Tag: Dragan Skočić

Rogério De Sa waits on Iran’s FA to see if he and Queiroz still have a job

Rogério De Sa’s future with the Iran national team is hanging in the balance and he says he will resume talks with the federation after the festive break.

The former Orlando Pirates and Bidvest Wits coach is back in South Africa from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

De Sa was Iran coach Carlos Queiroz’s assistant and their collaboration did not yield the required results of getting the team to the knockout stages for the first time in the country’s history. Team Melli lost 6-2 against England, beat Wales 2-0 and lost 1-0 against the US to end third in Group B.

De Sa and Queiros have Mozambican parentage and have worked together for some time. Earlier this year, they took Egypt to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon where the Pharaohs, led by Liverpool talisman Mo Salah, were defeated by Sadio Mane-led Senegal.

Twelve years ago, the duo coached a star-studded Portugal at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

“We are not sure about our future with the Iran national team but we will resume our talks with the federation in January. We hope to continue with the team next year,” De Sa said.

De Sa has already started working as an analyst on the pay-channel SuperSport’s World Cup panel. “After the World Cup, I will go on holiday for the rest of December,” he said.

Queiroz and De Sa only took over Iran in early September, replacing Croatian Dragan Skočić after Mehdi Taj was elected as Iranian FA president in October, returning to the position he held from 2016 to 2019. The South African assistant coach was quite confident of Iran reaching the knockout stages after a friendly 1-0 win against Uruguay

“But we are confident about reaching the knockout stages — that will be history, it will be for the first time Iran achieved that. In the last two World Cups, they came very close. We can only try again. But there is an amazing fighting spirit in the team. There are good attitudes in this team, no stars.”

De Sa said the limited time they had with the team, and a tough group always made for an uphill battle in Qatar. De Sa said the same thing about Egypt in the African Nations Cup.

“We were drawn into a very difficult group and our players were always going to find it very tough. We also did not have enough time because some of our players were arriving days before the games started.

“It was a different World Cup with so many different dynamics compared to other tournaments. Our team was made up of mostly local players, but it was an important learning experience for the boys playing against England’s superstars they see in the English Premier League, the stars of the US, and against players such as Gareth Bale [of Wales].

“We wanted to make history by qualifying for the knockout stage but we could not get over the line. It is very humid and the tempo of the matches is dropping [in the latter stages of the tournament]. There is air-conditioning at the stadiums but it is only switched on during matches. Some players are going to start struggling and that’s when you start seeing the big boys coming out on top.

 

Desperate FFIRI losing battle!

According to Mehr reporter, Dragan Skočić, the former head coach of Iran’s Team Melli, who was fired a few months before the World Cup, decided to confront FFIRI personnel following their slanders against him in the aftermath of Team Melli in the World Cup elimination. Those accusations were expressed by the vice president of the football federation, Mohhamadnabi on Friday.

For the first time since his departure, Skočić defended himself while harshly criticizing his successor, Mehdi Taj, and MohammadNabi,

In a hastily arranged, quirky, and clichéd response, the FFIRI while refuting Skocic’s statements (…), claimed that it will file a law suite against Skočić for defamation.

In the published statement of FFIRI, it was not clear which part of the Croat coach’s recent post, is false, libelous, or made to be harmful to FFIRI’s reputation, which a court of law can accept for such a case.

Skočić claimed that Nabi and his entourage were in contact with a certain group of Team Melli players before the elections of the Football Federation and lobbied them for support. It was the same group that had been in contact with Queiroz. This issue was brought up many times before by Mirshad Majdi, the acting head of the federation, as well as Hamid Estili, the head of the national team, and it was never denied, by Team Melli players, especially the supporters of Queiroz, who were mainly the senior players. The disgruntled players were subject to Skocic exclusion from the squad due to various reasons but mainly, an attempt by the Croat to introduce younger and more energetic players from the domestic league as replacements.

A smear campaign against Skočić started by spreading stories in several media outlets supporting the return of the former Team Melli coach, who has a track record of failure after failure not only with Iran but with Colombia and then Egypt. On the eve of the football federation elections, this shadowy group invited the members of the federation assembly to vote for Mehdi Taj to improve the conditions of the national team. Some unconfirmed stories of intimidation were published but quickly withdrawn after threats against the publishers. The group sought the support of Team Melli players.

In the end, it became clear that the senior players’ group was supporting the election of Taj, on the condition that Queiroz returns to Team Melli after the dismissal of Skocic, and of course, a guarantee that these old players are included in the squad participating in the World Cup.

Around the same time as these events, Carlos Queiroz, posted on his social media page a message that confirmed that he was fully aware of the situation in Iran, confirming contact(s) between Queiroz and his supporting players.  As such, such contacts as stated by Skocic is not a deniable or hidden issue that the Football Federation could use against Skocic to file a lawsuit!

In the post published by Skocic, he claimed that the Iranian national team was the oldest team present in the World Cup, which is easily proven based on statistics, and of course, the reason for the increase in the average age of the national team was the presence of older players who are, not accidentally, the proponents of Carlos Queiroz. To enhance his chances, Mehdi Taj and his aids, a group supported by the regime anyway, approached the Minister of Yout and Sports, Hamid Sajjadi, and claimed that the majority of Team Melli players and certainly the senior members are dissatisfied with Skocic while giving the minister several false and fabricated stories. Taj warned that time was critical, and his election will save Team Melli from humiliation in Qatar.

Sajjadi hardly bothered to research the issue meticulously or have his own audit or investigation, so he hastily approved the Taj’s plans and backed him fully to win the election. Since almost all the clubs are owned directly or indirectly by the government, it was not too difficult for the owners to demand their CEOs to vote for Taj.

It was quite predictable, that those players, such as Ehsan Hajsafi, Karim Ansarifard, Vahid Amiri, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, and Mehdi Taremi got rewarded for the efforts by being assured of a pace in the final list of Team Melli heading to Doha. With that list, Iran officially becomes the oldest team in its history present in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

In another part, Skocic addressed the members of the Federation by mentioning that they can enjoy the rewards and vehicles tax-free imports that they were awarded as a result of his efforts to assure Team Melli qualification. The reward officially announced by FFIRI specifically for qualifying for the World Cup, and naturally, this progress was guided by and achieved during Skocic’s coaching period, Therefore, this part of Skočić’s statement seems completely accurate and logical, and apparently cannot be denied by the Football Federation.

The former head coach of Team Melli also pointed out in another sarcasm that with the significant income he brought to the football federation (9 million dollars FIFA reward for qualifying for the World Cup), the officials of the federation can pay off the heavy debts resulting from their past bad deals and poor management. A veiled reference to the amount due to Marc Wilmots who was recruited by Mehdi Taj. That is, of course, an undeniable fact.

In other parts of Skocic’s post, issues such as players’ selection, trust in loyalty (towards the regime), and the lack of courage and bravery in the strategy of the game, are opinions on team issues that have already been discussed by many experts and veterans. Many experts and Iranian analysts have raised concerns similar to what Skočić mentioned. As such, these are not items that one party can file a lawsuit against.

In the end, the Football Federation should clearly and explicitly describe what it means by such accusations against Skočić instead of the issue of the clichéd statement against Skocic’s post and accusing the Croat of publishing lies and untrue statements. It is also prudent to mention how can these statements be prosecuted.

Dragan Skočić feeling of relief and pride after Croatia wins third place.

Croatia ended their World Cup campaign with the pride of claiming third place in a 2-1 win against Morocco, which marked the end of a journey but also promised a bright future, coach Zlatko Dalic said on Saturday.

Croatia, runners-up in 2018, prevailed with goals by Josko Gvardiol and Mislav Orsic to end their World Cup on a high as Luka Modric possibly bid farewell to the soccer extravaganza.

Croatia beat Brazil in the quarter-finals, but for Dalic, Saturday’s bronze medal game was the highlight of their tournament.

“It was a difficult, great match. I want to extend my congratulations to Morocco, they put up a great fight until the last minute, despite the fatigue.

“They can be proud, they remind me of us four years ago. We’re among the best teams in the world.”

Croatia can now look forward to the future with confidence.

“It’s the end of a cycle for us, the end of a journey. Tonight’s match and the win is the moment of the tournament for us,” said Dalic.

“Yes, this is the last World Cup for some of my players today due to their age. But we have young players in the team and it is great for Croatia,” he added, referring to  man of the match Josko Gvardiol, but also Lovro Majer and Borna Sosa.

“We have many of the players on the bench, too.”

Dalic, however, is still counting on his old guard for the Nations League and the Euro 2024 qualifiers.

“We would not have been that far without our older players. We have a great future, Croatia has nothing to fear. Is it the end of an era for a generation? Well, we still have the Nations League and the Euro qualifiers. All I know is that Croatia has a bright future.”

While the proud nation of only 3.8 million people is meager compared to the 9 million living in Tehran only, its football pedigree is something to be proud of. Finalist in the last tournament and third-place winner in the current 2022 edition, the Croats must be feeling elated and proud of their achievements. One person who was robbed of being a happy and proud man is non-other than Dragan Skočić. The Croat former head coach of Team Melli was unceremoniously removed from his post following the return of Mehdi Taj. After taking Iran to the World Cup finals, his reward was dismissal. The win for his country must at least have given Skočić some sense of justice and relief, while Mehdi Taj and his failed team are pondering what to do next, perhaps figure out a trick to reinstate the perpetual failure coach to ruin Iranian football again, this time in Asia Cup 2023.

Dragan Skočić responds to Taj albeit briefly!

A few minutes ago, Team Melli’s former head coach published a post critical of Mehdi Taj and his associate Mehdi Mohammadnabi, which he deleted after a short time. According to Isna, after the return of the Iranian national football team from the World Cup, and failure to qualify from a group, a feat which was quite possible for Iran to advance to the knockout stages, Mehdi Mohammadnabi, the manager and Markar Aghajanian, Queiroz’s assistant, talked about the circumstances yesterday.

In that interview, both criticized the team during Skocic’s era and blamed the head coach, without naming him for Team Melli’s player’s disunity and disagreement!!

While MohammadNabi is a political appointee and an extension of the regime, planted in the FFIRI and Team Melli in particular (his attire and looks give it away immediately), he has the motive to blame this failure on the previous coach and management. However, it was quite surprising that a respectable character and coach Markar Aghajanian joined this bandwagon!!!  Aghajanian is a football personality, he played and coached in addition to being an analyst and advisor. Unlike Mohhamdnabi, he has a footballing pedigree.

Neither Mohammadnabi nor Aghajanian were part of the Team Melli structure in the camp in Doha for their views to be taken seriously. All they are doing is manipulating the views of several anti-Skocic players to use for their own advantage. It is a sick game that is being repeatedly played in Iran’s football circles. It is intensified now that the regime is facing massive protests all across the country. For the record, Carlos Queiroz is handpicked regime head coach.  The regime is also controlling FFIRI.

The Croatian coach responded to them in a post he published on Instagram and Facebook. Dragan Skočić called the results of the national team a failure and attacked Taj and Nabi in the article he published on his social pages. It is unclear why Skocic deleted the post because facts do not lie and will remain for generations. It supports his status and achievements in Team Melli. Under the Croatian, Team Melli was revitalized and brought from the dead to head of the group and qualify for the finals of the World Cup in record time with three matches to spare. Under Taj and Queiroz, Iran was beaten 6-2, the worst result in it history of Iran in the world cup, and then failed to even draw with the USA to qualify due to the expired tactics of Queiroz.

So, to cover for their failures in Doha, this Mohammadnabi starts to blame some players in Team Melli and the previous regime in a cowardly and shameless act.

Dragan Skočić criticizes Team Melli formation.

The former head coach of Team Melli, Dragan Skočić who managed to lead Iran in the qualifying rounds under challenging conditions, to the World Cup to see his hard work being robbed by Carlos Queiroz, criticized the Line up of the team in FIFA World Cup.

After the loss to America, in an interview, Skočić again reviewed the events that happened to him in Iran and his dismissal from the team’s bench and said:

‘As it is, I can say that I have already passed a little. It happened in September.  The tension was high. They kept changing the head of the federation. Finally, a boss was appointed in the federation who also previously was the chief before I came and he practically destroyed my contract and financial commitment. Iran was on the verge of elimination from an early stage of qualification, and for this reason, we were not allowed to lose points in the rest of the qualifiers. We got the best result in the history of Asia in the qualifiers, but it wasn’t enough for me to take the team to the World Cup.

Skočić admitted that he had a difficult time watching Iran. He said: “I am also of flesh and blood, it is hard for me to watch it (Iran games) because I should have been there, but I am strong enough. to bounce again. ” The former head coach of Team Melli then criticized the formations that Carlos Queiroz used in the matches during the three games in the World Cup and stated: “I watched the games. There were many changes, and many different factors involved. In the first game -against England- Iran was extremely cautious. If I were to written 10 different formations for this match, I would not have guessed this formation. I was there for three years and worked closely work the players. Those who played in the World Cup 2022 were not the ones that played in the World Cup qualifiers at all. In the second match – against Wales – he brought Iran closer to the team that was playing in my last term.

only four players did not get any minutes in the three games played as Queiroz used 21 players against England, Wales, and the USA. Amongst the players that were unused Amir Abedzadeh, Vahid Amiri, and Shoja’a  Khalilzadeh were three of the key players for Dragan Skočić team in the preliminary rounds of the qualifiers and played a significant role in Iran’s qualification to the finals. Of course, players such as Sadegh Moharrami, Saman Ghoddos, and Mohammad Hossein Kananizadegan did not get much playing time either. Queiroz mainly used a formation that he had confidence in during his eight-year tenure with Team Melli. Hossein Kananizadegan and Khalilzadeh formed a solid partnership in the central defense of Iran when Skočić was at the helm.

The Mind Game in the FIFA World Cup.

There have been many mutterings about Team Melli qualifying from Group B of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 for the first time in six attempts. Although these expectations have cooled recently, it is natural that fans look upon Team Melli to send several messages in these black days of the Iranian nation.

Political unrest and the daily news of deaths, injuries, arrests, riots, and disturbances across Iran in the aftermath of the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the notorious Morality Police have confused and dampened the interest of many Iranians including those who are living abroad. There is a clear and definite split of opinions on the status of the Team representing Iran in the World Cup. While many believe that this team is a representative of a brutal regime and is being used as a propaganda tool for the Islamic republic leading many to demand from FIFA to kick the Team out of the World Cup, others still firmly believe that this team represents the people and its honors equated to national honors that make people happy and pride in a country where many people do not have a sense of happiness and experiencing extreme hardship under a tyrannical and authoritarian regime.

The mood of the players and their psychological status means a world of difference in whether the team makes it to the next round.

Carlos Queiroz’s arrival from the backdoor was the first shock to Team Melli. The majority of the players religiously believed in their fired ex-boss Dragan Skocic. The Croat and beyond any shadow of a doubt, performed a miracle by qualifying for the world cup while they were on the brink of being eliminated in the second round under Marc Wilmots. Skočić, was treated cruelly, not much dissimilar from the way that the regime treats its own people. As a result of his dismissal and the arrival of Queiroz, the splits and differences grew within the players themselves. Although the official media talks about the harmony and unity of the team. it is far from true with players still suffering the bitter split between the groups.

Then come the post-Mahsa Amini events and the uprising of the people. Another split in the team has grown as many Team Melli players publicly supported the uprising and spoke against the regime publicly or through social media. Those who did not dare to speak out chose the road of muted celebrations which became quite common with many sporting teams in Iran.  Some player lost their chance of being in the squad because of these expressions of support. There are also pro-regime players in Team Melli and all the coaches are well aware that these are untouchables. This minority of players remain to keep a low profile

It remains to be seen how the differences, stress, and low morale will affect the overall performance of Team Melli in Doha.

On the pitch, since Queiroz’s arrival, Team Melli is not exactly shining either. A very good result against Uruguay and a draw against Senegal two high-ranked teams mistakingly led many to believe in the Queiroz Magical touch effect and high expectations. Then Iran played against a lowly Nicaragua and managed a slim shy 1-0 victory, while in the next game Team Melli was beaten 2-0 by Tunisia a powerful African team playing in the World Cup. A reality check.

The other concern is that Queiroz is known to have a blind belief in Legionnaires. He hardly has any interest in the domestic league players. Considering that Queiroz will for sure give the Legionnaires priority, the worry lies in these players’ recent performances and forms. Apart from Porto’s Mehdi Taremi, the rest have done miserably badly in the European Leagues. Sardar Azmoun has been injured for a long period and is still recovering as we speak, but even before his unfortunate injury, he was not exactly shining for Bayer Leverkusen.  Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Saman Ghoddos are nearly permanent bench players. None of them scored a goal in the league competition. Beiranvand despite changing two clubs in Europe could not make the grade there and returned back after two seasons. Ansarifard, Hajsafi, and Mohammadi were fringe players in their Greek club, the former was unceremonially pushed out of AEK Athena to the Cyprus league. Saeid Ezzatollahi who is called the Marco Polo of Iranian football has traveled across many countries and clubs, never settled down anywhere and now he is in the World Cup playing for a second-division Danish Club !!!

Gholizadeh is not faring well either, while Allahyar Sayyedmanish has missed the World Cup altogether through injury.

So, it is clear that the players Queiroz depends on are not at top form with many lacking proper game times. It is doubtful that these few days they are together will turn the team into a fighting force.

 There is no argument that England is by far a superior team to Iran and the first match on November 21st will be the toughest test for Team Melli. If circumstances were different, we would have most probably put a few dollars on Iran drawing or even defeating England as the Brits are not at their best form either. A series of defeats, relegation from the European Nations League, and a reputation for failure at critical moments are all stacked against the English Team.

The weather in Qatar is still not ideal either. Temperature and Humidity are major factors, in the discomfort of Europeans in general despite the stadium air conditioning system.

The preparatory matches against Nicaragua and Tunisia, will not have any positive effect from a technical point of view and can only improve the team’s mental state. On the positive side, Queiroz excels in the mental preparation of his players. He knows his opponents well and his successful reading of the England team is the most important step in Iran’s dream of qualification. Of course, a positive result against England is not the end of the road, as two well-prepared and capable opponents are waiting to defeat Iran. a team that all others group members think is beatable.

There will be a mind game played between Iran and England so that will be the case against the USA. Western propaganda will not leave politics alone and will intimidate the players anytime they feel like it. That is their game. Anything to lower the morale of the players and remind them that they are playing for a regime that kills and tortures its own people.  At this stage apart from the fact that England is the favorite and its fans will continue singing ” It is Coming Home”. the rest is difficult to call. If Iran stands a chance, it has to be based on its mental strength and the physical attributes of its defenders. When it comes to tactics and game plans, there is admittedly a gap, but football is notorious for unpredictable results.

FFIRI again in trouble with payments, this time it is Skocic.

Skocic’s financial burden is on the shoulders of the Football Federation

The president of the Football Federation has not yet managed to settle the severance pay that is due for the sacked Croat ex-Team Melli coach Dragan Skocic, Mehdi Taj promised Skocic that FFIRI will pay all his dues before he leaves Iran, but there were no settlements nor any payments.

Mehdi Taj decided to terminate Dragan Skocic’s contract after returning to the position of President of the Football Federation so that Carlos Queiroz can be recruited for Team Melli’s bench in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Taj is guilty of creating a catastrophic contract with Marc Wilmots, which caused Iranian football to be fined 3,325,000 euros plus a 5% per year delay fine, the heaviest case in FFIRI history .

When he was faced with demands of the Belgian coach to terminate his contract, Taj could not agree on terms with Wilmots. He even took two million euros in cash to Istanbul to pay off the Belgian who was by far the weakest foreign coach that Team Melli has had for decades but failed to satisfy the Belgian’s lawyers.

 After Taj’s proposals to settle with Wilmott failed, he returned to Tehran empty-handed. Conveniently, Taj resigned his post claiming ill health, thus avoiding the consequences of the FIFA fine and passing the torch to the next leader of FFIRI.

Now Taj is in another project that seems to be completely similar to what he had played with Wilmott, this time it is Skocic. Last Thursday, Dragan Skocic decided to leave Iran, even though he has not yet received his salary and other compensations, in order to partially satisfy the Croat who intended to return to Croatia in peace, Taj made some promises. The agreement reached shows that the former head coach of the Iranian national team is going to receive all his demands from the football federation before the start of the 2022 World Cup, but if this issue is not fulfilled, he will file a case against FFIRI with FIFA which will obviously include damages, delays, and other claims on top. FIFA also has an option to fine FFIRI for breaches of contract.

Iran vs Uruguay match preview.

Uruguay is a known quality Latin American team that depends on physical strength more than the finesse of the Brazilians.
Like the top footballing nations of South America, Uruguay has exported large numbers of footballers to Europe to enjoy the riches of the European leagues. Therefore, Head Coach Diego Alonso has a wealth of players at his disposal and can always field a strong side against any opponent.
However, Uruguay national team has recently suffered from aging players who tend to hang on despite their advancing ages. Players like Luis Suárez (35); Diego Godín (36) Edison Cavani (35) and Fernando Muslera (36) are still included in the squad.
Undoubtedly Alonso will use the match against Iran to give his younger players the chance to prove themselves as worthy of a place in the final list flying to Doha while putting them through their paces against a tough opponent. So, it is expected that Darwin Núñez (23), Federico Valverde (24), Matías Viña (24), Ronald Araújo (23) Lucas Torreira (26) to take the center stage.

As for Iran, it will interesting to see if Carlos Queiroz will stick to his old and trusted game plan and close all the gaps on the Uruguayans or perhaps be more adventurous with the likes of Azmoun and Taremi up front. Defense is one of the strong points of the Latin American team and the Iranians will it quite difficult to breach the defenses of Uruguay. With somehow a modest midfield that lacks creativity, most of the offensive moves by Iran are expected to be made from the half-backs with players Rezaeian, Moharrami, and Mohammadi doing the work.
Another interesting observation is whom will Queiroz pick for central defense, will he stay with the duo Khalilzadeh-Kananizadegan who were fundamental in Iran’s qualification to the FIFA World Cup and the two that Dragan Skocic religiously believed in, or will the Portuguese pick his own favorites from 2019 Majid Hosseini and Pouralganji?

Queiroz keeps the cards close to his heart and so far he has been following the same style. He is not going to reveal much to the press about his game plans and player selection either. However, it was interesting to notice some observers during Queiroz’s press conference that the Portuguese has slightly changed his attitude that he was well known in Iran. That venomous, tough-talking, and defying man has become a cooler and more settled character. Perhaps it is a sign of advancing age or it could be that Portugues no longer wants to open fronts against everyone and everybody, preferring to work quietly and avoid confrontations, especially with the press. Of course, officially he is only contracted to the bench of Team Melli until the World Cup with an option for extension.

For some players m this match is vital though. Saman Ghoddos needs to prove himself as this player has stagnated. He is one of the few players that can turn the team’s fortunes with his magical passes and vision. It is a crucial time for him and Team Melli.  Ansarifard‘s selection is because he is one of the Portuguese favorites but his performance has not been anything to shout about, the same can be said of Hajsafi. Both are capable players and can be useful for Team Melli but they really need to step up and be counted. There are more capable players who can claim a place in the team.

Beiranvand is another player on the edge. He had two bad seasons in Europe and Abedzadeh took the number one spot and showed quite a bit of class too. No doubt that Beiranvand is in the good books of the coach, but will he prove his worth against Uruguay?

Azmoun’s case is puzzling. The move to the Bundesliga so far has been a big-time flop. In European leagues, there is precious little time for a player to settle and Azmoun for one reason or another did not manage that with Bayer Leverkusen. He needs to play well against Uruguay and prove his worth for Team Melli at least.

Kick Off time is GMT +3
Iran Time: 20:30

Team Melli Austrian camp news

 – Legionnaires: Almost all the legionnaires’ players joined the camp in Vienna as Team Melli continues its preparation for the matches against Uruguay and Senegal.

 – New Arrivals: According to the FFIRI website, Ansarifard, Taremi and Jahanbaksh were the latest to join the camp. There is still no news about Noorafkan and Nourollahi yet. Saman Ghoddos and Sadegh Moharrami have been confirmed in Vienna.

 – The Plot is complete!  Interestingly, the three players were the main plotters against Dragan Skočić, and their influence helped bring back Queiroz to Team Melli once again. The Portuguese coach naturally reserved a warm welcome for the major trio plotters upon their arrival t the hotel.

 – Kanani’s never-ending problems: The disciplinary issue of Hossein Kananizadegan is still lingering as reports that he is still suspended by the FFIRI Disciplinary Committee have surfaced. There was no definite communication on this issue from FFIRI although ISNA has reported that his suspension is still ongoing and applies for both the matches. This will be very disappointing for Queiroz who counts on solid defense and would like to see his players perform against the likes of Saido Mane, Darwin Nunez, and Luis Suárez.

 – Physical Training: Queiroz is making the players work hard in the gym. His philosophy centers around tough and fit players and the hard work of physical training are one method of many in getting the player’s physical conditions to what is required at the highest level of competition.

 – Not again, Carlos! Queiroz is back to his old silly tricks again! No surprises here either. The Team Melli coach wants the match against Uruguay to be played behind closed doors and obviously not televised!!  This is a repeat of many attempts when he was last with Team Melli. Whatever secret weapons he has or had did not work for Team Melli in the 8 years of his reign but certainly, his secret training plans and strategies did not serve Colombia or Egypt either, why is he insisting on such measures is an act of selfishness. He is depriving the fans of watching a match of their beloved team playing against two of the best Teams in Latin America and Africa and that is an injustice to the fans. Not that he cares a lot about it.

 – Missing Man:  One key player of Senegal who will be missing against Team Melli is Keita Balde. The winger was banned for breaking doping protocols when he was playing for the Italian side Cagliari. Balde, currently with Russian outfit Spartak Moscow will also miss the FIFA World Cup.

– Senegal stars: Kalidou Koulibaly of Chelsea and Bayern Munich’s Saido Mane arguably the two top players in the Senegalese team will be available and definite starters against Iran barring any injuries. The two players have not enjoyed a good season start with their respective new teams.

 – Final List: with 26 players allowed in this edition of the World Cup, it seems that the current squad is the final list that will be traveling to Qatar for the World Cup. Queiroz does not have the luxury of time and these two matches in Austria are quite important to him for the assessment of the players. He has stuck to his old players and will not pick any new talents or future stars for his trip to Doha.

 – Injury list:  All the players seem to have exercised and trained normally. Vahid Amiri, who was on a six-month lay off still remains a doubt and is in a tight race to regain full fitness both physical and match fitness too.

Alireza Mansourian to be added to Team Melli coaching staff

Carlos Queiroz has provided the name of Alireza Mansourian for Team Melli staff instead of Javad Nekonam.

According to ISNA, Carlos Queiroz, the Portuguese head coach will arrive in Iran on Wednesday morning, and the team camp will begin on the same day. It will be the first presence of the Portuguese coach since he left Iran in February 2019. Queiroz will bring along several foreign assistants to Iran to start working in the training camp. From the previous staff, two people, Lopez and Mikael, will accompany him on his mission. Also, some new foreign faces will join the Portuguese coach, whose names have not yet been announced yet.

However, it seems that Javad Nekonam, who was Carlos Queiroz’s first choice to be his right hand man at Team Melli turned down the offer and does not intend to leave his post as Head Coach of Foolad Khuzestan, hence Queiroz named Alireza Mansourian as replacement.  On the other hand, the status of Vahid Hashemian is unclear. The former VfL Bochum 87 , Bayern Munich, Hannover 96 and Hamburger SV  player who also caoched in Germany has been quiet about his fate with the arrival of Queiroz.

It is rumored that  a meeting between Queiroz and Hashemian is scheduled to be held, and if there is an agreement, Hashemian will cooperate with the third consecutive head coach of Team Melli. Hashemian has also worked with Wilmots and Skocic with his best and most productive period being with the Croat.