Tag: Friendly International

Team Melli Finalizes June Friendly Schedule; Spain Talks Ongoing as Panama Emerges as Backup Plan

The Iranian national football team, currently finalizing preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, is set to play two official international friendly matches during the June FIFA window. As part of the buildup, Amir Ghalenoei’s squad will first travel to Turkey in May for a preparatory training camp, which will include several matches against club sides in addition to the scheduled national team fixtures.

The Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) is currently evaluating a shortlist of potential opponents. CONCACAF nations, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and El Salvador, are under serious consideration, alongside two or three European countries. Negotiations with Spain remain active, though a final agreement has yet to be reached.

Additionally, Team Melli is expected to play a friendly match on American soil as part of its acclimatization for the tournament co-hosted by the United States.

The federation’s plans have, however, encountered a hiccup regarding the previously proposed match against Puerto Rico. Federation requests have reportedly pushed that fixture to the verge of cancellation. As a contingency, the FFIRI has opened talks with the Panamanian Football Federation. Should the Puerto Rico match fall through officially, Panama will step in as the replacement opponent.

Team Melli will start a local training camp in Tehran on Monday, 20th April, utilizing the suspension of the domestic league.

Ndidi joins Super Eagles, completes 22-Man squad for Iran

March 25, 2026 9:24 pm

The camp of Nigeria’s Super Eagles is now complete following the arrival of captain Wilfred Ndidi at the Bellis Deluxe Hotel in Antalya on Wednesday, ahead of upcoming international friendlies in Turkey.

Head Coach Eric Chelle had earlier named captain Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, and Ademola Lookman in a 23-man squad for the matches.

The fixtures were moved from Amman to Antalya due to the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East.

The Super Eagles will face Iran on March 27 at 4 p.m., before taking on Jordan on March 31 at 8 p.m. in Antalya.

Super Eagles Media Officer, Promise Efoghe, said Ndidi’s arrival brings leadership and balance to the squad ahead of Friday’s friendly.

super-eagles-team

Agency Report

“We are pleased to have our captain join the team today. His presence completes the list of invited players and strengthens the group,” Efoghe said.

He, however, confirmed the last-minute withdrawal of Calvin Bassey from the list of invited players due to a back injury sustained while on club duties.

“It is unfortunate that Bassey had to pull out late because of a back injury. We wish him a quick recovery and hope to have him back to the team soon,” he said.

Efoghe added that 22 players are currently in camp and fully involved in preparations for the upcoming encounter.

The team held its first training session at 4 p.m. local time (2 p.m. Nigerian time), with all available players participating actively.

Efoghe said the session focused on fitness drills, ball circulation, pressing exercises, and small-sided games to assess players’ readiness.

“The first training session was productive. The coaches engaged the players in light conditioning, tactical positioning, and ball work to get them in shape,” he said.

He said that the players responded well, showing intensity and commitment as they were put through their paces ahead of the clash with the Iranian national football team.

“The energy and response from the players were very encouraging. You can see the determination as they prepare for the match on Friday,” he added.

Efoghe said the technical crew would step up preparations in subsequent sessions to fine-tune strategies and cohesion.

“Thursday’s training will be more intense and tactical as the coaches begin to focus on specific match situations and game plans,” he said.

List of all 22 players in order of their arrival at camp

1. Fisayo Bashiru

2. Iwobi Alex

3. Emmanuel Oluwasegun

4. ⁠Yira Sor

5. ⁠Onuachu Paul

6. ⁠Philip Otele

7. ⁠Semi Ajayi

8. ⁠Moses Simon

9. ⁠Uzoho Francis

10. ⁠Bruno Onyemaechi

11. ⁠Bright Osayi

12. ⁠Frank Onyeka

13. ⁠Adebayo Adeleye

14. ⁠Ademola Lookman

15. ⁠Akor Adams

16. ⁠Chidera Ejuke

17. ⁠Raphael Onyedika

18. ⁠Igoh Ogbu

19. ⁠Maduka Okoye

20. ⁠Samuel Chukwueze

21. ⁠Zaidu Sanusi

22. Wilfred Ndidi

Team Melli to Face Puerto Rico in Friendly Match Ahead of 2026 World Cup

According to Mehr News Agency, the Iranian national football team is planning to hold a friendly match against Puerto Rico as part of their preparation program for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Mehdi Mohammadnabi, Vice President of the Football Federation and manager of the national team, stated that a low-intensity friendly has been scheduled for the period leading up to Iran’s opening World Cup match against New Zealand.

“This match will be held behind closed doors,” Mohammadnabi explained. “As is common practice in past World Cups, matches close to the start of the tournament are usually arranged with teams that are at a similar or even lower technical level than the national team to provide more suitable preparation conditions.”

The behind-closed-doors encounter is designed to fine-tune the team’s tactics and fitness without revealing strategies to future opponents. Iran is set to begin their World Cup campaign against New Zealand, making this friendly an important final step in their preparations.

Puerto Rico is ranked 160th in the FIFA World Rankings. The two teams have never met at an international level at any competition.

Azmoun withdraws from Team Melli camp.

Team Melli’s training camp the preparatory games against Russia (March 23) and Kenya (March 28) that started today was joined by several legionnaires but with a notable absentee.

Domestic league players, who have been invited to the national team camp, have introduced themselves to the technical staff this morning at the Olympic Hotel. Ahmed Noorolahi, Mohammad Hossein Kananizadegan, and Shoja Khalilzadeh, the three legionnaires playing in the UAE and Qatar have also been added to the national team camp. It is reported from the camp that Bayer Leverkusen striker Sardar Azmoun has requested the national team’s coaching staff to be excused from joining this camp. Apparently, Azmoun will not accompany the team in the upcoming games with Russia and Kenya due to family reasons and with the permission of the head coach.. Azmoun’s presence in the team camp was especially important for Russian media and experts because of his time with Rubin Kazan, Rostov, and Zenit for many years, and was considered one of the best foreign stars of the Russian league.

Hossein Hosseini, Hossein Pourhamidi, Alain Dinka (GK coach) , Alireza Bairanvand and Payam Niazman.

Today, the Football Federation also introduced the assistants of Amir Ghalenoei. According to this, Saeed Elhawi, Rahman Rezaei, Ali Asghar Ghorban Alipour, Alian Dinka (Goalkeeper Coach of Tractor ) and Ali Kamangari (Analyzer) are members of the national team’s technical staff. Due to the limited time between the end of the league games and the start of the camp, the first foreign assistant to the head coach of the national team will be introduced after this camp, and another Iranian coach will be added to the current staff.