Tag: Doha

Omid team ties Qatar with Gentleman Estili's generosity!

In a friendly match held in Doha, Iran's Omid Team (U23) tied with Qatar U23  2-2 today. The match played on Saturday evening at Al Arabi's Hamad AlKabir Stadium behind closed doors. Omid team led the first half 2-0 with goals scored by Reza Shekari from a penalty kick, and Mehdi Ghaedi. Hamid Estili’s had the upper hand on Félix Sánchez Bas, the Spanish coach of Qatar and the Asian Cup Champions in the first half. Both teams are preparing for the upcoming AFC U23 Championship in Thailand, which is also the qualifiers for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 football tournament. In the first half, Qatar player Mohammed Emad Aiash was sent off in the 35th minute for violent conduct, however, Hamid Estili suggested to his Qatari counterpart Felix Sanchez to replace the sent off player with another one. Qatar team obliged as they sent in Ahmed Suhail to replace the sent off player. It was the sportsmanship act by Estili and a clever one too as he needed to see his team play against the strongest opposition possible regardless of the result. The ensuing Free kick from the sending off was a beautifully executed goal by Mehdi Ghaedi. The first half ended 2-0 for Iran’s Omid team. At the beginning of the second half, the Qatari’s again lost another player Yusuf Abdulrazzaq with a red card. And again, Estili became the true gentleman and invited Sanchez to send a replacement! This time Qatar sent Amro AbduFattah to the field. It is the first time in history at this level of football that one team is given two red cards, yet continue playing to the end with 11 players. Simply unheard of. Abdul Rashid Ebrahim reduced the deficit on the 83rd minute for Qatar. The same player scored the equalizer in the dying seconds of the match om minute 96.  As customary with Iranian teams, there is always a lapse of concentration leading to conceding a goal. In support of Hamid Estili's demand for the league to be postponed, the FFIRI partially postponed some of the matches to enable the Omid team to set up a training camp in Doha and play this friendly match. Teams Line up

Iran U23

Merag Esmaeili: Aref Aghasi, Mojtaba Najarian, Matin Karimzadeh, Reza Dehghani [76' Sina Zamehran], MohammedMedi Mehdikhani, Mohammad Mohebi [66' Mohammad Khodabandelo], Ali Shojaei [70' Amir Roustaei], Omid Noorafkan, Mehdi Ghedi [70' Reza Jabeira], Reza Shekari [66' Jafar Salmani] Coach : Hamid Estili

Qater U23

Mohammed AlBakri: Abdullah Ali Saei, Tarek Salman, Mohammad AlBayati, Yusuf Abdurazzaq , Abdulla Abdulslam, Khalifa Saad, Mohammed Emad Aiash , Hashim Ali, Abdulrahman Mohammed, Homam Elamain Ahmed. Coach : Felix Sanchez Baz

Omid Team training is at full throttle.

Omid team is actively preparing for the crucial AFC U23 Championship 2020  by conducting constant practice sessions under the direction of Hamid Estili.

Today's (Sunday) session which started at 9:30, Hamid Estili briefed the players on the objectives and details of today's practice session. Then Mohammad Sharifi, Sina Zamiran and Mohammed Mohebbi left the group to conduct the fitness tests which all other players went undertook.

The training of the rest of the squad started with all members of the technical staff supervising the proceedings and giving the required tactical and technical advice.

This session which was carried out in the National Football Training Center included a light physical program. The next practice is scheduled for tonight at 9 pm.

Meanwhile, Omid Noorafkan and Mohammad Mohebbi (Sepahan) Reza Shekari and Mohammad Reza Azadi (Tractorsazi) Aref Aghasi and Mojtaba Najarian (Foolad Khuzestan) Ali Shojaei and Reza Dehghani (Nasiji Mazandaran) Ali Shahsavari and Mohammad KhodabandehLo (Peykan) and Sina Zamehran (Shar Khodro ) have joined the squad after their respective teams released them to Omid team.

Mohammad Mehdi Khani who plays for the Croatian side  NK Varaždin will also join the Omid (Olympic) squad on Monday.

"The initial list of Olympic team players, including 50 players, according to the AFC's regulations. " Hamid Estili said on the eve of the training camp's inauguration. "After shortlisting the number to 30, the squad departs to  Qatar, where we will have an 8-day training camp and two friendly matches in Doha."

"After returning to Tehran, we will announce the list of the final 23 players which form the Omid Team that will be competing in the AFC Asian Championship also the Olympic qualifiers scheduled to be held in Thailand. In some of the posts, we are still looking for the final option, such as the right-back, which was vacated due to the injury to  Aghajanpour and we are reviewing the names of 1 or 2 options to decide the final squad," Estili added.

The coach of the Omid team once again called on the clubs to cooperate and assist with the team by saying: "Our plan during these 18 months of engagement was comprehensive. We tried to invite players for training or matches in FIFA days. We were aware of their special circumstances and situation, but at this juncture we expect the clubs to understand our situation too. Invited players will return to the clubs before the 16th week but after the end of the week it is necessary for the clubs to abandon their squads and allow our training to start. There are legal measures we can refer to, of course, but there should not be such issues among colleagues, and we need to all work in a friendly manner. I am sure my good colleagues at the clubs are on the side of the Omid team, preferring the national interest to everything else and helping us at this point."

Team Melli vs. Bangladesh called off.

Bangladesh's national team head coach expressed his satisfaction with the cancellation of the proposed international friendly match against Iran.

According to Daily Star, Bangladeshi Football Federation requested the arrangement of a friendly in Doha just before the start of the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers.

The Secretary-General of the Bangladesh Federation has said that the match was cancelled because the two sides could not agree on the dates of the match in Qatar. Bangladeshi national football team coach Jimmy Dee said "Iran is ranked 20th in FIFA World Cup Ranking and we are in the 182nd position. Our goal is to improve our position in FIFA ranking, so if we play with strong teams and not be able to defeat them and fail to get points, we will not be able to climb up the FIFA ranking, so it is better to play with other teams instead of playing with Iran.”

FIFA World Cup qualifier will start in September. Team Melli is will have at least one friendly match before its opening match versus Hong Kong on 10th September. FFIRI is still searching for an opponent.

Iran is grouped with Iraq, Bahrain, Hong Kong and Cambodia in the Preliminary Round 2 Group C of the World Cup qualifiers.

Bangladesh FF proposes a friendly match with Team Melli.

The Daily Star

Sport reporter

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) is in discussion with its Iranian counterpart for a FIFA Friendly ahead of the two teams’ first match of the World Cup Qualifiers in September.

A high-placed BFF official yesterday confirmed that they have sent a proposal to the Iranian Football Federation regarding a friendly match in Doha, Qatar in the first week of September, however, the fixture is far from set.

“We have contacted Iran Football Federation regarding a match, and their initial reply is a positive one. However, we have a few other teams on our list and the fixture is not finalised as yet,” BFF’s general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag told The Daily Star.

“Since our first match of the qualifiers in on September 10, we would like to have an 8-10 days’ training camp in Doha after a few days’ training in Dhaka. We are planning for a friendly match against a national team during that time in Doha. The match could be held on September 4th or 5th, so that the team can fly straight out of Doha for the first qualifying match against Afghanistan,” Shohag added.

Tehran Times, a leading Iranian newspaper, earlier reported that since both the teams have their first matches on September 10, a September 5 fixture between Iran and Bangladesh is being negotiated by the two federations.

Iran are the highest-ranked Asian team at the moment, currently 20th in FIFA Rankings. Bangladesh, on the other hand, is ranked 183rd.

Bangladesh last met Iran during the 1990 World Cup qualifiers in 1989. Bangladesh lost both matches, 2-1 in Dhaka and 1-0 in Tehran.

Krim Ansarifard in the Qatar Star League

The former Nottingham Forest player and Team Melli centre forward, Karim Ansarifard signed a 2-year contract with Al Sailiya Sports Club in Doha.

Al-Sailiya SC is managed by the Tunisian Sami Trabelsi and Ansarifard is the only non-Arab player in the squad which is mainly formed of north African and Sudanese players.

Last season, the club ended the season in a very respectable 3rd position behind champions Al Sadd and runners up Al Duhail. This was one of the best rankings of Al Sailiya in Qatar Star league. Ansarifard, whose contract with English Championship club Nottingham forest has run out, had a few good seasons in Greece before moving to England and the disappointment of Nottingham Forest. In 2017/18 season, the 29 years old Ansarifard played in the Greek League for Olympiakos Piraeus where he scored 17 goals in 26 matches. However, in England, Ansarifard only managed 3 goals in 12 matches without securing a starting place in the line up of coach O'Neil.

Nottingham Forest had to endure a lot before managing to secure the signature of Ansarifard last season after eventually getting his work permit sorted out, but after all that effort the striker was to warm the bench for most of the season!

England has never been a successful playing ground for Iranian internationals and despite the small number of them playing in England, none of the Iranians managed to claim success. Jahanbaksh, the Top Scorer of the Eredivisie, was bought by Brighton for a record fee, but he could not score a single goal in the Premier League or other competitions with his team in a full season. It is to be noted however that Jahanbakhsh only played 19 games for Brighton missing many due to injury and then the AFC Asian Cup 2019 while he was away with Team Melli.

Omid Team scores 5 against Kuwait

Iran's Omid Team (U23) defeated Kuwait 5-0  in the second match of the Round-Ribbon invitational tournament in Qatar. After losing to Tajikistan in the first match, the Iranian team bounced back with a vengeance against Kuwait and ended up scoring five goals without reply.

Kranjcar's players took control of the game from the very first minutes of the match and managed to open the scoring as early as the 3rd minute through Alireza Arta's shot. Iran continued to put pressure on the opponent's goal throughout the match , while Kuwait was content with defending.

In the 40th minute, Sayyad-Manish scored  from a rebound after the Kuwait goalkeeper failed to hold on to the ball.  First half ended 2-0 with a decisive superiority by Omid Team.

In the second half, again, Iran continued the same with superior control and possession. The third goals was just a matter of time. Younis Delphi scored the third , five minutes after the start of the second half in the 50th minute on a clever ball stealing and accurate shot from an acute angle.

Hosseinzadeh scored the fourth in 54th minute with a precise shot to raise the pressure on the Kuwait team.

Omid Noorafkan was the fifth Iranian player on the score sheet, with a precise free kick in the 72nd minute. After the fifth goal, the humiliated Kuwaitis resorted to rough and aggressive play with some wild tackles flying. As a result , Iranian players retaliated in the absence of proper protection from the referee. In the aftermath of one such intense clashes, two players from each team were shown the red card. Amir Roustaei and Kuwait defender received their marching order in the 80th minute.

 In the 90th minute, Hamid Taherkhani was sent off as well , for Omid team to continue with 9 players , however the match ended with an emphatic 5-0 win for Iran's Omid Team.

Qatar and Iran will play the final match on the 21st of January in Aspire Training field in Doha. Kuwait will meet Tajikistan in their last match.

Team Melli Final Training Schedule for AFC Asian Cup announced.

Iran's football federation announced the schedule for the final Team Melli training camp up to the AFC Asian Cup 2019  in UAE.

the federation's official website mentioned that after the approval of the President of the FFIRI, the training plan will be held in Qatar and will last until the AFC Asian Cup.

The squad will utilize Camp Aspire facilities that was provided by the Qatari Football Federation. Most training session will be held in Camp Aspire while official matches will be held at designated stadiums. The camp will start on  December 17th  and conclude on January 2nd  2019. The squad will fly to Abu Dhabi on January 2nd, ahead of its first game on December 7th against Yemen  in Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.

During the training Camp in Doha, Team Melli will play 2 friendly matches and possibly a third against Lebanon which is yet to be confirmed.

The first match will be against Palestine on the 24th December, and a week later , Team Melli will face Qatar..

Meanwhile, the final roster for the Asian Cup will be announced on December 26th.

Iran draws Venezuela

Team Melli drew 1 - 1 with Venezuela as part of the preparations for the AFC Asian Cup 2019. The friendly international match was played in Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar today (Tuesday).

The Venezuelan scored first through Darwin Machis on the half hour. Ali Gholizadeh equalized just before Half time for Iran.

First half:

The best chance to score was wasted by Iran as early as the 10th minute by Sardar Azmoun, after some brilliant work on the right flank by Ali Gholizadeh. Azmoun hit the ball which was nicely delivered to him by Gholizadeh at the Venezuelan keeper who blocked its path and deflected over it the bar for a corner thus depriving Azmoun from scoring a certain goal.

The first goal was scored in the 35th minute by Machies for Venezuela as the player easily dribbled passed the out of form Rezaeian and shoot passed him. A weak reflex  by Abedzadeh in goal allowed the ball to pass underneath his body to announce the first goal of the match. It was an awful goal to concede and a blunder by the defender and the keeper..

In the 43rd minute, Ali Gholizade, who was the star of the Iranian national team in the first half, with a series of skillful moves and dribbling of two opponents, shot a diagonal ball that beat the keeper to score level the score.

Second half:

in the 49th minute, Mehdi Taremi robbed the ball from a defender just outside the box. While he had two players in much better position than him to score, decided to go a lone a shoot weakly outside the post.

In the 53rd minute, the referee announced a penalty kick after Taremi was tripped in the box. but after referring to the VAR system, the Qatari referee changed his mind and reversed the penalty call.

The Venezuelan player manged to put the ball into Team Melli's net in the 65th minute, but the referee disallowed it fo roffside. In the next few minutes, the two teams committed far too many fouls as the game turned into a physical battle, as it normally does with South American opposition.

There was yet another penalty call for Iran this time for handball inside the box. Once again the referee decided to check the VAR and once again he cancelled the penalty although the replays from many angles shows a definite and clear contact of the ball with Venezuelan defender.

With 15 minutes left, the substitutions started by both team and like it always does, the momentum and the excitement of the match was lost on both sets of players.

Team Melli lineup:

Amir Abedzadeh, Ramin Rezaian (Sadegh Moharrami), Omid Ebrahimi, Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh, Hossein Kanan-Zadegan, Milad Mohammadi, Vahid Amiri (Mehdi Torabi), Ali Gholizadeh (Ashkan Dejagah), Sardar Azmoun (Karim Ansarifrd), Mehdi Taremi (Kaveh Rezaei ) and Saman Ghodoos (Masoud Shojaei)    

Venezuela match to be played in Doha

According to IRIFF's official website, the Iranian national team will fly to Doha, Qatar right after the match against Trinidad and Tobago, in preparation for another international friendly on the 20th November 2018 day at Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium against Venezuela.

This match was supposed to be played in Tehran, but the Venezuelan federation had a change of mind and refused to travel to Tehran.  Negotiations between the two resulted in a midway solution as the match venue was changed to Doha.

Venezuela is ranked twenty-ninth and in FIFA Ranking one above Iran. The match will be held Tuesday, November 29, 18 (local time) in Doha.

Mohammad Tayebi, Foolad Khuzestan & Team Melli Central defender has transferred to Qatar FC for an undisclosed sum.

The big defender who made his debut for Team Melli against Kyrgyzstan on 7th .Jun 2016 is the first foreign player on the list of the Qatar Star League side coached by the Argentine Gabriel Calderón

Tayebi (30 years) will be playing in a pivotal role for Qatar SC which plays in their  Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium, in Doha