Tag: Australia

26/12/2014

The misfortunes of Team Melli forwards.

With around 3 weeks to go for Iran’s first match in the AFC Asian Cup 2015, Team Melli’s bad fortunes continues unabated,

Reza Ghoochannejad , the forward who singlehandedly took Iran to the World Cup 2014 with his precious vital goals in the qualifiers , has just been shown the door by a uninspiring team, low level team playing in less than modest league. Ghoochannejad has been told by Al Kuwait FC that his services are no longer required and has to return to his club , Charlton Athletics. Gucci in fact scored 7 goals for AL Kuwait during the half season , but it was deemed not a good return on investment that the Kuwaiti club which has paid over a million Euro for his services.

Reza Ghoochannejad scored the only goal for Team Melli in the World Cup against Bosnia-Herzegovina in a 3-1 defeat.

Karim Ansarifard, the young player who promised so much in the last few years , has fared much worse than Gucci . The reserve Team Melli forward has not managed to score any goals for his club Osasuna during his 8 matches and 351 minutes of playing time.

Ansarifard has been told by the Pamplona club that he needs to find another club in the January transfer windows as he will be no longer wanted in Osasuna where his Captain Javad Nekounam is a key player in the Segunda Division side.

Team Melli is not renowned for their offensive prowess in Asia , as the tactical policy of the team is built around solid defense, however with their two main forwards being out of a job , it does not augur well for the team in Australia.

Just as expected after Umm Salal last league game, Pejman Montazeri’s injury looks like a serious one. It has been announced today that Team Melli’s central defender will not be available for selection for the Asian Cup due to the injury.

Another player who might miss the trip to Australia is Khosro Haidary whose recovery has been slow from his injury. The Esteghlal right back is currently under special observation.

24/12/2014

Even Palestine abandons a friendly against Iran!

What has this world come to for Team Melli ?

Evan Palestine has refused to turn up for a scheduled friendly match it was supposed to play against Team Melli citing logistics difficulties!

Palestine , ranked 133 in FIFA ranking which last played against Team Melli in October 2011 and lost 7-0, was supposed to be the second and the last international friendly match in the entire Team Melli preparation program before the AFC Asian Cup 2015 Australia.

Now that the Palestinians have not turned up , Carlos Queiroz and his men will be heading to Australia with only one real match under their sleeve to face the rest of the Asian teams. That was the narrow 1-0 win against South Korea in Azadi.

Despite all these downturn of events and the dismal and lackluster preparations for the continents greatest and prestigious football tournament, some players are still upbeat and think they are in with a chance of winning it

Calros Queioz , however , is much more realistic and truthful in his approach., He only promised to fight in every match, and that is the best he can offer the nation under the wretched training program the team is undergoing now. The current South African Training Camp has only one legionnaire’s player while the majority are absent.

06/12/2014

Queiroz expresses deep concerns.

Carlos Queiroz stated that he will maintain silence against the allegations by the Under-secretary of The Ministry of Youth and Sport in which Sajjadi accused Team Melli coach of creating a commotion and dramatizing. In a brief statement to the press, Queiroz said “For me , it is difficult to fight on two fronts. One front is the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain and the other front is the domestic and internal elements that I have to fire fight.” according to Mehr news agency sport reporter.

“UAE released 10 military service players for their team.”

Queiroz spoke to reporters on Thursday and touched on several subject of concern. Commenting on the players caught in the military service dilemma, the Portuguese coach was concerned about the unavailability of key players. “Unfortunately, our situation is not good with the players in Military service. The UAE , one of our main rivals, has 10 players on Military Service. However, the authorities there realize the important mission of these footballers in Asian Cup and were given exemption to allow them to continue with the national team. No such favors for Iranian players on a similar mission.”

“In a question related to Esteghlal club and the allegation by the coach and managers of the club that Esteghlal players have been drained in Team Melli and their performance has suffered in the league with the team , Queiroz refuted such allegations . “Why are you asking me about Esteghlal? I am in no position to take about such subject. Like the last four years that I have been here, I refuse to comment or interfere in clubs affairs. Their internal problems have got nothing to do with me. I will only comment about players when they are in active duty with Team Melli.”

“I will maintain silence.”

On Sajjadi’s comments, Queiroz claimed that he has not read or heard what Sajjadi has said about him. He went on a pip talk about pilots and surgeons responsibilities in his rationalization of doing a proper job of his. “I have not read Sajjadi’s comments but in life there are three methods to deal with such events. Smile, cry or maintain silence, I choose the last option.

“We did not have money to pay for the airfare and hotel in Riyadh”

Asked about the recent Gulf Cup held in Riyadh in which all of Team Melli opponents were competing and an ideal opportunity for a close look at his opponents, Queiroz said “We did not have the money for the air fare and hotel, so we missed such a big opportunity to analyze those teams. Anyway, we have no choice but to focus on our own preparations now.

“I have to mention to you a fact that is giving me a headache. Some people think that I am preparing a team in my own backyard for a local competition. They think that Kaffashian and Queiroz are going on a party , they are forgetting that we have the responsibility of 70 million Iranians on our shoulders “

“Look at what our competitors have achieved.”

“Look at what the competitors in the same group have achieved so far and how they prepared their teams. How many training camps they have conducted and how many matches they played. Then compare it to ours. Uzbekistan has sent us an open invitation for a friendly match in Dubai until 12^th December but due to many reasons, we declined their invitation. Qatar has neutralized 7 new players. I have to tell you that this is not a stroll in the park. We are supposed to play in the Asian Cup.”

The beleaguered Team Melli coach said “all Iranians have confidence in this team and put a lot of hope in it. if I was indifferent to the national team I would not have involved myself in program by entering this game. My plan is for the best representation of and preparation for the Asian Cup. We want to go to Australia and achieve a result but only played two friendly preparations games, South Korea and Palestine. What are we talking about here!”.

“We have oppositions within our own household”

“there was a great opportunity for us to improve our standard in the national team, on the other hand there are those who want to take a stand against the Iranian national team. Some of these peoples have a name, the name of Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE. But some people present within the household. I do not know what they aim at. Let the national team players work in perfect environment with peace and tranquility prevailing in order to meet the demands of our fans and people.

Doom and Gloom forecast.

There is no doubt that Queiroz has valid points when it comes to dealing with a federation that is always claiming about lack of money resulting is very poor preparation for the national team. There is very little doubt that any Team Melli coach working for the FFIRI under these circumstances is facing a demanding and stressful challenge. There is also not much doubt that there are many critics of the National Team coach, but that is no different to any country in the rest of the world and by this time Queiroz should very well be aware of it.

The buck stops here, however.

Carlos Queiroz knew very well what he is against when he renewed his contract at an extensive paycheck, which is incidentally one of the reasons that the FFIRI is unable to meet its other demands that Queiroz is complaining about.

After the World Cup , Queiroz tore the Iranian federations and government officials apart with his claims and allegations of non-cooperation , lack of support lack of effective management and so on. He declared that he is not going back to Iran and the news was carried by all major news and sport agencies.

Yet, Carlos Queiroz , by hook or crock turned up in Tehran after a substantial and damaging delay in signing , despite all his ill-talk about the football system in Iran !

To make the matters worse, both Queiroz and Kaffashian have publically declared that Team Melli’s priority is not the AFC Asian Cup 2015 but qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2018! That statement in itself, showed how far Carlos Queiroz is detached from the Iranian fans sentiments and aspirations.

Now by a miracle, the AFC Asian Cup is suddenly a priority and Queiroz is preaching the masses about its importance to the Iranian fans!

A further strange statement by Queiroz highlights the Portuguese coach difficulty in facing an acute situation. Claiming that players’ problems at clubs are not his problems is highly unprofessional statement that has no place in modern human psychology of leadership. A player cannot switch from being horrible in a club one day to perfect with the national team the next. If he has a problem with the club, then it is a high possibility that he will carry that problem with him to Team Melli. It is a basic knowledge and understanding of human behavior. Queiroz should start caring.

It is quite easy to feel sympathetic to Queiroz plights as the situation in Iran’s football is not exactly ideal for preparing a title challenging team in the continent’s premiere competition. On the other hand, it is really difficult to vindicate him and absolve him from any responsibility either. Carlos Queiroz is accountable, morally and legally for his work regardless to all those adversities and hardships that he is complaining about.

By repeating these grievances, he is easily falling prey to Sajjadi’s allegation in which Queiroz feeling can be interpreted as “Crocodile’s tears.”

28/07/2014

“Kaffashian “AFC Asian Cup 2015 is NOT a priority!”

Kaffashian announced that the priority for Queiroz is the FIFA World Cup 2018 not AFC Asian Cup 2015.

The President of FFIRI was talking to Mehrnews on the occasion of the imminent renewal of Carlos Queiroz contract to lead Team Melli for another 4 years.

Ali Kaffashian qualified his statement by saying “we do consider the Asian Cup as an important event but if we did not do well there , it is not the end of the world although it makes our job a bit more difficult for the World Cup in 4 years’ time !”

“We have instructed Querioz to use young players for the AFC Asian Cup so that we can reap the benefit in 4 years’ time in the next world Cup.”

However Kaffashian admitted that if a good result was mot obtained in Asian Cup, the pressure will mount on the Portuguese coach who is set to renew his contract as the highest ever paid foreign coach in the history of Iran. His asking price of US$2.5 million deterred the South African federation who were the favorite to sign him.

Questioned by Mehrnews about the critical views of Team Melli’s performance and results in Brazil , Kaffashian claimed that the majority of the fans were satisfied by the result. He then mentioned Brazil loss to Germany by 7-1 to justify an apparent good performance by Team Melli!. We couldn’t relate the two matches together in any way of justifications.

Kaffashian confirmed that the post of Team Melli Manager will now be abolished, at least when Queiroz is around. The role of administration, organization and management of the squad will be all carried out by Queiroz himself. The Team Melli Manager’s Post has always been present through the history. Indeed, many international football teams have such a post. Queiroz has not agreed to Kaffashian’s choices for this post, which rumored to have included Mehdi Mahdavikia, and instead ruled that he does not need a Manager and will take up such role in addition to being the head coach. Team Manager is a full-time job , including travelling to countries in away matches to arrange accommodations, training facilities arrangements, supervising and managing logistics , negotiations and meeting with counterpart oppositions and AFC /FIFA representatives for pre-match coordination meetings.

The reporter asked Kaffashian about the enormousness of Queiroz contract, however the President of FFIRI denied that figure while refusing to mention the actual agreed terms. Kaffashian admitted that Queiroz salary has nearly doubled in the last term but that was really down to the currency exchange rates. “ His last contract figure was initially US$ 1.5 million and the new one is a little bit over that , but not by much.” Kaffashian claimed.

Be it a little over US$1.5 Million as Kaffashian claims or the US$2.5 million the South Africans claimed Queiroz was demanding, it is a huge amount for a federation that always complains about acute shortage of funds. But the real concern is for the fans, as those millions of hard currency dollars , will not guarantee Iran any success in the upcoming AFC Asian Cup in Australia. With Kaffashian already announcing that AFC Cup 2015 is NOT a priority, and Queiroz proverbial moans that he has no quality players that have played in the European Champions League at his disposal, it seems that the stage is set for the fans to add another 4 years to the 39 years they had to wait for a championship trophy by Team Melli. Kaffashian lack of ambition and in the absence of any true pressure on the coach to deliver will be another heart-break for Team Melli fans. They have to be content with nostalgia of Ali Parvin’s pictures lifting the Asian Cup in Azadi in 1976 to satisfy their pride and ego.

13/06/201413/06/2014

Asian team needs to stamp itself on the world stage

By John Duerden

The Korea Times

A European team has never won the World Cup when in South America. An Asian team has never actually won a game on the soccer-crazy continent ― although 1978 was the last time the tournament was held there.

Both trends could be broken over the next few weeks.

South Korea is joined by fellow Asian Football Confederation (AFC) members Japan, Iran and Australia in Brazil, four teams that carry the hopes of more than half of the world’s population. For Asia’s reputation as well as its hopes of being allocated more World Cup spots in the future, the continent needs to make a good showing ― two teams, preferably more, need to survive the group stage and reach the round of 16.

Japan looks the best bet. The Samurai Blue is Asian champion and is full of players active in Europe’s big leagues. Keisuke Honda of AC Milan and Manchester United’s Shinji Kagawa may not have had the best domestic seasons, but they are at least fresh ahead of games against Cote d’Ivoire, Greece and Colombia.

Lining up alongside the famous duo is an unsung player who may be ready for international stardom. Shinji Okazaki scored 15 goals for FSV Mainz 05 in the just completed German season.

Coached by respected Italian tactician Alberto Zaccheroni, Japan’s attack has been scoring plenty of late. In June, it scored a 3-1 win over Costa Rica, and then beat Zambia 4-3. However, as the scores suggest, Japan is not quite as strong at the back, but should have the talent to get at least into the second round.

“Because Japan is little known in world football, we want to play good football and make a huge impact so the world will recognize the presence of the Japan football team,” Kagawa said this week.

Japan’s prospects look much better than Australia’s. Under new coach Ange Postecolou, the Socceroos are in transition from a team of experienced veterans from the 2006 and 2010 campaigns.

The new-look team has one of the toughest groups imaginable.

Having to face champion Spain is tough enough, but then there is the small matter of 2010 runner-up the Netherlands, another star-studded opponent featuring the likes of Manchester United hitman Robin Van Persie and the supremely talented Arjen Robben of Bayern Munich. Australia’s opening game is against Chile, a dark horse, but playing on its own continent and with Alexis Sanchez of Barcelona in its ranks.

In some ways, being in such a tough group has taken the pressure off Australia. Nobody expects the team to progress to the second round, making it easier for the coach to regenerate the roster. And any points picked up will be greeted with delight down under. It is almost a no-lose situation.

Then there is Iran. The Persians finished above South Korea in qualification but have been pretty quiet since, struggling to arrange preparation games because it is not always easy to lure teams to Tehran

Former Real Madrid and Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz will need all his considerable tactical ability to get the team out of a group containing Argentina, Nigeria and Bosnia. It is a tough group, but it could have been worse. Iran’s best hope may lie in being underestimated.

In some ways, Korea’s preparation has been worse. The team has had a good deal more games than Iran, but losing four out of the last five ― the latest last week’s 4-0 thrashing by Ghana ― has everyone talking of impending doom against Russia, Algeria and Belgium.

Perhaps some solace can be taken from Japan. Four years ago, the Samurai Blue lost four out of its final five warm-up games, with leading coach Takeshi Okada offer his resignation.

Yet, this all changed at the World Cup, with Japan within a penalty shootout for a place in the final eight.

With the possible exception of Japan, Korea and the rest of Asia would settle for that.

John Duerden is writing for about Korea’s campaign at the World Cup in Brazil. ― ED.

16/01/201416/01/2014

Kaveh Rezaei’s hat trick not enough for Iran

A second half hat trick by team Melli’s center forward Kaveh Rezaei against Kuwait was not enough for Iran to qualify to the next round.

In the match played on Thursday , Iran U-22 beat Kuwait-U22 3-1 in Muscat , Oman in the final game of group C in the AFC Asian U-22 Championship 2014.

Japan routed Australia 4-0 in the other game that was played at the same time of Iran-Kuwait game, to qualify for the next round along with Australia. Both Iran and Kuwait were eliminated.

In a match which was totally dominated by Team Melli U-22 , the Iranians did everything but finish their attacks in the first half. The hero of the match was undoubtedly the Kuwaiti goalkeeper who saved many goal bound shoots from Iranian forwards. In the second round the trend continued as the first with the Kuwaiti’s having nothing to offer but sit back and defend. However , Rezaei managed to score in the 62nd minute with a flying header after the Kuwaiti goalkeeper again parried in front of Kaveh Rezaeh who cleverly headed into the goal. Rezaei scored his second 5 minutes later in a similar circumstances before completing his hat trick in style with a curved shoot on to the far corner of the Kuwait goalkeeper in the 81st minute. Kuwait scored a consolation late in the added time.

For all his effort , Rezaei’s fine scoring record in this tournament , could not save Iran. 5 goals from 3 matches is a record to be proud of but the Japanese with a convincing win in their decider match against Australia, sealed the feat of Iran. It was a bitter end for Team Melli U-22 under Human Afazeli who took over only a few days before the start of the competition after Alireza Mansourian resigned his post as a coach.

15/01/201415/01/2014

Team Melli U-22 lose against Australia.

Team Melli U-22 faltered against Australia in its second match of the AFC Asian U-22 championship as they went down 1-0 in Muscat’s Royal Police stadium.

The performance of the team was in sharp contrast to the first game against Japan when they showed grit , and skills against the opponents.

Against an organized Australian team , Team Melli U-22 was facing a physically strong , highly organized and motivated players. The Iranians were poorly disciplined tactically and by conduct , played emotionally and insisted on individual plays rather than team work. There was far too many dribbles, even the goalkeeper Biranvand dribbled like his teammates. Despite having a better percentage of ball possession , there was far too many shortcomings in the team to produce a winning performance.

With this result , which qualifies Australia, it looks like Team Melli is in a precarious position. Even a win against Kuwait in the last match of the group , which is by no way a forgone conclusion , might not be enough for the team to make it to the next round.

In the other match of the group , Japan and Kuwait drew 0-0.

AFC U-22 C’ship: Iran 0-1 Australia

Details: Published: 15 January 2014

Muscat: A goal from Petros Skapetis put Australia into the quarter-finals of the AFC U-22 Championship with a 1-0 victory over Iran in Group C at Royal Police Stadium on Tuesday.

The Australian forward latched on to a loose ball on the 56th minute and fired home after Iranian goalkeeper Ali Reza Beiranvand could only parry defender Curtis Good’s header following a corner kick.

And although Iran threw on two more forwards in an attempt to restore parity, they were unable to breakdown a very organised Australian side, who might have scored again through midfielder Stefan Mauk in the final minutes of the match.

“We knew it would be a hard and physical game but I’m happy with the performance of my players” said Australia coach Aurelio Vidmar.

“We need to get a bit more composure, especially through the midfield, as the game got very stretched at times. But overall, I’m very pleased.”

While Iran welcomed back defender Vahid Esmaeilbeigi and midfielder Morteza Pouraliganji to the side from suspension, Australia coach Vidmar swapped almost his entire starting line-up from the 11 that began the 1-0 over Kuwait on Sunday.

“Every team has the same amount of players, our philosophy is to give everyone an opportunity.

“we wanted everyone to each get a full game, and we’ve achieved that so far,” explained Vidmar.

“There’s no first team or second team, I’m just trying to build one team.”

In a tight first half with chances at a premium, one of Vidmar’s changes, striker Adam Taggart, had his side’s first effort on goal inside the first 10 minutes as his free-kick from just outside the penalty area went narrowly over the crossbar.

Taggart was the most likely source of a breakthrough for Australia in the first period and on the 23rd minute he sent another curling shot drifted wide.

In between those strikes by the Australia forward, Mehdi Shiri went close for Iran with a deflected effort that goalkeeper Aaron Lennox pushed out, and a swerving long range effort that was just off target.

Australia came out fired up for the second half, however, and in the first minute after the restart Andrew Hoole’s penetrating run down the right side was followed by a shot from the right winger that needed to be punched clear by an alert Beiranvand at his near post.

Centre-back Good was then forced to leave the field for treatment to a nasty gash above his eye following a clash of heads, and with the big centre-back off the field, Iran had their best chance to open the scoring as Kaveh Rezaei slipped in Benham Barzay for a low shot from inside the penalty area that was parried wide by Lennox in the Australia goal.

But with Good back on the field sporting a mass of white gauzing around his injured forehead, it was Australia who took the lead.

Awarded a free-kick in a central area on the 55th minute, Hoole skimmed a low shot off the turf that was pushed out for a corner by the Iranian custodian.

But from the resulting set-piece, a hurtling blur of bandages in the form of Good powered a header on target that Beiranvand could only parry as far as the waiting Skapetis, who hooked the ball into the gaping net.

In a bid to seek an equaliser, Iran brought on strikers Arsalan Motahhari and Seyed Miri and it was the former who had his side’s best chance with a low shot into the arms of a sprawling Lennox following good work from Rezaei.

Australia dominated possession for the remains of the second half, although Motahhari had time for another effort at the death but this time his shot from the edge of the penalty area went wide of Lennox’s right-hand post.

With a lengthy seven minutes of stoppage time added due to Good’s extended treatment, Maulk could have put the game to bed, but a good save from Beiranvand prevented the second half substitute from doubling the advantage.

“It was a physically demanding game and we can say a game of small differences. Australia is a great team, very organised with a fighting spirit,” said Iran coach Human Afazeli.

“A big difference was that Australia used almost 11 new players, and we couldn’t do that as we have only 20 players in our squad and three of them are goalkeepers.

“I want to praise my players, they showed fantastic effort. I am satisfied with their efforts, they did a good job.”

[divider]

AFC U-22 CHAMPIONSHIP 2013
FINAL ROUND

14-01-2014 17:00 GST
Royal Oman Police Stadium, Muscat, OMAN
[Attendance]    250
IRAN    0    1    AUSTRALIA
0    Half time    1
MVP: SHAHRYAR SHIRVAND
Referee:    KIM JONG HYEOK (KOREA REPUBLIC)

Lineups
IRAN: 1 ALI REZA SAFARBEIRANVAND , 2 VAHID ESMAEILIBEIGI , 3 SHAHRYAR SHIRVAND (C), 5 MOHAMMAD AMIN HAJMOHAMMADI, 13 AHMAD ZENDEHROOH, 23 MEHDI SHIRI [16 FARDIN ABEDINI 62′], 6 MORTEZA POURALIGANJI, 14 SHAHAB KARAMI, 19 BEHNAM BARZAY [11 SEYED PEYMAN MIRI 71′], 20 EHSAN PAHLAVAN [17 ARSALAN MOTAHHARI 84′], 9 KAVEH REZAEI
HUMAN AFAZELI (Head Coach)

AUSTRALIA: 1 AARON LENNOX ; 3 CURTIS GOOD (C),4 CONNOR CHAPMAN , 6 JOSHUA BRILLANTE , 8 RYAN EDWARDS [17 JAKE BARKER-DAISH 80′],13 SCOTT GALLOWAY, 16 REECE CAIRA,21 ANDREW HOOLE, 23 PETROS SKAPETIS [9 DYLAN TOMBIDES 90′], 10 ADAM TAGGART [7 STEFAN INGO MAUK 86′], 11 CONNOR PAIN
AURELIO VIDMAR (Head Coach)

Yellow Cards: CHAPMAN (AUS) 23′, HAJMOHAMMADI (IRI) 38′, GOOD (AUS) 49′, KARAMI(IRI) 78′

[divider]

Group C

Teams	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
AUSTRALIA	2	2	0	0	2	0	2	6
JAPAN	2	0	2	0	3	3	0	2
I.R. IRAN	2	0	1	1	3	4	-1	1
KUWAIT	2	0	1	1	0	1	-1	1

12/01/2014

AFC U-22 Championship: Group C Preview

Published: 12 January 2014

Muscat: Japan coach Makoto Teguramori is banking on his young side developing a winning habit starting at the AFC U-22 Championship with victory in the competition a crucial step on the road to future success.

Boasting a flawless record in qualifying in which Teguramori’s attack-minded Blue Samurai were second highest scorer, the former Vegalta Sendai coach emphasised the significance of the 16-team tournament to his side’s development.

“Since the first day I was nominated for this position, I have always said this tournament was important for the development of our young generation of players,” said Teguramori.

Japan are placed in arguably one of the toughest groups of the tournaments alongside Australia, Iran and Kuwait, with Teguramori’s team beginning their campaign against Iran at the Royal Oman Police Stadium in Group C on Sunday.

“It’s extremely important for my young team to compete against other strong nations,” said Teguramori. “It’s important to win for the team’s attitude to prepare and win. It’s important to get into the experience of winning tournaments.

“As this squad consists of a generation that didn’t play as well at U-19 level, so players want to pay back those emotions from unsuccessful tournaments by showing a fighting spirit in this tournament.”

Teguramori’s opposite number, Iran coach Afazeli Human, was full of admiration for his opponents, highlighting the superior make-up of their side.

“At the moment, the Japan football team has a mixture of individual quality and teamwork. That is the possible way to grow, when you have a mixture,” said Human.

“If you have good individuals not in the team that is a problem. If you have a good team but no top individuals, that’s also a problem. Japan has both great individuals and a great team.”

Human’s team earned their place at the AFC U-22 Championship by winning their qualifying group, and although their squad in Muscat lacks some of the stars that led them to the finals, Iran will have the striking talents of forward Kaveh Rezaei who top-scored for the side during qualification. However, they will have to make do without defender Vahid Esmaeilbeigi and midfielder Morteza Pouraliganji against Japan due to suspension.

“We are here to stay in Oman as long as possible,” added Human. “We will also focus on the quality and mentality of the players – the most important thing in this tournament is to get the last steps for a pro’s life.”

In the opening game of Group C, Australia will take on Kuwait with coach Aurelio Vidmar expecting his Olyroos squad to savour the opportunity of top level international fixtures.

“It’s important to have competitive games, we don’t play enough international football at youth level, so for us this tournament is very important,” said Vidmar.

“We expect tough games and we’re going to be competitive. We’re here to get experience into young bodies and young careers, that’s the most important thing for us. The more games they get the better.

“We haven’t had the opportunities for camps or friendly games throughout the year. It’s not going to be perfect, but if the attitude is right, then we can go a long way.”

Kuwait’s coach Jorvan Vieira concurs with his Australian counterpart that the AFC U-22 Championship provides a good opportunity for competitive matches for his youthful charges.

Vieira has already tasted national team success in an AFC continental competition after guiding Iraq to a famous victory at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup and will be hoping his side that includes two members of his senior side, forward Faisal Al Harbi and defender Fahad Al Hajeri, can get the team off to winning ways in Muscat.

“Our target is the same: provide real experience for the young players,” he said.

“Players only get real experience when they are exposed to, and participate in, matches and according to the results they can get.”