lead to a four-year suspension.

The 27-year-old Al-Muwallad is one of the Kingdom’s most celebrated players, having scored the goal against Japan that took Saudi Arabia to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

He started his professional career with Al-Ittihad when he was 16, and at 18 Al-Muwallad made his first team debut and scored his first senior goal for Saudi Arabia against China in an Asian Cup qualifier. From there he has become a regular squad inclusion for the Saudi national team.

He also played for Spanish club Levante UD in the final minutes of the league clash away to Leganes in 2018, when on loan ahead of the World Cup.

Meanwhile, the former player of the Kuwait national football team accused the Saudi players of using performance-enhancing substances. Ahmed Musa made the accusation against Saudi players after Al-Muwallad case was publicized. talking to Al Jazeera. Ahmad Musa said “The Saudi players’ used performance-enhancing substances so much that we could not keep pace with them. While we were out of breath, they looked fresh and full of energy,” he said. “Now we witness the same players taking the substances are experiencing problems in the abdomen and heart. We experienced this many times in the match against the Saudi clubs Al-Hilal and Al-Shabab.”

The Kuwaiti player’s comment caused the Saudi Football Federation to sue him. Ahmed Musa made the accusation against the Saudi players, while the Saudi national team player, Fahd Muwallad, is banned from all football activities due to doping.

Hamid Estili “4 friendly matches are being finalized for Team Melli”

Hamid Estili, the Manager of Team Melli, talked about the latest plans of the Team and the preparation programs before participating in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar: “Our most important training camp will be held in June for two weeks. We have planned with Mr. Skocic to play four friendly matches in Qatar. Fortunately, we have a good relationship with Qataris and they have been quite helpful and responsive with us.”

Estili continued: “Mirshad Majedi (acting head of the Football Federation) is fluent in English and communicated well with Mr. Infantino, President of FIFA and the Qatar Federation. The manager of the national football team also referred to negotiations with other countries to play a friendly match on the sidelines of the World Cup draw and added: “We had fruitful talks with several FIFA memeber associations regarding playing friendly matches, unfortunately, we will not be able to play against the European countries in June because they are still involved in their domestic league and cup competition themselves,”

Estili also mentioned that talks for a friendly game against the USA were in advanced stages, but due to the draw which put Iran and USA in the same group, a friendly match is now out of question.put

Marijo Tot “We have a good chance of advancing from the group

The assistant coach of the Iranian national football team expressed hope that Team Melli would advance to the second round of the FIFA World Cup 2022 for the first time in its history.

In an interview with tportal site, Tot mentioned that this is a historic occasion for Croat coaches. For the second time in history, two Croatian coaches will be leading two different teams in the World Cup. This happened first at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where Zlatko Kranjcar and Branko Ivankovic, were in charge of Croatian and Iran respectively. Zlatko Dalic has now managed to clinch qualification to the World Cup with Croatia, while another Croat Dragan Skocic achieved similar success with Iran.

“We are very happy with this group, it is clear that you can not have an easy opponent in the World Cup,” said Marijo Tot, about Iran’s draw in the 2022 World Cup. England is both on paper and in reality the first chance to win the group title. The other three teams can compete equally for second place. I honestly think we have a very good chance of making it to the second round. There is a major rivalry with the United States because Iran played the United States in the 1998 World Cup and Iran won 2-1. The players who scored in that game have a special place in the country. It will be a special game now that we all know for what special reasons and our players will go to the World Cup with great motivation.”

 

“In the case of the third competitor, I would prefer Ukraine.” The assistant coach continued: “There is still a long way to go before the tournament starts and anything can happen. But many fans in Iran have the chance to be present for Team Melli in the World Cup. I believe that this time we can take that historic step forward and cross the group for the first time. Alireza Jahanbakhsh from Feyenoord, Mehdi Taremi from Porto and Sardar Azmoun from Bayer Leverkusen are Iran’s first hopes in this cup. We also have players who play in Greece and Turkey. We also have Sadegh Moharremi from Dynamo Zagreb, who plays very well here in Team Melli and was the best player on the field in the last game against Lebanon. I do not want to get into Dynamo’s problems, but given how good Muharrami is, I wonder why he does not get more minutes of play with his club in Croatia.”

About the defeat of Iran against South Korea, he said: “Despite the fact that we went to Seoul with an incomplete team, that is, without 6 or 7 players from the main team, we were quite strong in that game as well. But regardless of everything, we were ended up first in the group. We are the best team in Asia. We travel to this championship with the extraordinary support of the fans who will surely be with us in Qatar.”

What did the coaches say after World Cup draw?

 

Gregg Berhalter, USA coach

“We think it’s a good group. We know every opponent in the World Cup is difficult but with England, you definitely get an exciting match-up. Gareth (Southgate, England manager) and I go way back. He’s a guy I look up to and has always been there for me, and given me advice. I reached out to him when I got the job and asked if he’d be interested in telling me more about international football. I looked at him as something as a mentor and since then we have stayed in touch.”

Gareth Southgate, England manager

“The first two teams (USA and IR Iran) we’ve not played for quite a while. The third (Wales or the winner of Scotland-Ukraine) is a total unknown but throws up a possible British derby. We know what they’re all about! When you’re seeded, you get the advantage of missing out on those big six or seven teams. But there are some really high-ranked teams in Pot 2, the US in particular, and I know Gregg Berhalter quite well – we’ve met a couple of times and had long chats about things. They’ve got some very good players and we know what they could be capable of as a nation.”

Skočić, hopeful of advancing from the World Cup group B.

The head coach of Iran’s Team Melli evaluated Iran’s group in the FIFA World Cup 2022 and emphasized that Iran has a chance to advance from the group stage for the first time in its history.

Dragan Skucic,  speaking to the Croatian media by HRT, commented on Iran’s group in the 2022 World Cup: “The group can always be better or worse. This group is not bad, although it is a bit unusual because England, the USA and probably Wales or Scotland play almost the same style of football. Of course, there is also Ukraine. In any case, I think the draw went well, there were more difficult groups.

Iran will face England on the first day of the World Cup on November 21st. “Our goal is to try to advance to the next round from this e group,” he said. I think England has a lot of chances and I also think we have a chance with other öpponents in the group. I think we can compete with them and achieve qualification to the knockout stages. We definitely have good players and a lot of potential in the team and we have a fighting spirit too.

Skocic knows Arabic football well and is convinced that a big World Cup awaits Qatar. In the end, he said: I was in the Arab Cup in Qatar a month or two ago. Everything was exceptional, I was in all the stadiums. I think it will be a big World Cup in terms of organization. Ïran’s head coach also commented on his own country’s team chances: ‌” Besides Croatia, Belgium has a great chance to advance, but we should not forget Morocco. I think Canada has a lower chance of qualifying than the other group teams.”

How Iran fared against the opponents ?

Iran’s records against the teams of the group are quite healthy and that is quite a boost for Team Melli players ahead of the first game on November, 21st.

Team Melli played four times against possible and actual opponents. England remains the only team that has not faced Iran before. Team Melli managed 2 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss to the teams in the preliminary group.

By far the biggest and most famous result against the opponents here was in Lyon on 21st June 1998 when Iran beat USA 2-1 in one of the most anticipated matches of the 1998 World Cup. Estili and Mahdavikia were the heroes of the day scoring for Iran. But 20 years before that in Argentina, when the world cup had only 16 elite participationg teams, Team Melli gained a famous draw with overhyped Scotland or the Tartan Army coached by Ally McCloud who was promising the Scotland team will return home lifting the World Cup before a ball was even kicked. The Scottish team was a star spangle group of the best player in the English First Division, the predecessor of the Premiere League.

Team Melli also played a single match against Ukraine in a friendly international which at the time was making a name for itself in European football, in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Ali Daei scored the only goal of the match.

Iran’s loss to Wales came in a friendly match in the Araymehr Stadium and was part of the team’s preparation for the Argentine 1978 World Cup.

USA asked Iranian for a friendly in the states in 2000 hoping to get revenge for the loss in Lyon two years before. This match was played in the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California in front of 50,000 fans. Mahdi Mahdavikia was once again the scourge of the American team when he scored early in the sixth minute of the match. US team equalized through Armas in the second half, the match ending in a 1-1 draw with the USA not being able to exact revenge.

So, for all intent and purposes, Team Melli has no psychological disadvantage in preparing for the World Cup. Such head-to-head results should boost Iran’s hopes of qualifying from the group stages for the first time in history.

Head2Head Table

OPPONENT P W D L GD
England 0 0 0 0 0
USA 2 1 1 0 1
Wales 1 0 0 1 -1
Scotland 1 0 1 0 1
Ukraine 1 1 0 0 1

 

Iran drawn with England and USA while waiting for another Euro team.

The World Cup groups are set, now the real wait begins.

Friday’s draw put an end to 24 hours of speculation and Group of Death nightmare scenarios, but now Team Melli may be looking at the most formidable group.

Eight former players and managers conducted the draw, with these being: Cafu (Brazil), Lothar Matthaus (Germany), Jay-Jay Okocha (Nigeria), Tim Cahill (Australia), Adel Ahmed MalAllah (Qatar), Ali Daei (Iran), Bora Milutinovic (Serbia/Mexico) and Rabah Madjer (Algeria).

After drawing England, who it faced in the 2010 World Cup, Team Melli will also face the USA and the winner of the European playoff between Wales and either Ukraine or Scotland. England, the former World Cup winner some generations ago in 1966, is the favorite of the group and the team to beat. while a potential Wales appearance would add Gareth Bale and the No. 18 team in the FIFA rankings to the group.

GROUP A

  • Qatar
  • Ecuador
  • Senegal
  • Netherlands

GROUP B

  • England
  • Iran
  • United States
  • European Playoff (Wales vs. Ukraine/Scotland)

If there was an ultra-tough group for the Asian teams, must have sympathy with Saudi Arabia as they will be facing  Drawn in Group C

GROUP C

  • Argentina
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Mexico
  • Poland

GROUP D

  • France
  • Intercontinental Playoff 1 (Peru vs. UAE/Australia)
  • Tunisia
  • Denmark

GROUP E

  • Spain
  • Intercontinental Playoff 2 (Costa Rica vs. New Zealand)
  • Germany
  • Japan

GROUP F

  • Belgium
  • Canada
  • Morocco
  • Croatia

GROUP G

  • Brazil
  • Serbia
  • Switzerland
  • Cameroon

GROUP H

  • Portugal
  • Ghana
  • Uruguay
  • Korea Republic

For the final time, eight groups made up of four teams each were drawn. In 2022, World Cup expands to 48 teams, making this a truly special occasion.

Only 29 of the 32 teams are currently known but the final three playoff matchups are all known. Along with the final European qualifier in Group B, one intercontinental playoff, Peru will face the winner of the United Arab Emirates vs. Australia AFC playoff; in the other, Costa Rica will face New Zealand. Those games will take place in June.

The 2022 World Cup begins Nov. 21 and ends with the final in Lusail on Dec. 18.

Iran in the third seed of World Cup draw.

The Iranian national football team was placed in the third round of the FIFA  World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

With nearly all matches except a few played in the World Cup qualifiers, the ranking of the teams present in this period of competition was also determined. Based on this, the Iranian national team will be in Seed 3 as in the previous period. The draw for the World Cup will be held on Friday in Doha, and Team Melli will know its opponents.

* What does it mean to be in Seed 3?

The placement of Iran in Seed 3 is a good thing, because a team from Seed 4, which is lower than Iran in terms of points in the FIFA rankings, will be in our group.

* Which teams will we not be in the same group with Iran?

Also, considering the ranking of Iran in the World Cup, Team Melli will definitely not be in the same group with the teams in seed 3. Iran will not be drawn in the same group with the other Asian teams such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and South Korea. Also, if Australia or UAE qualify for the World Cup through the playoffs, this team will not be drawn with Iran. Thus, the Iranian national team will definitely not be grouped with the teams of Senegal, Serbia, Poland, Morocco, Tunisia, South Korea, Japan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and “UAE or Australia” (in case of reaching the World Cup).

World Cup qualifiers are as follows:

Seed 1  Belgium (1), Brazil (2), France (3), Argentina (4), England (5), Spain (7), Portugal (8), Qatar (52)

Seed 2: Denmark (9), Netherlands (10), Germany (11),  Mexico (12) , USA (13), Switzerland (14),  Croatia (15), Uruguay (16)

Seed 3: Senegal (18), Iran (21), Japan (23), Morocco (24), Serbia (25), Poland (28), South Korea (29), Tunisia (36)

Seed 4: Canada (33),  Cameroon (38),  Ecuador (46), Saudi Arabia (53), Ghana (61), , 3 playoff teams

* Mexico and USA are still on the face, No, for all intents and purposes, we should consider these two teams among the teams that have qualified for the 2022 World Cup.

Note: In the World Cup draw, teams from different continents, except Europe, will not be grouped with a team from their own continent, and from Europe, a maximum of two teams can be in the same group.

 

Ali Daei will participate in the draw ceremony.

Iran’s legend and former Team Melli coach will be one of the 7 selected football personalities who will be drawing the names out of the pot.

Women humiliated around Imam Reza Stadium!

Once again Iran football was in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

The government security forces stationed in Imam Reza Stadium in the holy city of Mashad forcefully prevented women from entering the stadium for a unique and perhaps once-in-a-lifetime chance to watch their beloved Team Melli playing.

There has been enough written about the subject of women’s entry into stadiums in Iran. FIFA, despite its own corrupt practices and the dominance of the powerful lobbies in its decision making, rightly threatened Iran with a ban a few months back, if they stopped women from attending football matches.

Feeling the high risk of public discontent, the wrath of the masses, and very possible eruption of violence in the streets if Team Melli were to be thrown out of the World Cup because of that, the authorities dominated by clerics and bigots, succumbed to pressure. They allowed Iranian females to attend a few international matches with extreme restrictions.

However, in the match against Lebanon, the final qualifier match for both teams, the regime was back to its old tricks!

The security forces, deployed pepper spray on Tuesday against females who were also subjected to insults, pushed, shoved around by a brutal security force outside Imam Reza stadium. The females were told to go home as there are no place for them in the stadium. Many of the women held genuine tickets.

Of course, the old finger-pointing, denials, the blame game, and the all-time favorite speech that this was all the work of the great Satan, will start to be circulating, but the fact remains that the government through their security agents has once again exposed the ugly part of the country to the outsiders. It has put the good name of Iran into disrepute with such uncivilized treatment of women. The Persian society from thousands of years ago has valued women’s roles, importance, and always appreciated their part. They are now being demoted, devalued, humiliated by the very regime that is supposed to protect them.

Not only they are being constantly prosecuted for not covering their hair or wearing the hijab according to the whims of a few, but they have also been deprived of the freedom of watching a football match too. This is one of the hundreds of other restrictive rules and practices of this clerical regime.

It is very sad to admit that the only way that the regime understands, and respects international law is by throwing the book at them. FIFA will surely reach the conclusion that it is dealing with deceptive and conniving people. A total ban on international matches in Iran is very much on the card. Iran has few friends and many enemies, and that will be reflected in any FIFA decision.