Tag: FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers

12/11/2020

FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers date agreed upon.

Kuala Lumpur: The dates for the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the AFC Asian Cup China 2023, were approved by the AFC Competitions Committee at their third meeting for the 2019-2023 cycle, which was held online and chaired by Dr. Tran Quoc Tuan.

It was agreed that all the Asian Qualifiers Round 2 matches should be completed by June 15, 2021 with Match Day 7 and 8 in March 2021 and Match Day 9 and 10 in June 2021 with the Final Round of the Asian Qualifiers beginning in September 2021.

FIFA Matchdays in March 2021 is from 22nd to 30th March, while the June window starts from 30th May to 8th June.

Team Melli has 4 matches left, away to Cambodia and home to the other 3 teams. It is currently in third place with 6 points behind Iraq and Bahrain.

It was agreed, in collaboration with FIFA, that the 10 matchdays of the Asian Qualifiers Final Round should be finished by the end of March 2022 with the Asian and Inter-Continental Play-offs proposed for the FIFA Window May/June in 2022. The Asian Play-off for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is proposed as a single match.

The AFC U23 Asian Cup 2022 bidding process was also agreed upon. The tournament was originally scheduled for China PR in 2022 as a preparatory competition ahead of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 but the Chinese Football Association (CFA) has now informed the AFC they are no longer able to stage the tournament.

Now the Committee has agreed that the hosting process for the 2022 and 2024 AFC U23 Asian Cup editions will be reopened to Member Associations in the West with the intention of the 2026 tournament again providing preparation for the AFC Asian Cup in 2027.

It is intended that all future AFC U23 Asian Cups in non-Olympic years will be hosted by the Member Association staging the subsequent AFC Asian Cup while the competition dates for the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2022 will be further discussed.

The Competition Regulations for the AFC Champions League 2021 and the AFC Cup 2021 were approved. The new calendar for the AFC Cup 2021 was also approved while there would be further discussions on match dates and competition formats for the AFC Champions League 2021 with all stakeholders in the coming days.

The Committee also agreed that the previously postponed AFC U-19 Championship will be staged in Uzbekistan between March 3 to 20, 2021 and they also accepted changes to the eligibility rules for the AFC U-16 Championship Bahrain to allow players born on or after January 1, 2004 to play in the tournament. The dates for the AFC U-16 Championship, also postponed from 2020, are to be further discussed.

03/09/2020

Team Melli friendlies with Uzbekistan & Tajikistan re-arranged.

On recommendation from FIFA and due to the postponement of the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers, Uzbekistan friendly match which was supposed to be played on 8th September has been put off for a month and will therefore be played in Bunyoudkar Stadium on 8th October.

Meanwhile, FFIRI has finalized arrangements for another friendly 4 days later after the Uzbekistan match when Team Melli will host Tajikstan in Azadi on the 12th of October. These will be the first Team Melli matches under the new coach Dragan Skočić,

the Croat has yet to meet Team Melli as a group in any training session. However, he traveled to several places to meet individual players or observe them in action.

12/08/2020

World Cup qualifiers postponed again to 2021!

FIFA has issued a statement postponing the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers and AFC Asian Cup 2023 for another few months to 2012.

With this further postponement, it is difficult to envisage normal league schedules and international matches to complete by the Winter of 2022 when the Qatar World Cup is scheduled to start, assuming FIFA will not address that.

Team Melli, currently in the 3rd place of the table behind Iraq and Bahrain was scheduled to play Hong Kong on the 8th of October in the return legs.

Following is the FIFA statement:

“In light of the current COVID-19 situation in many countries, FIFA and the Asian Confederation (AFC) have jointly decided that the upcoming qualifying matches for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ and AFC Asian Cup China 2023, originally scheduled to take place during the international match windows in October and November 2020, will be rescheduled to 2021.

With the aim of protecting the health and safety of all participants, FIFA and the AFC will continue to work together to closely monitor the situation in the region and to identify new dates for the respective qualifying matches. Further details on the new dates for the next round of qualifying matches for the FIFA World Cup 2022 and Asian Cup 2023 will be announced in due course.”

16/06/2020

Maryam Shojaei to be honored.

Maryam Shojaei, who mounted a campaign — first anonymously and later publicly — that led to Iran allowing women to attend men’s soccer matches, is being honored with the Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award, ESPN announced Tuesday.

The award is part of the Sports Humanitarian Awards, which typically are handed out during the week of the ESPYS. This year, the awards will be given out on various ESPN programs.

Women had been banned from watching men’s games since shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution, with only a few exceptions made for small groups on rare occasions. Shojaei, whose brother Masoud Shojaei is the captain of the men’s national team, initially criticized the ban on social media anonymously. She then started a five-year battle to allow women to see matches live in her country.

Shojaei, attended the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada in 2015, displaying a banner but keeping her identity hidden. By 2018, she had helped create the #NoBan4Women petition, and she went to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Russia, where her banners were confiscated but she revealed her identity.

She kept pushing FIFA to uphold its policies against gender discrimination, and eventually, the soccer governing body sent a delegation to Iran, which resulted in women being allowed to attend men’s international matches.

In October 2019, women were allowed to watch the Iranian men’s national team beat Cambodia 14-0 in Tehran in a World Cup qualifier. The initial lot of 3,500 tickets for women sold out almost immediately, and an additional 1,100 were released — about 5% of the total tickets in the stadium.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has urged Iranian authorities to open up stadiums to women for domestic league games, not just World Cup qualifiers.

“This is a very positive step forward, and one which FIFA, and especially Iranian girls and women, have been eagerly waiting for,” FIFA said in a statement in October 2019. “The passion, joy and enthusiasm they showed today was remarkable to see and encourages us even more to continue the path we have started. History teaches us that progress comes in stages and this is just the beginning of a journey.

“Consequently, FIFA now looks more than ever towards a future when ALL girls and women wishing to attend football matches in Iran will be free to do so, and in a safe environment.

“There can be no stopping or turning back now.”

The ESPYS will be televised on ESPN on June 21 at 9 p.m. ET. The Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award is sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

16/04/2020

Skocic aiming to get Iran back on track

Dragan Skocic head coach of IR Iran attends his first press conference in Tehran — © imago images

Disappointing start for Iran in Qatar 2022 qualifiers
Dragan Skocic appointed new coach of Team Melli
Croatian spoke with FIFA.com about his goals

A look at Skocic’s resume reveals that this is his first time in charge of a national team, the 51-year-old having spent all of his coaching career at clubs in Croatia and the Gulf, such as Al Araby in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia’s Al Nasr. Despite his lack of national team experience, he is well aware of the task awaiting ahead.

“In contrast to a club, working with a national team allows you to choose from a large pool of players to instil your philosophy, although the downside is that you always have limited time to implement your ideas.”

Staying in the race

IR Iran suffered two defeats – against Iraq and Bahrain – in their opening four games in the AFC’s second qualifying round for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Given the quality of their squad, the team’s performance was not considered good enough. So how does the new incumbent plan to get them back on track?

“We’ll shortly be carrying out a detailed analysis of our team and those of our opponents as well. We’ll also be looking into new players who might join the squad. I have a clear idea of what’s required to improve our performances.”

Those two defeats have Team Melli currently occupying third place in Group C, a position that would not take them into the final qualifying round. Asked about the very real danger of early elimination, Skocic says: “Our current position is bad, but we’re not yet despairing. Three of our remaining four games will be at home, where we’ll have massive support from our fans. I also believe we have a quality group of players, which is why I’m optimistic.”

Help from the schedule

Skocic’s side do indeed have grounds for optimism. Their next two fixtures will be against Hong Kong and Cambodia, who on paper at least, should be beatable. They will then host current group frontrunners Bahrain and Iraq, which should give them a shot at claiming one of the group’s two qualifying spots in the next round. “We have to be professional and respect all the teams, including Cambodia and Hong Kong.”

IR Iran have reached the World Cup on five occasions. After back-to-back appearances in 2014 and 2018, the aim now is to secure a third consecutive participation for the first time.

“We’ve promised the people of Iran that we’ll go back to the World Cup, and we’ll do our utmost to fulfil that promise.”

IR Iran’s remaining Group C qualifiers:

🏠 IR Iran – Hong Kong
✈ Cambodia – IR Iran
🏠 IR Iran – Bahrain
🏠 IR Iran – Iraq

04/04/2020

AFC proposing new dates for Iran World Cup qualifying games.

Qatar’s Al-Sharq newspaper reported today that the AFC is evaluating alternative dates for the Asian Teams competition backlog since March 2020. According to the newspaper, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has made two proposals for the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers and the AFC Asian Cup 2023, which are scheduled to take place on October 8th and 16th).

“The AFC is expected to present these two proposals to the local federations to identify their views and opinions, but in the end, it all depends on the coronavirus situation in the countries concerned ” Al-Sharq reported.

Team Melli matches against Cambodia and Hong Kong were postponed.

Iran’s Team is currently in third place in Group C of the World Cup qualifiers, which is also the qualifying round for the 2023 Asian Cup, after Iraq and Bahrain with 6 points. Meanwhile, there has been a change in the coaching staff with the Croat Dragan Skocic taking over after the disappointing Belgian Marc Wilmots left the job.

Dragan Skočić, has yet to lead Team Melli in any match, in fact, he has not managed to get the team together due to the restrictions and lockdown after the COVID-19 outbreak. All sporting activities are suspended in Iran at the present.

16/03/2020

“Corruption is deep rooted ” Ex Foolad Khuzestan CEO.

2019/20 season has been a bad year for Iran’s football so far. Two consecutive defeats against Bahrain and Iraq for Team Melli which is unprecedented for decades, the flight of the Belgian coach, postponing of the World Cup qualifiers and the suspension of the league due to Coronavirus have been the highlight of the season. But the possibility of FFIRI being suspended by FIFA or even kicked out of the World Football remains the most serious threat to Iran’s football.

The issue is simply about government control and influence or as the rest call it, interference, in football affairs against all international rules and statutes. Iran is a repeat offender in this sense. It has already been suspended in 2006 for exactly the same reasons but what remains pretty clear is that the regime in Iran staunchly believes that football is their property and as a sovereign state, the government directly or through their agencies or ministries may, control, direct or govern football while the federation operates as administrators. The oversight authority including the authority to appoint directors and issues such as the appointment of the Team Melli coach remains the right of the government!

Unlike 2006 however, Iranians this time are more aware of this indiscretion by their government and are not ready to victimize their beloved sport, hence quite a few are outspoken and call for reform and compliance with international laws.

“Corruption in our football has deep-rooted. we have to adhere to FIFA rules” The former Foolad Khuzestan CEO says.

Massoud Rezaian, in an interview with semi-official ISNA, says that changing the FFIRI statute is not very difficult at all and that we should not procrastinate. A few clauses of the statute needs to be changed to conform with FIFA’s. What is certain is that rules of football are ultimately not governed and regulated by us, and if we want to be a part of this system (global community) then we need to apply international laws in full detail. We must incorporate the changes and the federation must comply with FIFA regulations. We have to comply and accept issues such as the Statute, gender segregation, and other issues. Otherwise, if we don’t our football activities will be limited to the domestic league and play with countries who are not FIFA members, and that is disastrous for us”

“We shouldn’t waste time,” he continued. “It is not difficult to change the statute. Right now, not only we do not obey FIFA laws but also we do not even adhere to our own laws. Part of this is our own fault. Failure to comply with FIFA rules is a threat to our football. Everyone is hiding behind coronavirus disease today. We need reform, we need to think about improvements.”

Former Foolad Khuzestan CEO continued called for a competent committee to be appointed to solve this problem, saying “ Let them sit to produce a proposal for the current deficiency in a short period of time. It will not take long to solve this problem, as governance clauses are the only ones that are problematic. FIFA has only demanded those that need to be changed, not the entire statute.”

Regarding the postponement of the Football Federation elections “I do not consider the issue of the election to be related to the statute,” he said . “the newly elected president has quite a task ahead as he must solve the problems of the age-level teams, competitions hosting and the corruption that is within our football. However, corruption is deeply rooted in our football and cannot be easily resolved. But they have to try and hopefully work so well and systematically that everything goes well and orderly.”

23/01/2020

What is the story behind Di Biasi ?

The saga of Iranian football managements ( or mismanagement, to be more accurate) continues unabated with the latest revelation that an Italian coach is being considered for Team Melli after the debacle of Marc Wilmots!

Notwithstanding the truth behind this story and lack of an official confirmation, it is prudent to analyze such possibility and dissect the pros and cons of appointing a foreign coach who does not have the slightest clue about Iranian football culture to head Team Melli at this critical juncture.

Who is Di Biasi?

Giovanni “Gianni” De Biasi is an Italian coach who started his career in 1990 and managed several clubs in Serie C, B, and A, the most famous of them was Torino. Di Biasi never seemed to stay with one club for more than two seasons. During his playing days, he played with Treviso, Inter Milan ( 10 matches only) Brescia, Palermo but never managed to make it at top grade. The same can be said about his coaching career until the big break came when he was recruited by the Albanians to coach their national team.

It was with Albania that Di Biasi enjoyed his best days in coaching. In his 6 years with Albania, he succeeded in qualifying to the Euro Finals in 2016. He left in 2017 to coach Alaves in La Liga.

Clearly, Gianni Di Biasi is not in the elite category of world coaches however, his success with the Albanian national team was remarkable considering the status and standard of the tiny European nation.

DI Biasi and Iran.

While Marc Wilmots had a similar resume as Di Biasi, perhaps a little bit better for coaching a powerful team like Belgium, he struggled to succeed with Iran. In fact, his poor familiarity with his players’, poor reading of the game and sub-standard knowledge of the opposition, resulted in two major defeats for Team Melli against teams that should have been beaten.

That Marc Wilmots was not familiar with the Team Melli players was a direct result of the guy living and working remotely with minimal contact and communication with the team members. It is only natural that a coach cannot employ the capabilities of the players to the full if he does not understand those skills and abilities. There are other factors too, but nothing like the poor technical and tactical leadership of the game which resulted in these diabolical defeats and possible elimination at an early stage.

Di Biasi is in the same boat as Wilmots was before taking the job. A person who has no knowledge of football in Iran, perhaps unable to name more than two or three players and is totally alien to the Persian culture and football politics. To settle in Iran in the first place, is a challenge for this Italian, assuming he is not going to be a suitcase flying coach. It will take him time and we are talking months if not years to be comfortable enough to deliver the goods.

The establishment, environment and the politics of Iranian football is a steep learning curve for any outsider. Expecting a foreign coach to deliver in a short time is unreasonable and unfair on both sides.

Team Melli has just about two months for the next match in the World Cup qualifiers vs. Hong Kong in Azadi. Granted, it is not an intricate mission but it still needs preparation, the familiarity between the coach and the players and building the best team line-up. The real test is against Bahrain and Iraq at home, two matches that must be won for Team Melli to be in contention for a place in the next round.

The contract!

It is not clear what has changed since Wilmot’s dispute with FFIRI which turned sour mainly due to non-payment or delay of wages by FFIRI. This will repeat with any other coach if it is not sorted out. Will Di Biasi suffer the same as Wilmots, Branko Ivankovic, Calderon and Andrea Stramaccioni who all had disputes with their paymasters on payments of dues? It is highly unlikely that the FFIRI has suddenly created a magic wand to manage to circumnavigate the American sanctions to enable paying the wages of its foreign coaches, so what has changed in FFIRI policy to assure the respect of contractual obligations?

It is particularly this subject that can turn a good relationship into a fractured one. It is a big challenge and a bigger risk for the federation as they have already been burnt, although no one takes responsibility or accountability.

This administration of the FFIRI is far from a competent operative. Although the fans of Team Melli should not be normally bothered or concerned with the administrations or contract details, with FFIRI and as we have experienced previously, it is a major concern. A lot is dependent on how he FFIRI respects its contractual obligations. By track records, it is not too promising. If there is anything that this administration excels in is, making excuses, fabrication & twisting of fact and diverting blame.

Chances of success

Assuming all is well with the contract, It is not an absolute requirement for a top-level coach to handle Team Melli. It needs a strong person, knowledgable, dedicated and tactically astute. Di Biasi can tick a few boxes here. His lack of familiarity can be addressed as he can develop that depending on how happy the man is at his job. Iran can be both a pleasant place to live and frustration at the same time. He can do the job as well as any although from the onset it looks a lot more complicated for a newbie foreign coach than having a domestic one at the helm.

The Ghalenoei’s, Daei’s or Golmohammdi’s have their advantages as Team Melli coaches but also we must not forget a certain stigma attached to them, after all, in Iran, a local coach has an automatic label of being biased! A foreign coach is revered even if he struggles. The fans seem to be more tolerant of foreign coaches but unforgiving to a local. It is the Iranian culture.

27/12/2019

Bahrain Footballer banned by Fifa for ten games after racist gesture.

FIFA has banned a Bahrain international player for ten games after he aimed shocking racist abuse at Hong Kong fans.

Sayed Mehdi Baqer, 25, made a slanted-eye gesture towards supporters as he left the field after a World Cup qualifier on November 14.

Sayed Baqer has been banned for 10-matches - the minimum sanction for such an incident — Sayed Baqer has been banned for 10-matches – the minimum sanction for such an incident

However, the Bahraini defender’s appalling actions were captured on video and the player was also hit with a £23,000 fine.

Bahrain, who are in the same FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying group as Iran is notorious for its transgression and important behavior during international matches. During the home game against Team Melli, the fans booed the national anthem.

In July the minimum ban for such offenses was doubled from five matches.

After a separate qualifying incident, Fifa ordered Indonesia to play a game behind closed doors following a fiery clash with rivals Malaysia.

Both teams were fined by FIFA in the wake of crowd disturbances.

13/11/2019

Iran vs Iraq, a crucial match for Team Melli.

After climbing to Group C’s summit on Matchday Four, Iraq are set to host Team Melli in a game that looks set to provide yet another major test for both the foreign coaches. Iraq’s Srečko Katanec’s and Iran’s Marc Wilmots.

Both the coaches had differing issues to deal with it be it with their federation or the players. Katanec time with Iraq has been uneasy, to say the least. There was a rumour of a half-hearted revolt in the squad with some players that Katanec did not pick for these qualifiers going on the social media and bad-mouthing the Slovenian coach.

However, with a history of managing three national teams (UAE, Slovenia and Iraq), Katanec is using his vast experience to deal with the difficult situation including the clause in the contract that will see him being terminated if he does not qualify from this group.

Marc Wilmots is quite safe and solid for Team Melli except for the small matter of paying his wages. The Iranian Federation, like before, procrastinate in paying the Team Melli coaches. There is always one or more justification and they wait until the last minute before paying the coach. This delay, however, meant that Wilmots was not willing to work with the squad until the finances were settled. The Belgian had very few training session with the squad (2 sessions before departure to Amman). His absence from Iran meant that the selection of players was trusted to his assistants although Wilmots have seen enough good performances by the two Belgian based players (Rezaei and Gholizadeh) to include them in the squad.

IRAQ vs IR IRAN

The two teams know each other quite well. They have met 27 times since their first encounter in Amjadieh Stadium in June 1962. Iran has a clear edge in the head to head meeting with 16 wins, 7 draws and 4 defeats. 38 goals were scored by Iranians while Iraq has managed 19.

History aside, this meeting, although not a must-win for Team Melli, a defeat will make the task of the qualification so much difficult with Iraq having a 4 points advantage. Riding high following their last month’s 4-0 win over Cambodia, Iraq will be eager to add yet more momentum to their campaign

Marc Wilmots is sure to be acutely aware that his side can ill-afford a repeat of their Matchday Four defeat to Bahrain if they are to maintain their push to progress. That disappointing loss in Manama has left the Iranians – who after their trip to Jordan will not be in Asian Qualifiers action again until next March – occupying third place and needing to rebound in style so as to avoid slipping further off the pace.

The Loss in Manama exposed some tactical vulnerability in Wilmot’s line up and those shortfalls need to be addressed.

Iraq’s success came after an opening day draw with Bahrain and a 2-0 defeat of Hong Kong at home, results that have left the 2007 AFC Asian Cup champions well placed to progress from what is proving to be a closely contested Group C.

The regional rivals last met during the group stage of this year’s AFC Asian Cup where they drew 0-0, and while maintaining their current unbeaten record is sure to be at the forefront of Iraqi minds, head coach Katanec will be viewing Thursday’s fixture as an ideal opportunity to put yet further distance between his table-topping team and the chasing pack.

IRAQ vs IR IRAN
Venue: Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan
Kick-off: 17:00 (UTC +3)