Tag: AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023

Azmoun action week continues as his club coach is sacked!

Jose Mourinho has been sacked by Italian side Roma after two-and-a-half years in charge – with former club captain Daniele De Rossi replacing him until the end of the season.

The Portuguese manager, 60, joined the Serie A side in May 2021 and won the Europa Conference League in May 2022. He was instrumental in bringing Sardar Azmoun to AS Roma.

The former Chelsea, Manchester United, and Real Madrid boss also guided the Italian club to the Europa League final last year, where they were defeated by Sevilla on penalties.
But Roma have won just one of their last six Serie A games this season – leaving them ninth in the table – and were recently knocked out of the Coppa Italia by city rivals Lazio.

He compared himself to Harry Potter – perhaps implying he still has the “magic” touch as a manager – following that defeat. During the match, he received a red card for the second successive game – saying he was “raising expectations” for what the club can achieve. The club’s American owners, Dan and Ryan Friedkin, thanked Mourinho for his “passion and efforts” in a statement announcing his sacking.

They later announced that Rome-born De Rossi – who spent 18 years at the club as a player, making more than 600 appearances – will take over the role until the end of the season.
Mourinho won two Premier League titles and three cups during his first spell at Stamford Bridge, before being sacked and joining Inter Milan, where he won two Italian league titles and a second Champions League.

Mourinho then joined Spanish giants Real Madrid, winning one La Liga title, before a second spell at Stamford Bridge, in which he won his third Premier League.

He later had spells at Manchester United – winning a Europa League title – and Tottenham Hotspur, before joining Roma.

With Azmoun in Doha playing for Team Melli in the AFC Asian Cup, it is not clear if he will be in Daniele De Rossi’s plans or if he will improve his game times in the presence of Lukaku and Dybala. A good showing in Doha will certainly improve his reputation in AS Roma.

Roberto Mancini furious at some Saudi Players, expels six from the squad

The Italian Roberto Mancini, the head coach of the Saudi national football team, revealed the reasons for the expulsion of several players from the squad in Doha, indicating that whoever hesitates or refuses to stay has to leave without hesitation.
This came during the press conference held along with Saleh Al-Shehri, the Saudi striker, on Monday, before confronting the Oman team on Tuesday, in Doha in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023. The Italian explained the events with each player and the reason for the expulsion, as the conference inaugurated, saying: “We have 3 players who do not want to participate, They are Salman Al-Faraj, Sultan Al-Ghannam, and Nawaf Al-Aqidi.” He explained: “Salman Al-Faraj does not want to play experimental matches. He said that when he first joined the squad. The other two wanted to start the games and would not be content to sit on the bench. Either start all matches or they are not going to stay with the team!!

The problems were not limited to the trio that Mancini mentioned in the press conference. He revealed the circumstances of other cases by saying: “Also, Mohammad Maran, Ali Hazazi, and Khaled Al-Ghannam all have expressed their unhappiness in the camp for various reasons, and were quite vocal about it. So, our response was quick: leave the camp now.”
On the future of the players who were excluded for non-technical reasons, he said: “There is no room to call them again. There are lots of players who want to represent the national team of their homeland and it is worth giving them the opportunity. What happened here is a strange matter. In my whole career as a player and a coach, I have never experienced such behavior before. This is alien to the sport of football”

About the chances of the Saudi national team, in the AFC Asian Cup, the former Italy and Manchester City coach said: “There are many strong teams here such as Japan, Australia, Iran, and South Korea, and we will do what we can in this tournament. We will deal with each stage as it comes. Right now. the focus is on our match with Oman. Certainly, it is a difficult match, which we will have to play with a greater focus in this meeting, especially as it is the opening match.”

Ghalenoei game plan vs Hong Kong

After a convincing comfortable win in the first match for Team Melli against Palestine, Amir Ghalenoei opted to give his players a day off on Monday. The players were happy to take the off day to roam around the city of Doha to observe the majestic infrastructure and the modern shopping areas.

Ghalenoei and his coaching staff remained in the hotel planning for the next match vs Hong Kong that will be played on Friday. The concern about injuries has died down as it seems all the players on the injury list have recovered and can play if Ghalenoei wishes to use them. The head coach, however, is contemplating a change in the lineup to give the main players some rest while giving fringe players the chance thus spreading the workload amongst a maximum number of players in this long competition that needs fresh players, not over-worked or exhausted ones.

Hong Kong lost against UAE in its first match 1-3 with two penalties conceded. Despite that loss, Hong Kong looked quite good and managed to control the game at different periods. The team has improved in the last few seasons and with the naturalized players, there is flair and industry, and confidence is high. It is not a team that should be taken lightly by Iran despite the 4-0 drubbing the last time these two met in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Azadi.

There is no question of Ghalenoei putting a weakened team against Hong Kong as a win is essential. Players like Azmoun, Taremi, Ghoddos, and Jahanbakhsh are essential in the team lineup. Other players can be rested such as Saeid Ezatollahi who had a pretty bad match against Palestine and also suffered a trauma on his nose. A rest for that player will do both himself and the team a ton of good. Cheshmi or Ebrahimi would be the ideal options to replace Ezatollahi.

Mehdi Torabi, who was not even on the bench against Palestine, Ali Gholizadeh, and Mehdi Ghaeydi are good options to start as midfielders alongside Ghoddos.

There have been questions about the defense and conceding the goal has worried the local Iranian media. The Ezatollahi blunder has raised the question although it was an individual error from one player. The overall standard of defense was quite good against Palestine, however, a change of personalities would be beneficial. Some younger energy will do Team Melli a world of good.

Post-match analysis: Iran vs Palestine

Team Melli started the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 with a convincing win against what was thought to be a tricky fixture versus the resolute Palestine. The 4-1 scoreline could have been even better if the forwards finished their chances much better style.

Although Ghalenoei’s initial lineup surprised quite a few observers, it turned out to be quite a revelation. The team played well, their intricate passing was a mark of an organized team and the individual skills added a flavor to the overall performance. Ansarifard and Ghayedi, both bench players in the squad, started and scored goals. Sadegh Moharrami, another player who is not on top of the coach’s list as a starter, played a superb match both in defensive and offensive roles.

It was an excellent performance by the team, however, as always, there were the odd concerns. Saman Ghoddos was the maestro of the team. He is becoming increasingly a key player and his importance to the team is such that his absence will negatively affect the performance. A replacement player at his level cannot be found, as no other playmaker can match Saman’s ability. The closest is perhaps Ali Gholizadeh.

On the side of the midfield role, the defensive or holding midfielder is Saeid Ezzatollahi, a player who has failed to impress for many seasons. The only positive aspect about this player is his physique and work rate. His passing, positional awareness, and individual skills including dribbling are quite suspect. Today, he gifted Palestine with an assist while it was much easier for him, a tall player, to clear the ball instead of sending it sideways. That move was difficult to digest, thankfully Team Melli was 3 goals up by that time. Rouzbeh Cheshmi, is a much better choice for a holding midfielder, with Omid Ebrahimi, even at 37, supplementing that role.

The other concern is Mehdi Taremi. There is no doubt about the quality of the Porto striker and his importance to Team Melli. He has proven time and again that he is a prolific striker who can compete at the highest levels of international football. Yet, there is a marked weakness. Taremi needs ten chances to score one goal. His rate of conversion is quite poor. He really should have finished at least two chances to score today.

On a positive note, the match against Palestine, showed the rest of the teams in the AFC Asian Cup 2023, that any team that intends to lift the trophy, it has to go through Iran.

1. Ali Beiranvand: Confident and reliable as always. He could not be faulted much on the goal conceded, as the defense should have covered better. otherwise, he was not really tested [7.3]

3 Ehsan Hajisafi: There is a trace of some pace and skill loss and perhaps hesitancy in some duels, but he stood well against the attacks and was firm. Did not venture forward much. [7.2]

4 Shoja’a Khalilzadeh: A quality performance at both ends of the field. His goal was the icing on the cake as he finished like a seasoned striker. Unfortunately, he was substituted late in the first half after clashing against a Palestinian forward while clearing the ball. [8.0]

13 Hossein Kanani: Nothing major to fault in his performance except for the early yellow card when an opposition player dribbled him forcing him to commit a foul. [6.7]

2 Sadegh Moharrami : A brilliant performance by the right back, perhaps one of the best in a Team Melli jersey. Confident, skillful, pace, and timely tackles highlighted his performance. This was quite assuring for Ghalenoei. [8.0]

6 Saeid Ezatolahi: continues to be a disappointment in Team Melli jersey. His gift to the Palestine forward that resulted in the goal, slow thinking, and wrong or incompleted passes against a modest team will be more than a concern comes the stronger matches. [6.2]

18 Mehdi Ghayedi: A delightful performance from the little winger. He was a menace to the Palestinina defense and his dribbling ability is an asset to the team. He was a good selection by Ghalenoei to start the game. His marvelous goal from Jahanbakhsh’s assist speaks volumes about his ability to finish [8.1]

10 Karim Ansarifard: A Drem start for the seasoned Team Melli forward. Passing a century of games for Iran, Ansarifard is still going strong. His moves show how much has the European experience improved his performance. Excellent finish for the opening goal. [7.8]

9 Mehdi Taremi: It was not to be his day as Taremi ended the match empty-handed, with no goals or assists. There is so much expectation from the fans that an average performance by Mehdi is considered a bad performance and disappointing. He missed many chances that a striker of his caliber should finish in the net. Saying that his presence in the team is still effective and important. [7.2]

14 Saman Ghoddos: The MVP of the match. Ghoddos is becoming a key squad player. His vision, passing accuracy, dead balls, and energy are outstanding. Two assists for the day and a near-perfect performance. [8.9]

7 Ali Jahanbakhsh: A much better performance from him and a big improvement from previous outings. Jahanbakhsh provided a quality assist to Ghaedi but he was also active throughout the match. He was winning balls and tackling well. Hardly put a foot wrong even while being constantly harrassed and fouled by a rough Palestinian defense. [8.0]

SUBSTITUTES

19 Majid Hosseini: A fine replacement for Khalilzadeh late in the first half. He hardly had any difficulty containing the Palestinians’ attacks and combined well with Kanani in the center of defense. An assuring figure if Khalilzadeh could not make the next match. [7.5]

21 Mohammad Mohebi: Replaced Ghayedi but failed to replicate the performance of his hometown teammate in the second half. Sometimes he portrays a frustrating figure especially if he does not get the proper pass. Needs to address such frustrations on the field. [6.5]

20 Sardar Azmoun: Replaced Ansarifard in the second half and his impact was instantaneous. Scored from short range to make the score 4-1 for Iran. Despite some more chances between him and Taremi, the pair could not add to the scoreline, and the communication between them failed to click. Still, his presence alone up front is an asset to the team [7.8]

23 Ramin Rezaeian: not rated due to short time on the pitch
8 Omid Ebrahimi: not rated due to short time on the pitch

Iran-Palestine: Match preview

  • 24 hours to go for Team Melli’s first Match.
    * Palestine will not be easy prey.
    * Ghalenoei “We will play attacking football”

Iran and Palestine will start their campaign in the 18th AFC Asian Cup 2023 at Education City Stadium at 20:30 local time. In the pre-match Press Conference, both managers followed the standard narratives and claims about the importance of the match, with Ghalenoei considering it like a Final for Team Melli!

What is certain though, is Palestine will be playing a solid defensive game, perhaps like parking a double-decker in front of their goalkeeper. The responsibility is on Ghalenoei to form a plan to break this tactic which is now being followed by many weaker teams in front of more powerful opposition.

This gameplan by Palestine, with an eye on quick counterattacks on Iran’s goal might spring a surprise on the final result. The more the Palestinian team can hold on, the more difficult is the task for Iran and that includes the psychological pressure and fan’s reaction to a deadlock.

On the other hand, an early goal by Iran will make Team Melli play at a comfortable pace and dictate the match. On paper, Iran is a much stronger team in every sense. They have the experience, the pedigree, the quality, and have been playing some eye-catching football recently. They are undefeated in two years since losing to the USA in the FIFA World Cup 2022.

Palestine has not enjoyed much success at the international level and has been winless since they defeated Bahrain 2-1 in March 2023. Palestine played eight matches since and has failed to register a win, losing 5 times and drawing 3. In those 8 matches, they scored one goal only while failing to score in seven. This team has a big problem up front. On the other hand, they have a solid defense and one that has yet to crash against the might of Australia, Uzbekistan, and Saudi Arabia.

So, expecting a goal ruch from Azmoun and Taremi, is easier said than done, hence the importance of an early goal.

Interestingly, they have two professional players who play in the Israel league. They have not featured as regulars as many other professionals occupy the starting lineup.

First time
This will be the first meeting between Iran and Palestine in the AFC Asian Cup; the last time Team Melli faced a team for the first time in the competition was on 12 January 2019 v Vietnam – scoring a 2-0 win.

Win target
Palestine is yet to register a victory in the AFC Asian Cup, having gone winless (D2 L4) in the 2015 and 2019 editions; this is their third appearance in the competition.

Unbeatable
Iran are unbeaten in each of their last 20 group stage games (W15 D5) in the AFC Asian Cup; in fact, the last time they lost the opening game in the competition was a 1-2 loss to Iraq in 1996, having won the last six such games since then on the bounce. 

Terrific duo
No player recorded more touches in the opposition box in 2019 than Iran’s duo of Sardar Azmoun (42) and Mehdi Taremi (33); Palestine’s best player in this category in the previous edition was Mahmoud Wadi with six such touches. 

Milestone
Sardar Azmoun has scored 49 goals for Team Melli. He needs just one more goal to equal Karim Bagheri who has 50 goals and is only second to the legendary Ali Daei in the list of the highest scorers of Team Melli.

Age factor in AFC Asian Cup 2023

It is hardly surprising that Team Melli, one of the contenders for lifting the AFC Asian Cup, has the highest average age among the teams who are also laying a claim for the prestigious continental title.

The AFC Asian Cup 2023, which was originally scheduled to be held in China, will instead start in Qatar in a fortnight after a year delay as Iran will take on Palestine in its first match.

Japan, Australia, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia in addition to Iran are traditionally among the strongest contenders for the championship in Asia, while Uzbekistan and host Qatar, can be included among the contenders. In the 27-man list that Amir Ghalenoei has published, there are a few names added, but it is doubtful if any one of them will feature in the upcoming matches.

Team Melli will only have a cosmetic change as the structure has remained quite exclusive since the 2018 World Cup until today. In fact, two aging players Omid Ebrahimi and Karim Ansarifard are part of the squad after being out for some time.

Much has been said about the aging Team Melli and the reluctance of Ghalenoei to introduce younger and promising players on the pretense of a shortage of time! however, it is interesting to compare the average age of other teams to find if younger age claims translate to success.

There is no doubt that Japan is the team to beat in this tournament. They have the strongest and most feared team that has beaten the likes of Germany amongst many other teams. Among these seven top contenders, the Japanese national football team is the youngest average age of 25.1 years. Uzbekistan is 25.68 years, Saudi Arabia is the third with 26 years and Australians follow at 26.15, while South Korea has an average age of 27.8 and Qatar with an average of 27.9 years (see table below)

The average age of the players of the Iranian national team is 28.6 years, which is the highest compared to the other five contenders.

Amir Ghalenoei once again has drawn the line on the names of young players, including Mohammad Amin Hizbavi, Abolfazl Jalali, Allahyar Sayadmanesh, Saeed Saharkhizan, and others, preferring experienced and seasoned players. Although the age of players is one factor for a victorious team, it is by no means the only factor.

It has been a tradition amongst the Iranian coaches to stick to a group of few players that they can rely on. That is painfully clear at club levels, however, at the international level within a short period where the teams play an average of a game every three or four days, that could become a liability, especially with older players who do not have the energy to be involved in intense competitions.

#TeamAverage Age23 & below30 & above
1Japan25.182
2Uzbekistan25.6885
3Saudi Arabia2694
4Australia26.1568
5Korea Rep.27.8410
6Qatar27.9312
7Iran28.6312
Players Average Age

Ghalenoei “We will build a younger team for the World Cup”

Amir Ghalenoei, Team Melli head coach, briefly commented on the status of the squad preparing for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023, saying: “Fortunately, the team’s conditions are very good. Those players who were worthy, in our opinion, were invited to the national team with different tactical thoughts. Let’s talk in a more detailed program. Considering the short time until the Asian Cup, a short-term plan was drawn up for this purpose but the longer-term plan is to prepare the team for the World Cup with younger players. Other players deserved to be in the squad, but due to the limitation on the number of players we could select, we decided on this list.”

“We went through the list meticulously to finalize these 26 players,” Ghalenoei said.

on the friendly match versus Burkina Faso, he said “Burkina Faso is ranked 57th in FIFA ranking and sitting close to Saudi Arabia. It is a very good team. I noticed some people criticized the selection of that team. Of course, every team we play with will be criticized. We can test our two tactics against them and it will be a serious test. I thank the officials of Kish for paying for this game. I ask all my loved ones to put aside all love and hatred in this month. One day is Amir Ghalenoei, one day is Mr. Queiroz and one day is Mr. Ghotbi. It is important to support the national team at this time. We do everything we can.”

Ghalenoei then went on a rant about patriotism and how everyone should be quiet and just support the team without any criticism.

Like his predecessors, Ghalenoei as a Head Coach is no exception when it comes to being criticized and loathing towards those media that point out his shortfalls. It seems that he is mostly affected by the severe criticism of his aging squad both in the online media and the social media. His claim about building a younger team after the Asian Cup is perhaps a small token of admission that with such an aging team that he picked up for the Asian Cup, the oldest amongst the main contenders for the Asian Cup, it will be that much more difficult to achieve success.

Queiroz out of a job after Qatar sacking.

Former head coach of Team Melli, Carlos Queiroz has parted company with Qatar’s national team less than a year after signing a four-year contract to coach the Asian champions and with little more than a month until the nation hosts the Asian Cup, with Marquez Lopez named as his replacement.

The former Real Madrid and Portugal head coach took over as the long-term replacement for Felix Sanchez in February after the Qataris hosted last year’s World Cup finals and was charged with qualifying the Gulf state for the 2026 tournament.

The Qatar Football Association has announced that Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz’s tenure as head coach of the Qatar national team has ended amicably by mutual agreement between the two parties,” the QFA said in a statement.

“The QFA expresses its sincere gratitude to coach Queiroz for his unwavering dedication, leadership, and contributions during his tenure as the head coach of the national team. We wish him success in his future endeavors.”

The QFA has announced Marquez Lopez as his successor. The Spaniard is currently in charge of Qatari club side Al-Wakrah.

“The coach will be in charge of the Qatar national team at the 2023 Asian Cup, which will be hosted in Qatar next year,” the QFA said.

“The QFA expresses gratitude and appreciation to Al-Wakrah Sports Club for their cooperation and consent in facilitating Coach Marquez Lopez’s appointment as the national team head coach for the upcoming period.”
Queiroz oversaw wins over Afghanistan and India in November in the second round of Asia’s preliminaries for the next World Cup, with the Qataris chasing one of eight berths available for teams from the continent at the expanded 48-team finals.

Qatar won their first Asian Cup title under Sanchez in 2019 and the country is due to defend the trophy on home soil next month when they have been drawn to face China, Tajikistan, and Lebanon in the group phase.

The Gulf nation is hosting the continental championship after the original host China relinquished the rights due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Carlos Queiroz left Team Melli after being brought in a coup against Dragan Skocis, to lead Iran in the FIFA World Cup 2002. The Portuguese, not only failed to qualify from the group but also was responsible for one of the heaviest defeats by Iran at the International level. At the helm of Qatar, Team Melli defeated the former boss by 4-0 margin in Amman.

Noorollahi kicked out of Team Melli camp

Team Melli and Al Wehda midfield player, Ahmad Noorollahi, was ejected from the national team camp a few minutes ago according to an official announcement from the Football Federation.

The media department of the national team announced that Ahmed Nooralahi had been expelled from the camp. On follow-up, it appears that the reason for Noorollahi’s expulsion from the camp that has played Hong Kong and will meet Uzbekistan next was of a disciplinary nature.

Ghalenoei, called 30 players for this camp, but FIFA and competition regulations will allow only 23 players to be registered for the match. When Noorollahi realized that he was not on the list of the final 23, he refused to join the rest of the excluded players and left the group without the approval of team management. This resulted in his expulsion from the camp as the midfielder will not make the trip to Tashkent for the Uzbekistan game.

This is not the first time that a Team Melli player has been recently disciplined for misdemeanor and unprofessional conduct. A player like Noorollahi who plays professionally in a foreign league quite simply ignores the most basic of the rules and that is respect for decisions made by the hierarchy.

It is difficult to see Noorollahi, being part of Iran’s squad for the AFC Asian Cup early next year, unless that usual Iranian tradition where the guilty person shows remorse, visits the head coach with a flower bouquet and kisses cheek to cheek, and then all is forgotten!

Team Melli to set up camp in the Far East before the AFC Asian Cup 2023.

The first vice president of Iran’s football federation announced that Team Melli will partake in a tournament in the Far East before the start of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023.
According to a report, Mehdi Mohammadnabi, the first vice president of FFIRI, on the sidelines of the International Football Clinic Congress, said: “Before going to Qatar to participate in the AFC Asian Cup, Team Melli is supposed to arrange a training camp in the Far East.”

Emphasizing that the location of this camp has not yet been decided, he said: “We are working on the matter and hope that the national team will participate in a tournament in East Asia before the Asian Cup. Of course, this preparatory camp and tournament will be accomplished without the presence of the legionnaires.”

It has been previously announced that Iran will play a friendly match against the Japanese national team before participating in the Asian Cup, a match that will apparently be held without the presence of the legionnaires of the two countries. It is not clear if Mohammadnabi is referring to this match.

There is another two matches for Team Melli in the FIFA Day October break as Iran will be taking part in a 4 nations international tournament in Amman Jordan.

The Asian Cup will be held in Qatar from January 12, 2024, to February 10, 2024.