Tag: AFC Asian Cup China 2023

Match Preview: Iran vs. Iraq.

Muharraq: The Group C winners will be determined on Tuesday when Iran and Iraq clash at the Sheikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium, while Bahrain faces Hong Kong in their final match in the second round of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

The race for top spot promises to see a thrilling end with Iraq – on 17 points – two ahead of Iran while Bahrain will need to defeat Hong Kong by a huge margin and hope for Iran to lose to secure second place as Group C goes down to the wire.

The top spot will secure a place in the final round of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, while a strong finish may also see the group’s runners-up through.

IR IRAN v IRAQ

All eyes will be on Iran as Team Melli will look to make it four wins out four since Group C resumed earlier this month with Cambodia, Bahrain, and Hong Kong easily seen off.

Iraq, however, will be a tougher challenge and with victory, the only option in their bid to finish top, head coach Dragan Skocic will demand the winning consistency Iran have developed in Muharraq as they chase a third consecutive appearance in the FIFA World Cup Finals.

Iran have been clinical in front of the net, with 17 goals to their name while the defense has been resolute with only Chinese Taipei able to breach the backline in Muharraq.

Iraq, meanwhile, may only need a draw but it is highly unlikely that head coach Srecko Katanec will adopt a defensive gameplan against an Iran side who have been scoring at will.

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Iraq resumed their campaign with a 4-1 defeat of Cambodia but found the going tougher against Hong Kong, with an own goal by Fung Hing Wa securing the West Asians the three points.

Katanec wasn’t unduly bothered by the lack of goals against Hong Kong and will remind his charges that they defeated Iran when the two teams met in November 2019.

Iran – Iraq Friendly international!

The Iranian Mehr news has reported that Iran will play a friendly match against Iraq in Basra in November of this year, according to a statement by Mehdi Taj.

On the occasion of the courtesy visit by Iraq’s Youth & Sports Minister to the National Teams Football training centre, accompanied by the president of the Iranian football federation, Mahdi Taj, confirmed that part of the bilateral agreement with the Iraqi side was arranging of friendly international matches hosted by both countries.

What seems to be quite odd with this news is that Iraq and Iran will be meeting in the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 second-round qualifiers in Basra on 14th Nov. It is not known if this supposedly friendly match is going to be played before or after the official AFC qualifier. It is highly unusual, in fact not even heard of, for two teams to arrange friendlies matches before meeting in an official competition.

It is unlikely for Team Melli under Marc Wilmots to attempt such endeavour. Mehdi Taj might have been referring to other national teams such as the U23 Omid team or U19.

Apart from the game against Iraq in November 2019, Team Melli’s last match in the second round of the AFC Asian qualifiers 2023 is on 09th Jun 2020 against Iraq in Azadi Stadium.

Iran’s talent excites Wilmots

the-afc.com

Team Melli head coach Marc Wilmots is more than hopeful of Team Melli’s future after what he has seen in the past month.

The 50-year-old Belgian coach took over the reins from Carlos Queiroz early in June and enjoyed a good start to his tenure as Iran beat Syria 5-0 in an international friendly, before playing to a 1-1 draw against the Korea Republic less than a week later.

Tasked with ensuring Team Melli make their sixth appearance in the FIFA World Cup, Wilmots is confident his side can rise up to the challenge en route to Qatar 2022, praising numerous his players with Persepolis’ goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and youngsters Younes Delfi and Allahyar Sayyadmanesh coming in for special mention.

“There is a lot of talent here,” Wilmots said in an interview with Sporz.be.

“I have a goalkeeper in my team who could play at any top club in Europe. I also let an 18-year-old attacker make his debut. He had already scored twice against Germany in the 2017 FIFA U17 World Cup. In the match against Syria, Allahyar Sayyadmanesh came off the bench and immediately scored a goal.

“And I am convinced that there are so many talents and we must find them. As a national coach, I like to look for different ingredients to make a delicious soup.”

Wilmots is clear on his approach of the game for Iran, which is a more aggressive and attacking style of football, emphasizing that the budding players will need to grow and adapt that playstyle as they climb through the ranks.

“And the question remains: How we want to play? Of course, you can’t change everything in three training sessions, but in the friendly match against Korea Republic we created 16 scoring chances. Iran were not afraid of playing attacking football.

“The younger players need to adopt the new philosophy.”

Iran, Asia’s top-ranked team, will identify their opponents for Round Two of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 & AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Qualification in the draw on July 17.

The former Belgium boss, who was also a Red Devil international, led the team to a quarter-final finish in the UEFA Euro 2016, and hopes that he can achieve a historic feat with Team Melli.

“With the Red Devils I always thought we were going to win that tournament. Now, that is different. But you can also surprise with Iran.

“Iran has not advanced to a World Cup knockout stage so far and it will be a good challenge for me.”

Photos: AFP