Tag: England

Queiroz squad and expectations.

Carlos Queiroz’s squad was not much of a surprise for the people who have known his style in his 8 years reign with Team Melli. A coach that believes in brute defense, or parking the bus, if you wish, especially if the team he is coaching is facing powerful opposition. Queiroz is not much a fan of players with a special skill or technique as he much rather has a strong physical player who can tackle and defend no matter what outfield post they play. Physically strong opponents is exactly what Iran will be facing in the shape of England Wales and the United States.

Sixteen players from Team Melli’s last World Cup adventure are included in the latest selection of Queiroz. On the other hand, only 7 England players kept their place for World Cup 2022 from the previous one in Russia. Many things change in four years of football, and Team Melli has naturally changed too, however, with less than two months to go for the first match in the World Cup and 17 days in total where Queiroz can actually work with his players, the Portuguese coach will not risk trials and as predictable as he can be, the bets that he will stick to the players he knows best from 3 1/2 years ago. No place for Aref Gholami, Mehdi Gahyedi, Mohammad Mohebbi, or the future star of Irans football Yasin Salmani.

The future is repeating itself with Queiroz, hence his bland predictability. He left out Sardar Azmoun the rising starlet of Iran in World Cup 2014 and now doing the same with Yasin Salmani.

While all of these are not big risks, there is one drawback in his selection that could prove the downfall of Iran’s team in Qatar. Queiroz’s favorites are 4 years older, but even worst than that, all the player bar one are experiencing not-so-brilliant playing careers with their clubs in European leagues. Most are bench warmers with the exception of Mehdi Taremi.

The likes of Vahid Amiri, Omid Ebrahimi, Saeid Ezatollahi, and Saman Ghoddos, who are regarded as Team Melli’s aging ‘old guard’ can give experience to a game, but are not necessarily the weapons that are required to face the mighty teams. With some being fringe players in their clubs, there seems to be an acute shortage of skill and leadership in the midfield. Even though, only one additional player (Sarlak) has been added in a line that really needs strengthening. In fact, the midfield is probably the weakest link without a dynamic or creative player. The offensive plan that Queiroz would stick to is “route one” the style of play where the ball is sent forward from the back straight to the lone forward bypassing the midfield. Rezaeian, Mohammadi, Moharrami, and even Hardani can do the job for Queiroz in such plan. Midfield would be used more in bolstering the defense than any offensive duties.

9 players in Team Melli’s current squad are at or above 30 years old. In the demanding environment of Qatar, and oppositions that are runners with stamina, it is difficult to see how Queiroz will stand against the much fitter European and American players.  The average age of Iran’s squad is 27.6 years, however, if one considers the expected 11 starting players, then the average age will be significantly higher.

It is not expected that Queiroz will deviate much from this mindset of his and why should he take the risk? Fans who admire offensive and exciting football might very well be disappointed by Queiroz’s approach as we have all seen the FIFA World Cup 2018.

TEAM MELLI SQUAD 

Austrian Camp September 2022

Red denotes players not selected for WC208 Russia.

# Name Post Age Caps Goals
1 Abolfazl JALALI DF 24 1
2 Ahmad NOUROLLAHI MF 29 24 3
3 Ali GHOLIZADEH MF 26 `24 6
4 Alireza BEIRANVAND GK 29 50
5 AliReza JAHANBAKHSH FW 28 62 13
6 Amir ABEDZADEH GK 29 10
7 Ehsan HAJSAFI DF 32 117 7
8 Hossein HOSSEINI DF 30 4
9 Hossein KANANI-ZADEGAN DF 28 32 2
10 Karim ANSARIFARD FW 32 92 28
11 Majid HOSSEINI DF 26 17
12 Mehdi TAREMI FW 30 58 29
13 Mehdi TORABI FW 29 34 6
14 Milad MOHAMMADI DF 28 45 1
15 Milad Sarlak MF 27 9 0
16 Morteza POURALIGANJI DF 30 44 3
17 Omid EBRAHIMI MF 35 53
18 Omid NOORAFKAN DF 25 13
19 Payam Niazmand GK 27 1
20 Ramin REZAEIAN DF 32 45 2
21 Sadegh MOHARRAMI DF 26 18
22 Saeid EZZATOLLAHI MF 25 45 1
23 Saleh HARDANI DF 24 2
24 Saman GHODDOS MF 29 31 2
25 Sardar AZMOUN FW 27 63 40
26 Shojaa KHALILZADEH DF 33 23 1
27 Vahid AMIRI MF 34 66 3
Averages -> 27.6 26.8 8.9

The Welsh rating Wales chances in the FIFA World Cup 2022.

How Far Can Wales Go at the Upcoming World Cup?

The Welsh, or their media at least, seemed to be hyped up for the World Cup. As usual in the football press in the West, their groundwork and background knowledge is quite poor as they seem to gauge and judge the opposition on the number of footballers playing in the English Premier League rather than proper analysis and knowledge of the team. This Welsh reporter’s article highlights the lack of depth when he considers USA Team’s chances above Iran because of two American footballers one playing with Juventus and the other in Chelsea !!

When the unfortunate Andriy Yarmolenko nodded into his own net after a wicked Gareth Bale freekick, Wales could finally return to the FIFA World Cup after 62 long years. But how far can the Dragons truly go? Oddschecker, which provides free offers for online casinos and sportsbooks, doesn’t rate Robert Page’s men’s chances very highly. Admittedly no one expects the FIFA World Cup trophy to be paraded around the streets of Cardiff a few days before Christmas, but Wales are priced alongside the likes of Serbia, Canada, and Ecuador in terms of outright betting.

That won’t bother Bale and co. one bit though. We all recall the summer of 2016 in France. During that European Championship campaign, Wales was also unfancied. They went on to top a group containing England, Russia, and Slovakia. After that, they edged out a 1-0 victory over Northern Ireland in the last 16, before the greatest result in the country’s history in the quarter-finals. That was, of course, the 3-1 victory over tournament favorites Belgium. Goals from captain Ashley Williams, Hal Robson-Kanu, and Sam Vokes were enough to seal a 3-1 victory over Roberto Martinez’s men, with the nation celebrating the victory long into the night.

Eventual winners Portugal would prove one step too far in the semifinal, cruising to a 2-0 victory. But is there anything stopping Wales from achieving a similar result in Qatar?

Getting out of the group should be the primary objective

Once again, Wales have been drawn alongside old rivals England in the group stages. The other two sides in Group B are Iran and USA. On paper, the draw could have been much worse. Admittedly, the Three Lions are the favorites to secure the top spot. But, Robert Page will be looking at the other two nations as beatable. To be fair, even England isn’t impenetrable. Wales gave them all they could handle at Euro 2016, even leading through Bale’s thunderous freekick at the halfway mark. It took Daniel Sturridge’s last gasp winner to break Welsh hearts, but don’t count them out on gaining revenge for that day in Lens.

Photo credit : Hostpry of Soccer
Photo credit: History Of Soccer

Iran are the obvious weak link in the group, and victory against Dragan Skočić’s side is imperative if there is to be a success.

The US, however, are a much trickier opponent. They boast the likes of Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic and Juventus’ Weston McKennie in their ranks, and they are expected to progress from the group stages at Wales’ expense. That fixture between the pair on the World Cup’s opening day is most definitely winnable though. And if Wales does win that game, it is highly likely that they will progress to the knockout stages.

Progress, and who knows where from there? 

If Wales can somehow make their way out of the group stages, it’s highly likely that it will be as group runners-up. That would probably set up a last-16 tussle with either Senegal or the Netherlands.

Senegal is the reigning champions of Africa, an honor they earned by defeating Mohamed Salah’s Egypt on penalties in Cameroon this winter to seal their first ever Africa Cup of Nations victory. Spearheaded by Bayern Munich’s new boy Sadio Mane, the Lions of Teranga would provide a stern test in the second round.

The Netherlands would also be quite the challenge. Wales, however, can take solace from the fact that the Oranje were eliminated at the same stage during last summer’s delayed European Championships. Second-half goals from Tomáš Holeš and Patrik Schick were enough to seal a 2-0 victory for the Czech Republic in Budapest and if the Red Dragons are to face Virgil Van Dijk and co, you can expect them to study that match in detail to prepare for the showdown.

Should Wales progress beyond the last 16, the tournament will have already been a rousing success. Anything further than that and we should all just enjoy the ride, as we all have already been doing throughout the last decade, the most successful era in the history of Welsh football.

England boss Southgate could be forced to axe unvaccinated stars from his World Cup squad.

England coach Gareth Southgate could leave out several players from his World Cup squad due to their refusal to take the Covid vaccine.

Sportsmail has learned that a handful of players who would expect to make Southgate’s 26-man party for the tournament in Qatar have yet to be vaccinated, which under current regulations means they will have to isolate for five days following their arrival in the country in November.

England’s first World Cup fixture is on the tournament’s opening day, November 21, just six days after their scheduled arrival in Qatar, so any player forced to self-isolate will realistically have to sit it out as they will have barely trained with their team-mates.

Southgate is therefore contemplating an unpalatable choice between leaving some vaccine out of his squad entirely, as Chelsea and Crystal Palace have done on their pre-season tours, or going into England’s opener with reduced numbers.

The issue of vaccine refusal is also affecting other World Cup sides, such as France, with N’Golo Kante one of several international stars who have yet to be vaccinated, but England’s problem is more acute as they have been given an opening-day game.

FIFA are understood to be lobbying Qatar to relax its Covid vaccine rules ahead of the tournament. There are a number of players expected to be in his group for Qatar who have yet to receive the Covid jab. The issue of player vaccination has been a hot topic in the Premier League this summer.

The Premier League revealed back in late January that 80 percent of top-flight players in England are fully vaccinated, but they have not provided an update since then.

Any ‘refusenik’ will be forced to isolate for five days on arrival in Qatar – meaning they could be at risk of missing the opening game

Iran will meet England in its first FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at the Khalifa Internationa Stadium on November 21st, 2022.

Wales spoil Ukraine dreams to reach first World Cup in 64 years

Wales ended their 64-year wait for a place in the World Cup finals as they beat Ukraine 1-0 on Sunday to end the conflict-torn nation’s hopes of reaching Qatar.

Gareth Bale, so often Wales’ talisman, again produced the decisive moment with his 34th-minute free-kick headed into his own net by Andriy Yarmolenko.

But Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey took the man-of-the-match honors with an outstanding display that kept the gifted Ukrainians at bay.

Coach Rob Page saluted his players and the fans after seeing them clinch a place at the World Cup finals for the first time since 1958.

“It’s unbelievable. I’m so proud of these boys,” he said. “They thoroughly deserved that. The one thing they needed was a World Cup and they’ve got it.

“The fans were incredible. They’re the best supporters in world football, I’m telling you. They helped us from the first minute and deserve all the credit.”

More than six decades after reaching their one and only World Cup in Sweden in 1958, Wales are back at football’s global table.

Page will ready his team to face rivals England, USA, and Iran in a wide-open group in Qatar, while Ukraine faltered in a World Cup play-off for the fifth time.

Iran Criticized for Slow Preparations for Qatar

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — While Japan and South Korea will start fine-tuning for the World Cup with high-profile warm-ups against Brazil next month, there are concerns in Iran that Asia’s top-ranked team has been slow off the mark with its preparations.

Iran is in Group B with England and the United States at the World Cup, which kicks off Nov. 21 in Qatar. But while there have been reports of a June friendly with New Zealand and talk of a potential match with Canada, so far Iran hasn’t confirmed its warm-up commitments.

“There appears to be no concrete plan,” Afshin Ghotbi, head coach of Iran’s national team from 2009-11, told The Associated Press. “Time is of the essence and preparation is vital to the success of Iran.

“Most teams have already arranged matches and many good opponents are not available anymore. Iran needs to urgently set up appropriate fixtures in the build-up to the World Cup.”

There has been criticism within Iran about the lack of movement so far, with a Tehran Times editorial last month headlined: “Iran wastes golden chance as always.” The editorial hoped for greater urgency when the soccer federation meets to choose a new president on May 10.

Interim president Mirshad Majedi has said no games will be announced until details are finalized.

As the country is under international sanctions, attracting teams to Tehran or traveling overseas can be more complex for Iran than its Asian rivals.

Ghotbi wants to see Iranian players such as Medhi Taremi at FC Porto and Sardar Azmoun, with Bayer Leverkusen of Germany, given every chance possible to succeed in Qatar.

Iran, No. 21 in the FIFA rankings and currently coached by Dragan Skocic, has qualified for five previous World Cups but has never progressed past the first round.

“I faced many of these challenges during my tenure, as did those who came before and after me,” Ghotbi said. “It is frustrating as Iran has a golden generation of players and if they have the best support and preparation then they can reach their true potential on the world stage.”

Carlos Queiroz, Ghotbi’s successor as head coach, complained about the quality of opposition that Iran faced leading up to the 2018 World Cup when it prepared with games against Turkey, Lithuania, Sierra Leone, Algeria, Tunisia, and Uzbekistan.

“If you copy the preparations of the last four World Cups, you don’t go anywhere. It’s a simple conclusion,” Queiroz said in 2017. At the same time, seven Iranian players took to social media to ask that the country to emulate South Korea when it came to preparations.

This time around, South Korea, drawn in Group H along with Portugal, Uruguay, and Ghana, will take on Brazil in Seoul on June 2 and then meet Chile four days later and Paraguay on June 10.

Japan will start preparations for Group E — containing Germany, Spain, and either Costa Rica or New Zealand — by taking on Brazil and Paraguay in the first week of June.

Saudi Arabia has also qualified from Asia and Qatar gets an automatic spot in the tournament as host. Australia and the United Arab Emirates will meet in an Asian playoff for the right to take on the fifth-place team from South America for another place in Qatar.

Marijo Tot “We have a good chance of advancing from the group

The assistant coach of the Iranian national football team expressed hope that Team Melli would advance to the second round of the FIFA World Cup 2022 for the first time in its history.

In an interview with tportal site, Tot mentioned that this is a historic occasion for Croat coaches. For the second time in history, two Croatian coaches will be leading two different teams in the World Cup. This happened first at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where Zlatko Kranjcar and Branko Ivankovic, were in charge of Croatian and Iran respectively. Zlatko Dalic has now managed to clinch qualification to the World Cup with Croatia, while another Croat Dragan Skocic achieved similar success with Iran.

“We are very happy with this group, it is clear that you can not have an easy opponent in the World Cup,” said Marijo Tot, about Iran’s draw in the 2022 World Cup. England is both on paper and in reality the first chance to win the group title. The other three teams can compete equally for second place. I honestly think we have a very good chance of making it to the second round. There is a major rivalry with the United States because Iran played the United States in the 1998 World Cup and Iran won 2-1. The players who scored in that game have a special place in the country. It will be a special game now that we all know for what special reasons and our players will go to the World Cup with great motivation.”

 

“In the case of the third competitor, I would prefer Ukraine.” The assistant coach continued: “There is still a long way to go before the tournament starts and anything can happen. But many fans in Iran have the chance to be present for Team Melli in the World Cup. I believe that this time we can take that historic step forward and cross the group for the first time. Alireza Jahanbakhsh from Feyenoord, Mehdi Taremi from Porto and Sardar Azmoun from Bayer Leverkusen are Iran’s first hopes in this cup. We also have players who play in Greece and Turkey. We also have Sadegh Moharremi from Dynamo Zagreb, who plays very well here in Team Melli and was the best player on the field in the last game against Lebanon. I do not want to get into Dynamo’s problems, but given how good Muharrami is, I wonder why he does not get more minutes of play with his club in Croatia.”

About the defeat of Iran against South Korea, he said: “Despite the fact that we went to Seoul with an incomplete team, that is, without 6 or 7 players from the main team, we were quite strong in that game as well. But regardless of everything, we were ended up first in the group. We are the best team in Asia. We travel to this championship with the extraordinary support of the fans who will surely be with us in Qatar.”

What did the coaches say after World Cup draw?

 

Gregg Berhalter, USA coach

“We think it’s a good group. We know every opponent in the World Cup is difficult but with England, you definitely get an exciting match-up. Gareth (Southgate, England manager) and I go way back. He’s a guy I look up to and has always been there for me, and given me advice. I reached out to him when I got the job and asked if he’d be interested in telling me more about international football. I looked at him as something as a mentor and since then we have stayed in touch.”

Gareth Southgate, England manager

“The first two teams (USA and IR Iran) we’ve not played for quite a while. The third (Wales or the winner of Scotland-Ukraine) is a total unknown but throws up a possible British derby. We know what they’re all about! When you’re seeded, you get the advantage of missing out on those big six or seven teams. But there are some really high-ranked teams in Pot 2, the US in particular, and I know Gregg Berhalter quite well – we’ve met a couple of times and had long chats about things. They’ve got some very good players and we know what they could be capable of as a nation.”

Skočić, hopeful of advancing from the World Cup group B.

The head coach of Iran’s Team Melli evaluated Iran’s group in the FIFA World Cup 2022 and emphasized that Iran has a chance to advance from the group stage for the first time in its history.

Dragan Skucic,  speaking to the Croatian media by HRT, commented on Iran’s group in the 2022 World Cup: “The group can always be better or worse. This group is not bad, although it is a bit unusual because England, the USA and probably Wales or Scotland play almost the same style of football. Of course, there is also Ukraine. In any case, I think the draw went well, there were more difficult groups.

Iran will face England on the first day of the World Cup on November 21st. “Our goal is to try to advance to the next round from this e group,” he said. I think England has a lot of chances and I also think we have a chance with other öpponents in the group. I think we can compete with them and achieve qualification to the knockout stages. We definitely have good players and a lot of potential in the team and we have a fighting spirit too.

Skocic knows Arabic football well and is convinced that a big World Cup awaits Qatar. In the end, he said: I was in the Arab Cup in Qatar a month or two ago. Everything was exceptional, I was in all the stadiums. I think it will be a big World Cup in terms of organization. Ïran’s head coach also commented on his own country’s team chances: ‌” Besides Croatia, Belgium has a great chance to advance, but we should not forget Morocco. I think Canada has a lower chance of qualifying than the other group teams.”

Iran in the third seed of World Cup draw.

The Iranian national football team was placed in the third round of the FIFA  World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

With nearly all matches except a few played in the World Cup qualifiers, the ranking of the teams present in this period of competition was also determined. Based on this, the Iranian national team will be in Seed 3 as in the previous period. The draw for the World Cup will be held on Friday in Doha, and Team Melli will know its opponents.

* What does it mean to be in Seed 3?

The placement of Iran in Seed 3 is a good thing, because a team from Seed 4, which is lower than Iran in terms of points in the FIFA rankings, will be in our group.

* Which teams will we not be in the same group with Iran?

Also, considering the ranking of Iran in the World Cup, Team Melli will definitely not be in the same group with the teams in seed 3. Iran will not be drawn in the same group with the other Asian teams such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and South Korea. Also, if Australia or UAE qualify for the World Cup through the playoffs, this team will not be drawn with Iran. Thus, the Iranian national team will definitely not be grouped with the teams of Senegal, Serbia, Poland, Morocco, Tunisia, South Korea, Japan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and “UAE or Australia” (in case of reaching the World Cup).

World Cup qualifiers are as follows:

Seed 1  Belgium (1), Brazil (2), France (3), Argentina (4), England (5), Spain (7), Portugal (8), Qatar (52)

Seed 2: Denmark (9), Netherlands (10), Germany (11),  Mexico (12) , USA (13), Switzerland (14),  Croatia (15), Uruguay (16)

Seed 3: Senegal (18), Iran (21), Japan (23), Morocco (24), Serbia (25), Poland (28), South Korea (29), Tunisia (36)

Seed 4: Canada (33),  Cameroon (38),  Ecuador (46), Saudi Arabia (53), Ghana (61), , 3 playoff teams

* Mexico and USA are still on the face, No, for all intents and purposes, we should consider these two teams among the teams that have qualified for the 2022 World Cup.

Note: In the World Cup draw, teams from different continents, except Europe, will not be grouped with a team from their own continent, and from Europe, a maximum of two teams can be in the same group.

 

Ali Daei will participate in the draw ceremony.

Iran’s legend and former Team Melli coach will be one of the 7 selected football personalities who will be drawing the names out of the pot.

Liverpool and Sardar Azmoun

Team Melli striker, Sardar Azmoun has finally reacted to rumours about the Interest of the European Leauge Champions, Liverpool FC interest in signing him.

Azmoun said “Whatever the case, I am a Zenit St. Petersburg player and I am bound by the contract. If there is anything, then the club will make it public. Right now, I have nothing to add”

Liverpool have been scouting Zenit Saint Petersburg striker Sardar Azmoun and the Iranian’s excellent form has impressed the onlookers, according to reports in Russia. Azmoun has been in exceptional form in the Russian Premier League side Zenit Saint Petersburg ever since his winter move to the club from Rubin Kazan. The 24-year-old moved to Zenit from Rubin Kazan on 1 February this year and has been finding the back of the net on a regular basis ever since.

Azmoun has scored 14 goals in 17 matches across all competitions since his arrival, including the two in the Russian Super Cup on Saturday, which Liverpool scouts were in attendance for, according to SovSport. Zenit went on to lose 3-2 to Lokomotiv Moscow, but the brace from the Iranian appeared to confirm to the visitors from Merseyside that he is the bright talent they thought he was. Currently, Jurgen Klopp team has Mohammed Salah, Saido Mane, Roberto Firmino, Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi in their forward line.

Liverpool was first linked with Azmoun back in the January transfer window of 2017, but he was not interested in the switch due to a likely lack of game time.

“There were talks of Liverpool having expressed an interest in me during the past winter transfer window,” Azmoun said in 2017.

“However, I did not feel the time to move was right.  I would have ended up playing a few games and then spent a great deal of time on the bench as Liverpool were only looking to fill a void for a particular part of their season.  I want to move to a big club to develop as a player and therefore I will time the move with great precision.  I am sure I will be playing for a top European club in the near future.”

Azmoun commented on the replacement for Queiroz and said: “I am very pleased that Wilmots’ appointment. He is a great coach for the national team. He and Queiroz are both good coaches. My point is that we should be happy to welcome a new coach and show due respect to the one that departed as well”.

Azmoun was asked about the change in tactics and how it affected him during the World Cup 2018 by the way the team played, he said: “At the World Cup, I was tasked to retreat and support our defensive line, while I never did it before in my career. Maybe that’s why people were criticizing me. It’s good now that the national team plays an offensive plan, but if we play aggressively and do not conclude, people still say criticize”.

“I do not seek the Iranian scoring record,” he said, referring to the large number of international matches and the possibility of him breaking the all-time goal-scoring record currently held by Ali Daei. Azmoun said “Ali Daei is a great player, a legend. Anyone can perhaps beat this record but that still does not diminish the value of the player.”

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