Tag: Bahrain

Amman is the new venue for Iraq vs Iran match.

Jordan will officially host FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifying match between Iraq and Iran according to Iraq’s Federation President Abdul Khaleq Massoud. The Jordanian capital will also host Iraq’s next match in the competition vs Bahrain.

According to FIFA ruling, the Iraqi national team is not allowed to host the games in Basra against Iran and Bahrain due to security concerns and demanded the Iraqi federation select another country. “We have formally requested the Jordanian Football Federation (JFA) to hold two games due to proximity , public support and no visas requirement between us,” Abdul Khaleq Massoud said in an interview with Germany’s official news agency. We will be welcomed by Iraqis everywhere. “

FIFA sent a letter Wednesday asking the Iraqi League to offer a third ground for both of the games scheduled for Iran and Bahrain due to the unstable situation in Iraq. Iraq was insisting on holding the two matches as scheduled on November 14 and 19 in Basra. The city already hosted the match against Hong Kong last October.

Iraq is leading Group C with seven points from three games so far, Bahrain is second, and Iran is third with six points. The first and second teams of each group advance to the next stage of Qatar’s 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Analysis of the loss to Bahrain.

Team Melli’s loss to Bahrain is far from destructive and it is too early to call on the success of the coach. However, there were many factors in the loss that needs to be highlighted. Those factors are thus discussed

  • Weather
  • Tactical error
  • Players Selections
  • Late substitutions
  • Lack of Discipline
  • Bahrain’s solid defensive game plan.

Weather

The unbearable weather condition culminated into a lethargic & energy-less performance by Team Melli players. Of course, the bad weather conditions, principally the high temperature and humidity is the biggest challenge for players. It is true that weather affected both teams, Bahrain players, however, are more adapt to such weather than the Iranians.

Tactical Error

If the coaching staff of Team Melli analyzed and studied the opposition, then their reading was faulty for one main reason. Playing 4-3-3 away from home against a fairly solid defence is a risk especially when the weather condition is a disadvantage. A line up to fulfil a balanced game-plan seems a better proposition than prioritizing offence. There was no need for 3 front players, none of whom are adapt to supporting the defence on transitions or retreat on counter-attacks against them. It would have been more prudent for Wilmots to secure the back four with a couple of competent holding midfield players and two offensive midfield players.

As time was passing, it would have been quite clear for the coaches of Team Melli that the opposition has a solid defensive game. At no time was there an obvious plan change to penetrate this defensive wall. The lack of variety in Iranian attacks only helped Bahrain coach read the Iranians well and counter it.

Players Selections

There were no issues with the defensive line up where Hosseini & Kanan-Zadegan occupied the centre of the defence while Milad Mohammadi and Ramin Rezaeian operated on the flanks. Pouraliganji’s absence was claimed to be due to a slight knock but Majid Hosseini should have easily covered him. Unfortunately, the young Trabzonspor defender was far from his best committing two vital errors one of which lead to conceded a penalty. Hosseini was slow and caught off position several times in the match.

 The two main players’ selection issues were in the Midfield and Forward lines.

It is difficult to understand what the coach wanted to achieve with the trio of Ebrahimi, Hajsafi & Mohebbi in the centre of the field. There was a clear lack of a solid holding midfielder, and if Hajsafi was supposed to be the man then he fell short of carrying out the task. Mohebbi selection left many scratching their heads. Just because he scored two goals in his debut against Cambodia does not make him fit for a match away from home in a totally different environment and priorities. He was lost and should have been substituted much earlier. Ebrahimi was excellent in the midfield. He was the schemer and played some delightful balls for his teammates, but he was a one man show in the midfield. He would have benefitted from having Noorullahi or Dejagah on his side.

In the forward line, lining up with 3 forwards, one of whom was completely out of sync and disconnected from the rest, was a tactical suicide.   In fact, the trio was not complimenting each other but also becoming an obstacle in the heavy traffic of Bahrain’s penalty box. An experienced coach should have picked that as early as the first 20 minutes of the match. Karim Ansarifard was a non-performer in this lineup.

Late substitutions

Sometimes the game does not go according to plans and the team might need a shake-up or a change in the assets. Wilmots should have recognized that much earlier than he did against Bahrain. The coaching team was reactive rather than being proactive. It was easily one of the main shortfalls of Wilmots and his assistants in this match.

Lack of Discipline

The Achilles heels of Iranian football. Whether at club level or international, the players seem to be always in a combative mode arguing with referees and easily being intimidated by tricky opponents. Acts of indiscipline normally lead to loss of concertation and errors. In two consecutive matches, Team Melli must consider itself lucky not to lose two players for offences that deserved red cards. Against Cambodia, it was Pouraliganji with his wild lunge on the goalkeeper and against Bahrain; it was Azmoun who was the culprit.  Sardar reacted angrily against the referee for not giving a penalty to  Iran. Despite being awarded a yellow card for his dissent, Azmoun did not stop arguing. It was as if he was daring the Uzbek referee to give him another card! Such a petulant act by a player who does not seem to learn from his failings and continues committing these irrational acts.

Bahrain’s solid defensive game plan.

The Portuguese coach of Bahrain Hélio Filipe de Sousa was much better prepared for the match against Iran and put a solid defensive strategy that did not allow the top guns of Team Melli penetrating his defences. Using two layers of the defensive system, he managed to neutralize Azmoun and Taremi quite easily without allowing any of them clear shots at the target. With Ansarifard, the job of covering him was easier as the Iranian forward was ineffective. Bahrain depended on counter-attacks in the hoping of grabbing a goal which they did in their limited number of attacks.

Wilmots failed to react to such a defensive plan and slow to address it. Essentially, he had little solutions to counter the Portuguese game plan.

Final words

In summary, failure in a match is part and parcel of football. It is surely not a tragic loss to Bahrain as Team Melli still looked solid. This defeat, although caused by an individual error of Majid Hosseini, is the collective result of many factors that have been addressed above. Individual errors and slip-ups can occur anytime, the team that is prepared and has learned from its mistakes, usually can storm the weather and come out winners. The repeated occurrence of similar mistakes spells doom.

Marc Wilmots has not had enough time to get familiar with the team. It is quite doubtful that he selected many players, if any, of his own choice leaving Hashemian and others to offer suggestions. A two to three days training session before the match is simply not adequate enough for a new coach to get familiar with the capabilities of his squad.

However, Wilmots must address some issues immediately. In order for him to succeed, he needs to read the games much better and do his homework on Iraq from now.

Team Melli falls short in Bahrain

Bahrain once again inflicted injury to Iranian pride by beating Team Melli 1-0 today in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers in the match played at the National Stadium in Riffa.

The solitary goal scored by Bahrain’s Mohammed Al-Hardan in the 65th minute from a penalty kick as a result of a foul committed by Majid Hosseini on the Bahraini player in the box.

It was the first defeat for Wilmots since he took over from Carlos Queiroz. The defeat came right after  14-0 win against Cambodia in Azadi. Team Melli performance was lethargic and lacked creativity. A few of the regular shortfalls were observed once again in this match including some disciplinary issues, surprisingly this time by the Captain of the team Ehsan Hajsafi who was guilty of being temperamental and unnecessary vocal after being awarded a yellow card. Not a good example for a person who should lead by example.

 Azmoun, by now well-known for his hot temperament and poor discipline, was seconds away from receiving two consecutive yellow cards and subsequent dismissal after a vehement protest against the Uzbek referee for not calling a penalty. The Uzbek referee V. Kovalenko seemed to be right on both calls.

The match played in sweltering heat and high humidity, was slow to take shape. Both teams seemed to conserve energy for better endurance. By the 15th minute, both teams players’ jerseys were wet as if were taken fresh out of water. Naturally, the hosts who are used to this sort of weather ¾ of the year managed to acclimatize better under the circumstances.

Marc Wilmots, elected to start with 3 forwards upfront, a plan that did not yield well. Karim Ansarifard, the 4 goal hero of last Thursday, was virtually just a bystander figure who did not seem to have turned up for the game. He was substituted in the 70th minute while Wilmots could have done much better if that substitution was done earlier.

There was very little to differentiate between the two teams as their defences did not have many problems against the opposition forwards. However, the trio Azmoun, Taremi and Ansarifard were quite disappointing. Whatever balls that reached the veteran Bahrain goalkeeper Seyed Mohammaed Jaffar was dealt with by him.

Omid Ebrahimi was the dynamo of the team and most of the offensive moves were started by his excellent distributions. However, Ebrahimi lacked support in the midfield as neither Hajsafi or Mohebi could add value to the schemer in the centre of the field. Wilmots would have been better off adding another specialized midfielder like Noorollahi using four players for better control of the midfield. The flanks did not operate well either as Milad Mohammadi and Ramin Rezaeian were limited in their action.

The defence line was fine but Majid Hosseini committed two critical errors, one of which cost Iran the game. In the first instance, the young central defender left a lot of space for Bahrain forward, but for his poor finishing, the host could have taken the lead much earlier. In the second, his poor position again and lunging at the Bahraini forward, cost the penalty.

The result takes Bahrain to the top of the group along with Iraq with 7 points while Iran with 6 points drops to 3rd. It was more than a disappointing result with several tactical errors observed. Wilmots need to seriously look at his lineup that lacked balanced. This mentality of an all-out offensive game plan must not obscure his vision and should be revisited.  Cracks began to appear early in the match as teams such as Bahrain and Iraq can exploit them.  the Belgian need to go back to the drawing board.

 

Iran’s next game is in one month’s time away to Iraq.

 

Tough battle for Team Melli in Bahrain.

the-afc.com

Kuala Lumpur:

After a rampant display on Matchday Three of the Asian Qualifiers, Group C leaders the Islamic Republic of Iran side are braced for their toughest test yet when they travel to play Bahrain in Manama on Tuesday.

The Iranians, who overcame Cambodia 14-0 last time out to make it two wins from two en route to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023, are currently two points clear of Iraq who are scheduled to tackle Cambodia.

BAHRAIN vs IR IRAN

On a high following last week’s defeat of Cambodia, Iran will look to add yet more momentum to their Asian Qualifiers campaign when they take on Bahrain.

Karim Ansarifard scored four times and the ever-impressive Sardar Azmoun bagged a hat-trick as Iran sealed a comfortable victory against their Southeast Asian opponents at the Azadi Stadium, one which saw Team Melli add to the 2-0 win they recorded in Hong Kong on Matchday One.

Although delighted with his side’s display, Iran head coach Marc Wilmots has nevertheless been quick to point out that his charges must maintain their focus ahead of what promises to be a thrilling encounter in the Bahrain capital.

“We have an important match with Bahrain on Tuesday and we need to keep our concentration. We want three points. We haven’t done anything yet,” said the Belgian tactician.

Third-placed Bahrain, meanwhile, heads into the match aiming to register the first win over Iran since their 4-2 friendly success in 2009.

The Bahrainis are, though, unbeaten thus far and appear set to provide a stern test of Iran’s credentials, especially if midfielder Komail Al Aswad can continue the fine form which has seen him net two goals in as many games. The veteran Ismaeil Abdul-Latif sustained an injury in the friendly loss to Azerbaijan and expected to be sidelined for the match.

In the Iranian camp, despite the slight knock in the Cambodia match, it is believed that Sardar Azmoun has fully recovered although Ashkan Dejagah is still doubtful for the match.

BAHRAIN vs IR IRAN
Venue: Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa
Kick-off: 19:30 (UTC +3)

Team Melli records vs. Bahrain

Bahrain is one of the few Asian and Arab opponents that have given Team Melli a run for their money throughout the years. Although Iran has double the wins vs their tiny Persian Gulf nations in their 17 matches, Bahrain has always been a stubborn opponent for the big teams of Asia.

Here is the dashboard of the games played between the two teams.

 

 

 

 

all matches

Date Competition H / A / N Result Venue Attendance
11-Jan-15 Asian Cup H 2 – 0 Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 17,712
12-Dec-12 WAFF N 0 – 0 Kazma SC Stadium, Kuwait City 1,200
11-Nov-11 World Cup Qualifier A 1 – 1 National Stadium, Riffa 18,000
11-Oct-11 World Cup Qualifier H 6 – 0 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 83,000
24-Sep-10 WAFF / Group A N 3 – 0 King Abdullah Stadium – Amman 12,000
31-Aug-09 Friendly A 2 – 4 National Stadium, Riffa 1,500
21-Mar-08 Friendly A 0 – 1 National Stadium, Riffa 3,000
08-Jun-05 World Cup Qualifier H 1 – 0 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 90,000
09-Feb-05 World Cup Qualifier A 0 – 0 Manama 30,000
06-Aug-04 Asian Cup / 3rd Place N 4 – 2 Workers Stadium, Beijing 10,000
19-Oct-01 World Cup Qualifier A 1 – 3 National Stadium, Riffa 8,000
14-Sep-01 World Cup Qualifier H 0 – 0 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 50,000
07-Apr-00 Asian Cup Qualifier H 3 – 0 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 40,000
04-Apr-00 Asian Cup Qualifier N 0 – 1 Al Hamdaniya Stadium, Aleppo 30,000
03-Oct-94 Asian Games N 0 – 0 Hiroshima Stadium, Hiroshima 5,000
20-Aug-75 Olympics Games Qualifiers H 3 – 0 Amjadieh Stadium, Tehran 25,000
07-Sep-74 Asian Games H 6 – 0 Ekbatan Stadium, Tehran 10,000

 

Top Scorers 

 

 

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.

Positive vibes of Marc Wilmots.

Marc Wilmots has crossed out the names of a few players in the new Team Melli list for the matches against Cambodia and Bahrain.

The significance of the omitted names goes beyond of numbers but it strengthens the belief in the Team Melli squad and the old mentality that a player has a place in the squad for life. Carlos Queiroz had a list that lasted for as long as he can. He trusted this group and had no regards to their current form in their leagues of the fact that other options are available. Queiroz zone of comfort was with his list of favourite players that he trusted.

Marc Wilmots is quickly showing that this mentality will not prevail in the new atmosphere of team Melli and its selection process. Every player needs to prove his worth. There is no place for just names. Players losing a form or being sidelined by their clubs will go down the pecking order. This is, in fact, the real methods of players selection that are practised across the globe with a few exceptions.

Wilmots called up two new figures in Mohammad Mohebbi and Morteza Mansouri to emphasize the message that players in excellent form in the domestic league and those whose performances merit selection for Team Melli will indeed be noticed and called upon.

 

On the other hand, a household name like Alireza Jahanbakhsh who assisted a goal against Hong Kong has no place in the squad, despite being a permanent fixture of Team Melli for over 7 years now. The current form of the player, rather than his fame will determine selection an in Jahanbakhsh’s case he has been a poor performer at club level.

 

 

Here’s a look at some of the players invited.

New Callouts:

Payam Niazmand
Rashid Mazaheri

Rashid Mazaheri (Tractorsazi) and Payam Niazmand (Sepahan): Both the goalkeepers in the list have been in the previous squads with Nazmand still to make a debut for Team Melli. Both have kept clean sheets since the start of the league competition and the position in the table of Sepahan and Tractorszai is an indication of the team success which both keepers respectively have played a major part in. hence they deservedly replaced  Seyed Hossein Hosseini and Amir Abedzadeh. Although Beiranvand is still the number guardian of Team Melli goal, his recent mixed form with Persepolis and his suspect temperament can easily outset him from the secure No. 1 choice in the pecking order. In any case, Wilmots have good and competent replacements if needed be.

It is hardly likely that Beiravand will be tested in the next two matches, with Bahrain being a more serious test.

Morteza Mansouri

Morteza Mansouri: The most prominent player invited to the camp is the 29-year-old Sepahan defender, who is in Team Melli squad for the first time and has been favoured over Esteghlal Club Captain Vouria Ghafoori. After an excellent season last year with Shar Khodr culminating in qualifying the club for the AFC Asian Champions League for the first time in their history, Mansouri moved on to Sepahan.

The tenacious defender came to the forefront of the defensive backs of Sepahan and immediately became a fixed player for AMir Ghalenoei. Sepahan’s clean sheet and continued excellent performance have made him a natural choice for selection to Team Melli.  However, he is still behind Ramin Rezaian, who plays for a lowly club in Qatar almost every week and has managed to score a few goals too.

 

Mohammad Mohebbi

Mohammed Mohebbi: Mohebbi has played for several Team Melli age level and is no stranger to the tri-colour jersey. His goal against Persepolis, however, instantly boosted his value and worth as a quality Midfield player amongst the fans. Mohebbi joined Sepahan this season with the persistence of Amir Ghalenoei who needed a competent player to fill the role of the departed Mehrdad Mohammadi. Mohebi not only was able to fulfil the role well but he exceeded expectations by helping Sepahan reach the top of the league. Mohebbi is vying for the role of Jahanbakhsh after the Brighton player was dropped due to poor form.

Mehrdad Mohammadi

Mehrdad Mohammadi: An Iranian legionnaire who recently moved from Sepahan to Portuguese football club Aves. Mehrdad has managed to score some impressive goals for his team in the last few months becoming a major player in Portugal league. Mehrdad joins his twin brother Milad in the squad for the first time. Mohammadi continued where he left off as his form with Sepahan put him high in the ranking as one of the best forwards in the Persian Gulf League. Although Mehrdad has been named in the squad several times, he has not made his official debut yet. However, in the training camp that Wilmots and the coaching staff arranged for domestic players, Mohammadi scored the only goal for Team, Melli that was facing Omid team under Majidi.

 

Mehdi Tarami:  Taremi’s absence from the previous match vs. Hong Kong was purely based on his fitness. He was injured and needed some time away to recover. After a brilliant performance in Portugal and fully recovering, Taremi is a sure bet to not only be in the starting line-up but also high odds of scoring against Cambodia and Bahrain.

Dropped  players :

Sayed Hossein Hosseini and Amir Abedzadeh: Two goalkeepers who were part of the last squad that played against Hong Kong, but were on the bench. Hosseini has not managed to keep a clean sheet all season and his team is lying in the bottom half of the table.

 Abedzadeh, who was the number goalkeeper for his team last season, has been relegated to the bench this season. It is clear that those two have lost form and subsequently, the selectors had other option thy picked instead of these two.

Varia Ghafouri: The captain of Esteghlal, who has been a member of almost every national squad except the World Cup, has lost his place in Team Melli. Ghafoori is a victim of his team’s poor performance in the league this season. Estghlal is a shadow of last year’s team and has been suffering defensively, hence both Ghafoori and goalkeeper Hosseinin lost their places. , Ramin Rezaian his usual rival in the lineup has been having a good season so far.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh: Perhaps the biggest omission but not entirely unexpected either. The English club Brighton midfielder has been less than satisfactory since his move from the Dutch League. He has not settled in and despite some factors that have curtailed Jahanbakhshs true potential, at this professional level clubs have little time to waste on recovery. Jahanbakhsh is a bench player now and in danger of being relegated to lower team. Wilmots had no choice except to leave him out with so many other good options available to him.

 Mehdi Torabi: This one is perhaps the more surprising of the lot. The Persepolis midfielder who plays behind Vahid Amiri this season has failed to impress Wilmots. Unlike Jahanbakhsh, Torabi is having an average to a good season but he is not at his best and that is the result of the turmoil in Persepolis. The reds are not doing too well in the league and changes in personnel and coaches have increased the pressure on the players. In Torabi’s place, Wilmots has several options like the recently called out Mohammed Mohebbi and Mehrdad Mohammadi.

Allahyar Sayyidmanesh: The youngest Team Melli scorer after being part of the two friendly games of Wilmot’s reign has been replaced by the much experienced  Mehdi Taremi in the camp. After his move to Istanbulspor on loan, Sayyadmanesh continues to be a bench player. If that situation continues, the young striker would need some long years before he can be picked again for Team Melli

Overall, none of the absent players is considered critical for Team Melli. Wilmots is spoilt for riches and will confidently use players with an eye of introducing the newer joiners for future.

 

Analyzing Wilmots’ selection.

Marc Wilmots started his first official match with Team Melli in the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers with a 2-0 win away to Hong Kong, is determined to build his own team rather than rely on the previous one created by Queiroz.

Morteza Mansouri
Morteza Mansouri (Sepahan)

In an evolutionary move, the Belgian head coach of Iran’s national team made a few changes to his players’ list for the next two matches against Cambodia at home and away to Bahrain. Wilmots is determined to show that he plans to evaluate and pick new players. The new squad list indicates that the Belgian coach has a great deal of confidence in the domestic League players, unlike his predecessor.

Wilmots invited Mohammad Mohebbi (21 Years) and Morteza Mansouri (29 years), two key players for current league leader Sepahan, for the first time. Wilmots’ decision to continue including Siavash Yazdani and Mohammad Naderi’s in the squad is another proof that he has much confidence in the domestic league players.

Although neither Yazdani or Naderi played in the match against Hong Kong, however, they were preferred over the experienced but ageing Vouria Ghafouri of Esteghlal. The four new players along with the regular defence players Majid Hosseini, Morteza Pouraliganji, Hossein Kanan-Zadegan will significantly lower the overall average age of Team Melli squad

The most notable omission in the list, however, must be the exclusion of Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who has been a regular fixture in the national team’s camps for the past seven years. Jahanbakhsh has just recovered from a slight knee injury and was a non-utilized bench player in today’s 3-0 Brighton win against Tottenham Hotspurs in the English Premier League.

Jahanbakhsh has been having an unfortunate time since his move to Brighton at the beginning to last season. The record signing by Brighton failed to score a single goal in all competitions last season. With the change of the head coach, Jahanbakhsh failed to even make it on the bench for his club and has yet to feature in the Premier League this season. His performance with Team Melli in the AFC Asian Cup was far from brilliant either.

Wilmots has also created a serious competition in goal for the ever-present Alireza Biranvand. In contention for the number one spot in the goal are Payam Niazmand and Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri, who have both managed to keep a clean sheet record after six weeks of Persian Gulf Premier League competition matches.

Biranvand, despite some flashes of brilliance, with the penalty save from Cristiano Ronaldo is the top of his achievements, has many suspect moments and quite a questionable temperament. Many critics believe that Niazmand is a better goalkeeper but lacks the international experience of Beiranvand.

Persepolis with five players, Tractorsazi Tabriz with four and Sepahan Isfahan with three players have the highest number in the new list of Team Melli squad. Esteghlal also has only two players after Vouria Ghafouri and Seyyed Hossein Hosseini were crossed off the final list.

Team Melli will play against Cambodia on Thursday, October 10, in Tehran and then travel to Bahrain to play against their national team on October 15th.

Team Melli starts with a comfortable win vs Hong Kong.

Team Melli defeated host Hong Kong 2-0 in its first match of Group C in the Qualifying rounds of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers China 2023. The match played in front of 14,000 cheering fans at Hong Kong Stadium in So Kon Po was marred by political protest including jeers while playing the anthem.

The goals were scored by Sardar Azmoun and Karim Ansarifard.

In hot and humid conditions which were interrupted in both halves for a minute compulsory cooling break, Team Melli had main challenge seemed to be the weather conditions rather than the strength of the opposition. Hong Kong which came into the match with one point from a draw in the first round against Cambodia was no match for Iran

In the first, with the majority of ball possession, Team Melli went into the lead at the 23rd minute when Ansaifard tees the ball for Azmoun to volley into the far corner of Hong Kong keeper. The goal was a result of some fine work initiated by Ramin Rezaeian on the right-wing.

Karim Ansarifard could have scored a spectacular goal himself when he hit a powerful scissors kick that ricocheted off the bar with the keeper helpless.

In the second half, Team Melli continued where they left off with even more possession and a barrage of corners. The result was another goal scored by Karim Ansarifard once again thanks to some fine work and cross by Rezaian from the right flank. As time was passing, the packed defences of the host and the instance of Team Melli to penetrate a pretty packed box did not lead to an increase in the tally.

Team Melli could not add to the score further despite several good opportunities were created including a late Sardar Azmoun attempt that the Hong Kong Keeper saved well.

The Hong Kong players resorted to some rough play with the Japanese referee showing 4 of the host players a yellow card. It could have been many more thant that.

In general it was a comfortable win by Team Melli with minimal effort. The weather was a factor in less than optimum performance and true attacking football. Despite the shy Hong Kong offensive attempts, the Iranian defence was solid as they turned Beiranvand role into a spectator in the majority of game time.

There were some shortfalls in Team Melli performance that Marc Wilmots will definitely address in the next few weeks. The major issue is the failure to take advantage of dead-ball situations. Despite double figures of corners, none of them created any serious scoring chances as the host defenders and the keeper had little difficulties in defending them. There were no variations in the corner kicks, and no attempt to use wide player plus the ball delivery was of low quality, that is until Dejagah was substituted in late in the match and took the corners much better.

The occasional sloppy play by team Melli players and several delays in passing was another area of concern that could be very well punished by the stronger teams.

The two best players today were Karim Ansarifard and Ramin Rezaeian. It is difficult to choose one over another as both played quite well and were instrumental in the two goals. It is not difficult to choose the worst player of the match though, as Alireza Jahanbakjhsh continued his dismal performance during the match. With little or no contribution to the match, it was quite surprising that Wilmots allowed him to play for 88 minutes. His replacement, Dejgah made a big impact in only a few minutes. This leads to many genuine questions on how Dejagah was left out of the squad initially, yet a non-performer like Jahanbakhsh was picked to start the match.

In the other match of the group today, Bahrain managed to beat Cambodia 1-0 in Phnom Penh to lead the group with 4 points in two games. Iran is second with 3 points.

WC 2022 Qualifiers : Group C teams share the spoils

The four teams of Group C of the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers were in action on Thursday, while Iran took a day off in Matchday 1.

Both matches in Phnom Penh and Riffa ended in a 1-1 draw

Cambodia produced an impressive display despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Hong Kong at the Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium in their opening FIFA World Cup 2022 second-round qualifier.

Heading into the match arguably as slight favourites, it was Hong Kong who broke the deadlock in the 16th minute when Tan Chun Lok burst down the right and into the area before finishing into the back of the net.

But, three minutes after the half-hour mark, the hosts equalized after Sath Rosib caught the opposition defence napping a slipped a neat pass through to Keo Sokpheng, who made no mistake in coolly firing past Yapp Hung Fai.

As the game wore on, it was Cambodia who showed the greater endeavour and looked the likelier of the two sides to go on and win it. However, the winner eluded the Cambodians.

In Riffa, Host Bahrain took an early lead against Iraq with a blunder by Iraq goalkeeper.  On the 9th minute, Komeil Al Aswad sent cross from outside the box intended to the forwards, but his angle was way off as the ball went straight to Iraq’s keeper Mohammad Hassan Farhan’s lap for a safe catch, however the Iraqi keeper somehow managed to let the ball lose to slip underneath him into the goal.

Iraq young attacker Mohanad Ali rescued a point for his team five minutes from time with a fine half volley while Seyed Mohammad Jafar in Bahrain goal could have done much better.

Cambodia will continue their Group C campaign on Tuesday with another home game against Bahrain while Hong Kong entertains heavyweights Iran in Hong Kong.