Tag: Alireza Beiranvand

Reading into the Cambodia game.

It was a goal festival that has not been experienced by Team Melli fans for a long time. Iran has a long history in annihilating weak opponents through the years however; very few expected to see Cambodia crumble like that. In reality, the team from the Far East is not that terrible to be a punching bag to Iran or any other team. They have two very respectable results in the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers so far, a 1-1 draw with Hong Kong and a 1-0 loss to Bahrain both home games.

There were many positives in this Team Melli display. The offensive-minded Wilmots is definitely showing its intent. The way the goals were scored and the clinical finishing was a delight to watch.

THE PRIDE OF IRAN

It is not too hard to observe that Azmoun is turning out to be a prolific scorer and the type of striker who is able to play in such different roles in that position. He has a mix of abilities that put him as a very versatile player. His heading skill, his agility in front of goal, his positioning and use of free space and finally his cool manner in front of the goal were very pleasing for the delighted fans. No wonder he is one of the hottest properties in European football nowadays.

MENTALITIES WOES

While Iran consistently produces high-quality and promising players, especially technically skilled, if there is something they usually lack or lag behind their Europeans counterparts is on the mental side. The common conception and accepted premise that Iranian footballers are more passionate than Europeans could be used as an excuse to justify their bad behaviour during games and training sessions. Their continued arguments with referees and rivals and their lack of consistent concentration during games had led to unexpected results. Against Cambodia, even with such a huge margin of win, those were still evident.

 Queiroz was heavily criticized for his bias towards European Based players In Team Melli. In this particular match with lowly Cambodia, some of the reasons behind the Portuguese mindset was manifested.

Morteza Pouraliganji and Alireza Beiranvand have not experienced the European football although the former had a short unsuccessful spell in a Belgian team (Eupen). It was ironically those two who committed what would have been fatal mistakes that in any other match would have been critical and game-changers. While 12 goals ahead, Pouraliganji launches forward into the Cambodia box trying to score from a header. He lunges inside the box with foot high, in a Karate Kick style and hits the Cambodia keeper right in the chest. The law is very clear, that is dangerous play and an instant red card. However, the feeble Indian referee only awards the Iranian defender a yellow card, perhaps tricked by Pouralganji’s fall to the ground grass-rolling faking an injury from that clash.

That was seriously uncalled for play by Pouralaiganji especially when the team is a dozen goal ahead. Such gamesmanship emphasizes the poor disciplinary issues with Iranian defenders. Thankfully the Cambodia keeper continued after clash after he was attended to but it could have been much worse, at least it looked like it on TV replay. Remember Japan match not so long ago in the Semi-Final of the Asian Cup?  The same Pouralaiganji disregarded his duty of marking the Japanese winger and instead he and 4 others of his teammates ran towards the Australian referee trying to force him to whistle against Japan team. The professionalism and discipline of the Japanese were so evident as the winger, without any Iranian players to bother him,  calmly controlled the ball crossed it inside the box where his forward Osako was waiting with only one marker a few feet from Beiranvand (the rest of the defenders where still haggling with the referee) to head the ball home.

The poor code of behaviour was repeated earlier in the match with Cambodia by Beiranvand who unnecessary plunged into Cambodia forward who was going nowhere but to an acute impossible shooting angle, yet the Cambodian won a penalty thank to the clumsy Beiranvand tackle.

In both cases, there was little common sense and sanity applied by the two Iranians. That needs to be undertaken lightly by Marc Wilmots else eccentrics like this can prevail if he does not force upon the player the sense discipline.  Queiroz has done an excellent job in that department, Wilmots needs to continue on that path and dispense from niceties when addressing these issues else he will soon find himself losing control.

PERFECT DEBUTS

The two debutants Mohammed Mohebi and Mehrdad Mohammadi scored three goals between themselves. The former was a starter as he replaced Ashkan Dejagah who hurt himself during the warm-ups before the match. Mehrdad Mohammadi joined his twin brother, Milad in the last part of the game yet he put his name on the score sheet with an immaculate finish.

GOAL OF THE YEAR

Ahmad Nourallahi opener was a great goal in all aspects. Power, accuracy and direction. From 25 meters the Persepolis midfielder hit a scorcher which was in itself worthy of winning any game.

ANSARIFARD, FINALLY!

Karim Asarifard, despite so much promise, when he first joined Team Melli, has not been the prolific scorer that many hoped he will be. Perhaps his countless number of club changes had played its role in the less than an optimal career. However, in the match against Cambodia, he showed real quality and killer instinct in front of the goal. He helped himself to four of them, now if he can only be a consistent player, his value will really be high for Team Melli.

TAREMI DISAPOINTED 

Mehdi Taremi is another good finisher, but he is unpredictable. He can score beauties but he can also have comical moments shooting wild off the mark balls. His display was average and if there are any areas that he needs to improve, it is his shooting accuracy. Although he was credited two goals, one of them was clearly an own goal by the Cambodia defender.

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

Team Melli draws away to Korea Rep.

South Korea and Iran played a 1-1 draw in the Seoul World Cup Stadium in an international friendly on Tuesday in front of a full capacity ground. The host opened the scoring when their leading scorer Hwang Woo-Sung took full advantage of a mix up between Team Melli’s defenders to lob the advancing Beiranvand on the 57th minute, but Iran soon responded when a corner kick by Rezaeian was met by Pouraliganji who scrambled the ball to hit Korean defender Kim Young-Gwon  and end up in the back of the net.

The action-packed match was entertaining from the start as both teams were geared for attack, and in the process, leaving both defenses vulnerable to counters. The host took the initiative against Iran at the start of the first half. Lee Jae-sung attempted a sharp left-foot cross on the right side in the sixth minutes but the Korean forwards could not take advantage. In the 7th minute, Hwang In-Beom’s right-footed shot from the left of the box was blocked by a defensive wall.

In the first 15 minutes, the Koreans had a slight edge but stubborn Iran defense and a steady goalkeeping by Beiranvand , spoiled every Korean ambition. Lack of real threat by the Koreans emboldened Iran to attack and go forward

Iran finished a good set of passes with a medium-range shot from Fullback Rezaeian in front of the box in the 14th minute. In the 17th minute, Rezaeian’s crossed inside the box, but Hajsafy attempted left-footed shot was blocked. Twenty minutes into the match, Torabi’s right-footed shot from the inside of the box led to a sharp trajectory but missed the goal by inches.

Both teams played a fierce battle to control the middle of the field in the first half. In the 23rd minute, Lee Jae-sung’s through-pass allowed Sang-Joe to take a left-footed shot but Beiranvand deflected the ball to a corner. Then it was the turn of Korean keeper Joo Hyun-woo to make a save when Alireza Jahanbakhsh hit a long range shot from 40 meters. Jahanbakhsh, who received the ball from a counterattack in the 25th minute, had Ansarifard on his left with lots of space but he elected to go it alone. Iran then created several opportunities to attack and shoot taking advantage of the space between Korea’s defense and their midfielder. In the 37th minute, Ansarifard tried a medium range shot but did not get past Jo Hyun-woo.

South Korea, who had desperately wanted to test Beiranvand, eventually managed to do so and created that opportunity. In the 41st minute, the Korean Ace Son Heung-min tried a powerful left-footed shot from the front of the box, but Beiranvand saved it to a corner. In the 43rd minute, Najang Ho volleyed the ball from a cross but hit the underside of Beiranvand’s crossbar and deflected away from the goal-line.

At the beginning of the second half, Iran introduced Noorollahi instead of Jahanbakhsh in order to boost the attack. Noorollahi ‘s mid-range shot hit the crossbar in the 50th minute depriving Iran from securing a deserved lead.

But South Korea took the lead instead with Hwang Joo Ja’s opening goal in the 57th minute. Kim Min-jae’s long pass was blocked by the defenders who then clashed into each other, and Hwang Joo picked the loose ball and used a chip shot to beat goalkeeper Beiranvand in the box.

Iran, who gave away the first goal, showed a strong performance by scoring the equalizer following a corner kick in the 62th minute. The corner by Rezaeian , hit the body of Pouraliganji , then deflected past defender Kim Young-kwon into his own goal. Iran managed to equalize in less than 4 minutes.

South Korea, brought in Lee Seung-woo, Sejong, and Lee Jung-hyo after the 75th minute, but missed out on Na Sang-ho, Baek Seung-ho and Hwang-in. Iran also responded with three substitutions of their own.

In the last quarter of second half, Son Heung-min hit a mid-range shot from outside of the box, but Beiranvand easily handled the shot .

The match ended with a 1-1 draw.  Both the coaches Paulo Bento and Marc Wilmots opted to limit the number of substitutions not to break the flow of the game and that resulted in attractive match.

At the end, South Korea, which had hoped, and in some ways was desperate, to win against Iran for the first time in eight years, had to settle for a draw and swallowed up its pride.

In the meantime, both teams will continue their voyages in the second round of the 2022 Qatar World Cup Asian qualifiers starting September 2019.

Al Ain: Ahead of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 semi-final between two unbeaten giants of Asia, the-AFC.com looks at the key facts and history surrounding the eagerly-anticipated clash.

No Taremi for Team Melli

The major team news ahead of the semi-final is the enforced absence of Mehdi Taremi, who will miss Monday’s clash through suspension having collected a second yellow card against China PR.

While card trouble has cost them the Al Gharafa star, who has scored three goals in UAE 2019, the Iranians will welcome back Vahid Amiri, while Yoshinuri Muto returns from suspension for Japan.

Outstanding yellow cards were erased following the quarter-finals, meaning only a red card in Monday’s match will result in a player missing the final.

Carlos Queiroz’s Iran have become one of only three teams in history to go through their first five games at an AFC Asian Cup without conceding a goal, but the amazing record of goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand goes back even further.

The Persepolis shot-stopper has represented his country in 20 competitive matches (including UAE 2019 and FIFA World Cup qualifiers and finals) and conceded only four goals, keeping a remarkable 17 clean sheets, with only Portugal, Spain and Syria finding a way past him.

Japan have claimed a piece of statistical history of their own in the UAE. Hajime Moriyasu’s side are the first ever to win five successive matches by a single-goal winning margin.

Asian powerhouses, divergent histories

The two sides are both Asian football powerhouses, having qualified for the past two FIFA World Cups – and in Japan’s case, every edition since 1998 – but the East Asians have had far more recent success on the continental stage.

While Iran are enjoying the excitement of being 90 minutes away from reaching the AFC Asian Cup final for the first time since 1976, Japan have been champions in four of the last seven editions, and three of the current squad were part of the victorious 2011 team.

Japan have only ever lost once at this stage of the competition, a 3-2 defeat to Saudi Arabia in 2007, which was also the last time the Samurai Blue lost any AFC Asian Cup match outside of penalty shootouts.

Despite making their first appearance in the last four since 2004, Iran have not a lost a single AFC Asian Cup match inside 90 minutes this century, with three of their previous eliminations coming from the penalty spot, and the other twp – both defeats to Korea Republic – suffered in extra time.

Unfamiliar foes

Despite their permanent presence in the latter stages of both the AFC Asian Cup and FIFA World Cup qualifying, Japan and Iran have consistently managed to avoid each other in competition draws.

It has been over a decade since their last competitive fixture, a 2-1 Samurai Blue win in 2005, while their last AFC Asian Cup clash came back in 2004 when the two sides shared the spoils in a 0-0 draw in Group D.

 

Head2Heads

IRAN VS JAPAN

H / A / N Matches W D L Goals + / –
H 3 1 2 0 5 – 4 1
A 3 0 1 2 2 – 4 -2
N 11 5 3 3 12 – 10 2
Total 17 6 6 5 19 – 18 1

 

Matches

Date Competition H / A / N score Stadium Attendance
13.10.2015 Friendly H 1 – 1 Azadi Stadium , Tehran 15,000
17.08.2005 World Cup Qualifier A 1 – 2 Nissan Stadium , Yokohama 65,000
25.03.2005 World Cup Qualifier H 2 – 1 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 120,000
28.07.2004 Asian Cup N 0 – 0 Olympics Sport Centre , Chongqing 52,000
11.08.1999 Friendly A 1 – 1 International Stadium, Yokohama 35,860
16.11.1997 World Cup Qualifier N 2 – 3 Larkin Stadium-Johor Bahru 22,000
18.10.1993 World Cup Qualifier N 2 – 1 Al Khalifa Stadium , Doha 15,000
03.11.1992 Asian Cup A 0 – 1 Big Arch Stadium , Hiroshima 37,000
01.10.1990 Asian Games N 1 – 0 Fengtai Sports Center-Beijing 10,000
20.01.1989 Friendly H 2- 2 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 50,000
04.12.1988 Asian Cup N 0 – 0 Qatar FC Stadium , Doha 4,000
22.09.1986 Asian Games N 2 – 0 Hanbat Stadium, Daejeon 30,000
20.11.1982 Asian Games N 0 – 1 Modeltown Stadium-New Delhi 10,000
18.12.1966 Asian Games N 1 – 0 Tarua Football Stadium-Bangkok 20,000
11.12.1966 Asian Games N 1 – 3 Chulalongkon University Stadium-Bangkok 10,000
08.03.1951 Asian Games N 3 -2 Ambedkar Stadium -New Delhi 30,000
07.03.1951 Asian Games N 0 – 0 Ambedkar Stadium – New Delhi 23,000

Team Melli vs Oman: players rating and performance review.

It was a clinical victory for Team Melli against a stubborn Omani team which has no inferiority complex playing against higher ranked and bigger teams.  The overall rating of the team performance was higher than average bordering excellent. A smartly taken goal by Alireza Jahanbakhsh to score his first goal in the tournament and a well taken penalty kick by Ashkan Dejagah sealed the victory for Team Melli in a match they dominated but could not close early enough

We will discover the positives and negatives of the match versus Oman and see if we learned from the shortfalls.

Beiravand’s save was crucial and this covered one deficiency in Team Melli otherwise impeccable defense. The lack of pace in the central defenders in this case Majid Hosseini despite his ability and youthful energy, left him chasing after a faster and more agile forward , tacking him from behind , conceding a penalty and a yellow card for good measure. Such shortfall does not necessarily render Hosseini incapable of playing for Team Melli at international level; it means that the covering work and the defensive tactics should cater for such instances. That is the work of a defensive coordinator or coach. Perhaps by experience, Hosseini would improve and does not indulge in tackles and fouls that risk him being sent off.

Sardar Azmoun is by far is the best forward in Team Melli. His physique, mental strength, skills and heading ability makes Azmoun an excellent asset for any team. He is easily the gem in the crown of Iran, but Sardar has shown his negative side too in Oman game by wasting easy scoring chances.

While Azmoun has the skills and ability to score from the most awkward of positions, he wasted at least 3 glorious ones on Sunday. One chance that only required mildest of shoot, another one which only required accuracy and a header that he would normally slot as easy as ABC. Against Oman he failed to convert any one of them. It was a battle between him and Taremi on how many chances they can squander.

Taremi , perhaps not as resourceful or skillful as Azmoun, had his bad day too. The golden miss was that ball that he could have either passed to Azmoun but instead he opted to lob. It was not a clever decision and the ball ended wide and nowhere near the target.

At the end, it really did not matter as Azmoun & Taremi colleagues have done the job already, but scoring chances will be far and few in matches against the stronger oppositions such as Japan and South Korea. If they are not taken, then it could possibly mean the end of a dream.

Very difficult to pinpoint why the Team Melli attacking pair missed so many chances. It could be anything of nerves, haste, overconfidence, casualness or negligence, whatever it is; it needs to be sorted out. Perhaps it is all in the mind. These two players can play a major role in Team Melli’s quest for the lifting of the title. They need to be sorted out by someone in the coaching staff.

 

A special mention has to be given to two distinct players. Alireza Beiranvand with that excellent penalty save as early as the first minutes of the game and the grand performance of Ashkan Dejagah who was like the dynamo of the team playing on of his best matches in Team Melli Jersey.

The significance of Beirnavand cannot be over emphasized for many reasons. Falling behind so early in a match not only has a negative psychological effect on the conceding team, while it hypes the other, against Teams like Oman it means parking the bus.

Thankfully, we did not have to experience that agony the moment Beiravand saved Ahmen Kanoo’s penalty.

About the performance of Ashkan Dejagah. The Tractorsazi’s midfielder hardly put a foot wrong, orchestrating the midfield, cleverly distributing the ball,  defending deep , challenging for the ball when required and overall being a good motivator , leader  and visionary. He was tireless and gave a few younger players a lesson in endurance too.

  • Alireza Beiranvand (9): The single player who made difference for his early save. However, he also made a number of excellent stops. His long throws,, are becoming a lethal weapon. Proved beyond any shadow of doubt, that he is the best goalkeepers in Asia, one one of the best in the world.
  • Milad Mohammadi (7.5):  Although his turbo runs on the flanks was not much in evidence today, he was convincing in defense and very little passed him. .
  • Majid Hosseini (4): Single handedly could have cost the team the game. Poor marking and a silly foul resulted in a penalty on the first attack by Oman. Later on he was quite lucky not to be sent off for another bookable offense. A day to forget for the young defender.
  •  Morteza Pouraliganji (8): Although did not face a strong offensive line, he did his job perfectly and dealt with the opposition attackers with ease.
  • Ramin Rezaeian (6): He is still rusty at times and lack of competitive match practice is evident in his game. However, he contributed well towards both attack and defense.
  • Mahdi Taremi (5.5): Wasteful and disappointing for the player who started this campaign so well. He has not scored since netting two against Yemen and needs a confidence booster match against China to keep him going. His most important contribution was winning the penalty which Ashkan Dejagah converted.
  • Omid Ebrahimi (7.5): The always reliable defensive midfield who never fails to impress and always delivers. He had yet another good game and alongside Dejagah, controlled the midfield not allowing the Omanis any chances to pressurize the Iranian defense.
  • Ashkan Dejagah (9): An excellent performance worthy of an Oscar. Has been Iran’s one of the best Team Melli players throughout the tournament. Did not put a foot wrong and ensured superiority in the middle of the park while feeding the flanks for offensive moves. Scored the team’s second goal, netting a crucial penalty in the 41st minute.
  • Alireza Jahanbaksh (7.5): Still not operating on all cylinders after the recovery from injury, however, Queiroz trusted him to start for the second match running, and he delivered. Troubled the opposition time and again and finally scored Team Melli’s first goals after a smart piece of play.
  • Vahid Amiri (7): Had a good game playing just behind the attacker. Always looked to play his teammates in behind the defense.
  • Sardar Azmoun (7): Very strong performance marred by awful wastefulness. He could have easily scored a hat trick. Shot wide from close range when it seemed easier to score than miss. However, the rest of his game, tackling and winning the ball was immaculate.

Substitutes 

  1. Saman Ghoddos (6): Came on just before the 80th-minute mark and looked lively during the time he was on the pitch.
  2. Roozbeh Cheshmi (6): Replaced goal-scorer Alireza Jahanbaksh but couldn’t’ replicate his attacking input. However, he had a decent time on the pitch.
  3. Masoud Shojaei (N/A): Came on in the final few minutes as Iran looked to see out the match.

Team Melli marches on to the Quarter Finals.

Iran defeated Oman 2-0 to book a place in the quarter finals stage of the AFC Asian Cup 2019. Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored Iran’s first ON 32nd minute when he cleverly stole the ball from Oman’s central defender and smartly slotted it in on the advancing Oman keeper, while on the 41st minute, Captain Ashkan Dejagah scored from a spot kick awarded after a foul on Mehdi Taremi

The first half ended 2-0 for Team Melli.

The match started with a real scare when the Omani forward, closely marked by Majid Hosseini , received a long ball that bounced luckily for him, leaving Hosseini chasing behind. The Young Team Melli central defender clumsily tripped the advancing Omani forward in the box for the Mexican referee to whistle for a penalty.

Ahmed Mubarak Al-Mahaijri, Oman’s Captain took the spot kick but the excellent reflect by Alireza Beiranvand manged to save the ball which was aimed at the far right corner. This is the second Penalty save of Beiranavnd in as many game, the first being the penalty save against Cristiano Ronaldo in the FIFA World Cup 2018.

After that scare, Iran took over the play and dominated throughout the match. All figures and stats indicated Iranian superiority. Oman could not match Iran player’s skills and physical game and depended on long balls to break the solid defense marshaled exquisitely by Mortaza Pouraliganji who did not put a foot wrong. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of Majid Hosseini. Apart from the penalty he gave away because of a reckless challenge and being caught out, Late in the second half, another situation led to him committing a foul on the runaway Omani winger. He was a lucky boy not to get a second yellow and marching order.

Ashkan Dejagah was majestic in this match. He was the maestro of the team with his excellent vision and distribution of the ball.

This is the fourth clean sheet for Team Melli, although Beiranvand, except for that penalty, was not really tested in this game.

The forward line, were far from clinical today. Sardar Azmoun , could have scored a hat trick on his own while Taremi wasted two golden chances. There have been quite a few profligate performances by the strikers which could be a serious concern as Team Melli advances further.

Vahid Amiri picked up his second yellow card of the tournament , so he will miss the Quarter final’s match in four days time.

In an earlier match, China recovered from a goal down to beat Thailand 2-1. China will meet Team Melli in the next round in Abu Dhabi.

Iran
1 Alireza Beiranvand GK
5 Milad Mohammadi DF
8 Morteza Pouraliganji DF
9 Omid Ebrahimi MF
11 Vahid Amiri FW
17 Mehdi Taremi MF
18 Alireza Jahanbakhsh 32‘ MF
19 Seyed Majid Hosseini DF
20 Sardar Azmoun FW
21 Ashkan Dejagah 41‘(PK) MF
23 Ramin Rezaeian DF

Substitutes
4 Roozbeh Cheshmi 69‘ -> (Jahanbakhsh)
7 Masoud Shojaei 88‘ -> (Azmoun)
14 Saman Ghoddos 78‘ -> (Dejagah)

Manager
– Carlos Queiroz

Mutual respect between coaches, but Queiroz is promising nothing!

Abu Dhabi

teammelli.com report

The pre-match press conference of Iran vs Yemen match was conducted in Mohammed Bin Zayed stadium earlier today.

Iran Conference.

Masoud Shojaei, who accompanied Carlos Queiroz started the press conference responding to teammelli.com question of “What is the level of the team performance in the match ahead that will satisfy him? Will the team be inspired and go forward with a narrow straight forward win , or a big score margin?”

 The Captain of Team Melli simply said “We want to be ourselves and play like we always play”

Questions then were asked of Queiroz, Answering about his statement that Yemen game is a final in itself; Queiroz said that there was a misunderstanding of what he has said.

“I didn’t say the game against Yemen was the most important game, I simply said that we will take each game as it comes and take it seriously. We are focusing on Yemen game, one game at the time.”

On his opinion on which team is the black horse of the championship.

 Queiroz said “As far as I am concerned , Japan and South Korea are the two top contenders as they have invested heavily in football, have expansive youth program, quality infrastructure and they have the resources.”

“Next comes  Australia  with and couple of dreamers!  20 or 21 other dreamers” as Queiroz put it.

Asked about his aspiration in the championship , Queiroz said that he does not consider his team as title contender. “All I can say is that we will try to be better and if we win we win deservedly. “

On the conditions of the players, The head coach of Team Melli said  “2 major players were not able to recover for the game on time, fortunately we have other options to replace them. It is not a major concern for us and I am happy with the situation, Injuries can happen to any team. UAE lost Omar Abdulrahman for the tournament and it already has a big impact on them”

Question ” Is there any lessons to be learned from the two games already played, UAE drew with Bahrain and title holder Australia lost to Jordan?

“It is always a warning for big teams. No team has a credit card that tells it that it is the favorite.  We have to display our abilities. Yemen has a good coach, I praise him for working under difficult conditions, and they have beautiful players.”

“We are looking to play a good match that entertains the fans and makes them happy; we do have the ability to display such standard.”

A question was asked by a reporter saying that Team Melli fans and indeed Iranian all across the world  followed you for many years now, what do you have to present to them in this championship?

“ We can’t control the outcome of the game!. We can control our commitment and attitude. I always challenge my players to play so that the fans are proud of them. Display positive attitude inside the pitch. Personally I feel proud if that is achieved”

Non-Committal.

Queiroz refrained from giving any promises apart from playing to entertain, as he put it. Short of entertainment, he has not declared or publicaly announced any championship aspiration as he puts Iran in the dreamers group with another 21 teams that plays second fiddle to Japan and Korea.

It is indeed a confusing and perhaps shattering statements for some fans who expect nothing less than lifting the trophy after 43 years of absence. It shows how Queiroz is detached from the public sentiments but if he really has such aspirations, then he is holding his cards close to his heart.

It needs no reminder that Queiroz is following his old and trusted style. By constantly reminding the world about the lack of resources in Iran and glorifying the opposition, even Yemen, he is limiting expectations. A win is a bonus but a loss is expected as he would easily respond by saying “I told you so”

Querioz has successfully navigated rough terrains of Iranian football by following such policy. Today he downplayed any championship expectation but it is not clear if the crowds like such lack of ambition.

Team Melli Training

The media was allowed to attend the first 15 minutes of the practice which was entirely dedicated to stretching exercise and light training with and without the ball. The goalkeepers then formed their own mini group and  headed to far side for shooting training.

Player formed several circles passing the ball between themselves.

While a group was passing the ball, Biranvand got whacked in the face. The players of the group surrounded him to console him. It looked painful, but he emerged out of it laughing.

Stretching exercises while the press was allowed to watch was carried out in a jolly spirit. Some players displayed exceptional control of the ball.

Jahanbakhsh individually trained with Montazerri. He looked quite sharp despite his chances of playing against Yemen is slim.

YEMEN Press Conference

Yemen’s Czech trainer expressed his views in the formal diplomatic style that coaches deploy nowadays. Calling Iran as one of the best Asian teams that has played very well in Russia’s World Cup, he said he has no delusions about that he expects and what he can be achieved. He has studied Iran and knows that his team has a difficult task ahead, however, he has asked his team to play to their best ability. On the troubles and war in Yemen, Jan Kocian said that most of the selection was carried out by his assistant and the Coaching team, though the training camp that was carried out in Saudi Arabia was quite valuable as they have played several games too.

Alaa Al Sasi , the star player of Yemen team  was asked if he has thought of any opposition player that the team need to control or limit his threats , he said that the coach has reviewed Iran thoroughly and we accept all their players are quite good but there is no plan to focus on any single player of Iran.

Kocian was asked what he thinks of Queiroz, the Czech coach said as a coach he has a lot respect for his colleagues, Carlos Queiroz is no exception but saying that he is a good coach who is well known outside of Iran. He knows that Queiroz has faced some pressures from the media and there were some uncertainties, but he remains an excellent coach.

Iran and Yemen will meet in the opener of Group D of AFC Asian Cup 2019 in Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on the 7th January.

Biravand is no show for Persepolis training.

The pre-season training of Persepolis has reached the final stage, while there is no news from their number one goalkeeper according to reports from the club.

Alireza Beiranvand has a mandatory two weeks off as a member of Team Melli squad that competed in the FIFA 2018 World Cup. The rest, which ended on Sunday, however the Team Melli guardian did not show up for Persepolis yesterday’s training. Beiranvand’s absence has upset Branko Ivankovic, and he informed the club’s managers to sort out Beiranvnd’s situation as soon as possible.

The Persepolis head coach made it clear to the management that if Beiranvand does not attend the training by the end of the week, he can not be picked for the senior team and will be benched.

The Persepolis goalie is determined to seek contracts and consider his foreign offers and then to attend the training. But the Persepolis club is against this and explicitly stated that it will not sell him until the end of the half season.

Team Melli loses to Turkey.

Team Melli, which is actively preparing for the 21st FIFA World Cup, played the Turkish national team on Monday at Fatih Tarem Stadium, Istanbul. Turkey won the close match 2-1, goals scored by Cenk Tosun 6′ and 50′, with Iran scoring a late consolation from a spot kick by Ashkan Dejagah.

The starting lineup for Team Melli was: Alireza Beiranvand, Ehsan Haj Safi, Roozbeh Cheshmi, Milad Mohammadi, Masoud Shojaei, Morteza PouraliGanji, Karim Ansarifard, Mehdi Taremi, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Sardar Azmoun and Ramin Rezaeian. In the second half, Omid Ebrahimi, Vahid Amiri, Saman Ghoddos, Mehdi Torabi, Reza Ghoochannejad and Ashkan Dejagah were substituted in.

At the onset, the Turkish team had a good opportunity to open the scoring, but Alireza Beiranvand deprived the hosts as early as the second minute. However, the resistance was broken very soon after, as in the 6th minute, the Everton striker Cenk Tosun broke through the defenses and left Roozbeh Chesmi in his shadow with a clever and relatively easy dummy to shoot past the hapless Beiranvand.

Turkey, which was in the control of the game for the first 20 minutes, still had a number of opportunities but could not increase the tally. In the 23rd minute, Ehsan Haji Safi was placed in a one-on-one situation with Turkish keeper from an immaculate diagonal pass by Alireza Jahanbakhsh, but the midfielder was far too casual and his low weak shot was easily saved by the Turkish goalkeeper Serkan Kırıntılı.

Three minutes later, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who was one of the better Team Melli players, was in the center of the Turkish penalty area, and after a nice move past the Turkish defense, he latched on a fierce shoot which the goalkeeper again saved depriving Iran from a much deserved equalizer.

Despite the efforts made by the Iranian players in the first half, Queiroz players went into the dressing room a goal behind.

The second half started for Iran in different circumstances, as the team tried to score an early goal, but in the 50th minute, the weakness in the defense line enabled Tosun to easily score his second goal. The culprit was Beiranvand again for his poor timing and unforced error. The host was 2-0 up early in the second half.

After this goal, the substitutions by Queiroz started and the players who seem to be among the starters of the team started entering the pitch to increase the pressure on Turkey and show more aggressiveness, but there was still an inconsistency among the players. The team lacked any effective plan to score with most of the final balls ending up wasted or intercepted by the Turks.

 In the final part of the match, there was little sign of a concerted attack strategy to score.  This showed, more than anything else, the team’s weaknesses in many areas which surely requires addressing before the start of the World Cup to overcome these weaknesses.

The main problem of the team remains the central defense and the goalkeeper. Beiranvand’s weakness have been  evident for a long time now. With two of the most experienced defenders out of the squad ( Jalal Hosseini and Vouria Ghafoori ) , short of a miracle , the Portuguese coach is hard pushed to find a suitable solution.  This lack of experience and skill , raises real concerns against the likes of Ronaldo.

In the 91st minute of the match, Reza Goochannejad close range shot was blatantly handled by Turkish defender Omer Byram on the goal line. The Uzbek referee had no hesitation to call the penalty, in addition to the expulsion of the defender who was barely on the pitch for a couple of minutes. Ashkan Dejagah scored this penalty shot.

Team Melli will have two other preparations for the match versus Morocco in the Group B of the World Cup, but the meeting with Greece is still unclear, Lithuania is certain.