Tag: Iran

Styed Jalal Hosseini on the injury list.

The centre back of Team Melli, Seyed Jalal Hosseini has lost the chance of playing against Turkmenistan in the FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers and possibly the trip to Guam, after suffering a leg injury during a league match.

In the absence of Hosseni , the Naft Tehran defender, Carlos Queiroz will most probably use Morteza PouraliGanji is the role as the Chinese league Tianjin Teda player performed during Asian Cup 2015 in Australia. At the time, the other pair of the central defense, Pejman  Montazeri was not available to partner Hosseini and Pouraliganji did an excellent job deputizing for him despite his limited international exposure.

Iran Will be a Difficult Game for Us: India Coach Stephen Constantine

Reported By Press Trust of India

Bengaluru: As the beleaguered Indian football team gets ready to face Iran in what is touted to be its most difficult outing in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, chief coach Stephen Constantine says he wants to “give fans “something to cheer about”.

A 23-member Indian team arrived here today for the September 8 preliminary joint qualification match against the Asian giant.

Stunned by lower-ranked Guam in their previous outing, Indian players had been training at DSK Shivajians in Pune since August 24.

Besides, India also played an international friendly against Nepal on August 31, which ended in a goalless draw.

“We have great support here. The fans are really behind the national team. I appreciate that and so do the players,” Constantine said.

“I hope we can give the fans something to cheer about. It will be very difficult match for us but that’s the time when you can discover on whom you can depend upon.” (Indian Football Season Can’t be Dictated by Television: Constantine)

As per the current raking, Iran are placed 40 in the ladder with India at 155.

The boys were given a break in the afternoon and practice would resume from Saturday morning.

Reflecting back on the training stint in Pune, the coach said, “The huge advantage that the DSK campus has is that you have everything in one place. You have your medical facilities, the pool, the gym, rooms for screening and analysis in one campus besides the two wonderful training grounds,” he stated.

“You have everything that you should have as a club never mind a national team.

“Furthermore, the willingness of the authorities who were immensely proud to serve the national team was awesome indeed. I need to thank Mr. Shirish Kulkarni and his team and look forward to continuing the relationship with them in the future,” he affirmed.

A look at Guam preparations and prospects.

In less than a month, Guam has once again ascended to its highest-ever FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking – No. 146 in the world – with the latest release published by FIFA.com.

HARMON – The new ranking comes ahead of the Matao’s next set of 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Joint Qualification Round 2 fixtures – Sept. 3 against I.R. Iran in Iran and Sept. 8 against Oman in Guam.

“This is a very exciting time for Guam football – just last month I was praising Guam’s national program for reaching the 150s in the world for the first time in history,” said Richard Lai, Guam Football Association President. “Now, we’re in the 140s and ranked above countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Indonesia, all with a long history of football achievements in Asia. I am looking forward to see what more we can do. We couldn’t have accomplished what we have in recent years without the full support of FIFA, AFC, EAFF, the local community and business sponsors.”

With the rise in world rank, Guam is also ranked No. 22 in Asia, surpassing 25 other more established football countries in the continent.

“I’m very pleased with the progress the team continues to make in recent years, though I truly feel that Guam has not yet reached its peak,” said Gary White, head coach of the Guam men’s national team. “There really is no limit as to what Guam can achieve in international football as evidenced by the national team’s recent first-ever victories over Turkmenistan and India in June to lead Group D in the joint qualification and many other ‘first-ever’ results in recent years. In fact, before the June matches, hardly anyone took me seriously when I stated that I believed Guam would lead Group D – a group that includes Asia’s No. 1 country, I.R. Iran – at the conclusion of the opening matches of its 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign. 

“With every historical milestone we achieve, we’ll continue to set our standards even higher. This is not only for the team, but for Guam’s entire national football program. There are now certain high expectations to meet each time Guam competes,” White added.

Following the FIFA World Cup Qualifier matches in September, next on the Matao’s schedule is its second fixture against Turkmenistan, scheduled for Oct. 13 in the Central Asian country, followed by a match against India on Nov. 12 in Bangalore. The team returns to Guam for a Nov. 17 match against I.R. Iran at the GFA National Training Center, before waiting until Mar. 24 next year to face Oman in Oman.

Tickets for the upcoming Guam vs Oman match scheduled for Sept. 8 may be purchased beginning this week at GFA. Ticket prices range from $20 to $40 based on seating sections.

guam

Garry white writes:

Since learning of Guam’s opponents, I, along with my coaching staff, have done a considerable amount of research coming to the final stretch before the scheduled matches. Before facing I.R. Iran on Sept. 3, the team will be in a short training camp in Japan, and after the match, will return to Guam for a home match against Oman — a 30-hour flight each way!

With Guam in a considerable lead in group standings, these highly anticipated matches will be closely watched not only by fans from the competing countries, but fans and media around the world, all who have kept the discussion about Guam’s progress and success alive to this day. Fans in Guam will have the rare opportunity to witness the Guam-Oman fixture live, with so much riding on the result of the match.

If you haven’t done so already, buy your tickets at GFA to watch the match against Oman, set to kick off at 4 p.m. on Sept. 8, following the Labor Day holiday. Not only will you be treated to an intense, high-caliber match, but your support may be the necessary fuel for the team’s success, as felt during the Matao’s first two FIFA World Cup Qualifier wins.

The match will be in the same week as the opening Saturday of the Triple J Auto Group Robbie Webber Youth League, and will hopefully inspire the next generation of the Matao and Masakåda, Guam’s senior national teams.

Gary White, or the “Gaffer,” is Guam Football Association’s technical director and head coach of the men’s national soccer team.

 

Team Melli Beach Soccer to meet Tahiti in the quarter finals.

Iran’s Beach Soccer team reached the quarter finals of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Portugal 2015™ after finishing runner up in Group C following Brazil defeat of Spain 2-1

The last match in the group stages saw the 4 times title holder Brazil narrowly beat last championships runner up Spain to create one of the first major upset of this edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

Iran will be playing against Tahiti who themselves upset all the odds by beating the defending champions Russia 7-6 in Group D. Brazil will be meeting Russia for a place in the semifinals.

 

 

Thursday 16 July

16 Jul 2015
Quarter-finals
Espinho Stadium
Espinho
Brazil    Brazil  vs.  Russia         Russia


Portugal   Portugal   vs.   Switzerland Switzerland 


Italy  Italy   vs.   Japan  Japan  


Tahiti  Tahiti   vs.   Iran  Iran  
 


Iran leads AFC ranking .

Iran continued leading Asia in the FIFA Ranking table published today by the World football governing body in Zurich.

With a total of 716 points, Iran climbed to no 38 in the world , which is its highest ranking in 2015. This was a 3 step climb from last month at 41. Japan  remains second with 621 points and 50th in the world. Korea Rep and Australia maintain their chase to catch up.

Iran’s last match was a disappointing 1-1 draw away to Turkmenistan in the FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers.

Argentina, which beat Iran in the last World Cup , climb at the top of the World Ranking ahead of Germany, while recently crowned Copa America Champions Chile climbed 8 places up to no 11. On March 26th, Team Melli beat Chile 2-0 with Javad Nkounam and Vahid Amiri goals in in NV Arena, St Pölten – Austria as part of the two teams’ preparations for their upcoming official matches.

 

 

Team Melli vs UAE AFC Asian Cup 2015

 

 

AFC

Rank

 FIFA

Rank

 TEAM Total Points Previous Points Positions Avg. 2015

AVG WGT

 2015 Avg.
 1 38 IRN

Iran

 716(716.27) 717 3 437.18 437.18
 2 50 JPN

Japan

 621(620.98) 623 2 341.48 341.48
 3 52 KOR

Korea Republic

 608(607.70) 587 6 371.92 371.92
 4 59 AUS

Australia

 559(559.29) 532 4 364.41 364.41
 5 69 UAE

United Arab Emirates

 487(487.14) 496 4 245.05 245.05
 6 75 UZB

Uzbekistan

 453(452.76) 479 -1 181.07 181.07
 7 77 CHN

China PR

 436(436.43) 409 2 271.46 271.46
 8 86 IRQ

Iraq

 382(381.99) 381 0 205.01 205.01
 9 92 JOR

Jordan

 355(354.72) 316 11 102.61 102.61
 10 92 KSA

Saudi Arabia

 355(354.52) 329 6 160.94 160.94

 

 

 

Iran RANKING DATA for 2015

Rank Year Month MP W L D
38 2015 July 2 1 0 1
41 2015 June 0 0 0 0
40 2015 May 0 0 0 0
40 2015 April 2 1 1 0
42 2015 March 0 0 0 0
41 2015 February 4 3 0 1
51 2015 January 0 0 0 0

 

OPPONENTS ranking in the FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers

 

 

AFC Rank World Rank TEAM total Points Previous Points +/-
 12 102 Oman 329 319 -1
25 152 Turkmenistan 167 99 21
 27 154 Guam 163 119 20
 28 156 India 161 161 -15

 

Disappointing draw for Team Melli.

Team Melli was unable to capitalize on its supremacy in the match against Turkmenistan and ended the match in a 1-1 draw in the first match of Group D of the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers. These rounds of matches are also considered as the qualifiers for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

The match started brightly for Team Melli taking full control. The goal came as early as the 4th minute when the Sardar Azmoun dribbled past two defenders before slotting the ball at an acute angle between the Turkmen Goalkeeper and the upright. Team Melli was 1-0 up and threatening to run riot.

The match continued its one way direction with chances one after other being missed by Iran. Amiri, Torabi , and Heydari all had good chances to score but the 2nd goal was not coming. Nikita Gorbunov standing firm in Turkmenistan goal.

Turkmenistan finally reached Iran goal after 16 minutes, however that first attempt exposed the shaky Haghighi who was not too confident against the shot.

Heydari then sent a perfect cross from the right, met majestically by the flying Azmoun who headed powerfully against crossbar with Nikita Gorbunov stranded, the ball was cleared on the rebound.

SHOCK GOAL

And then an amazing lapse of concentration in the back of Team Melli resulted in an unexpected equalizer for the host. The Turkmen midfielder passed Hajsafy with ease, then outrun Ando Teymourian to cross, with both Pejman Montazeri and Hossein Kanani just watching. Ruslan Mingazov came from behind to pip Ghafoori who was the nearest to the ball to slot an easily ball with Haghighi stranded on the other side of the goal, could not save. An undeserved equalizer for Turkmenistan against a pedestrian Iranian defense.

The manner that the goal was conceded must worry Queiroz. Certainly not acceptable for a team that is looking to reach the world cup.

The 1st half ended 1-1 in a half that Iran has controlled and should have been 2 or 3 goals up. However , there were gaps in the performance and some profligacy by players especially Masoud Shojaei. This player seems to be permanently fixed player although his form for the last few years has been abysmal with club and country. Queiroz obsession with this player is an enigma!

Nevertheless, even Queiroz , his ardent supporter must have realized that the pedestrian Shojaei was a liability and rightly replaced by Omid Ebrahimi in the second half.

SECOND HALF

The 2nd half of the match started in the same manner as the first. Iran had much of the ball and several half chances were created. Weak finishing prevented Team Melli regaining the command of this match.

Mehdi Taremi committed a totally unnecessary foul to get himself booked while he was on the pitch on for a few minutes only. Another player that might be a source of concern.

With the match continuing, Turkmenistan players grew more confident and more aggressive in this half as the result of scoring the goal and managing to stop Iran from scoring further.

Haghighi blunder nearly cost Team Melli when he fumbled the ball after a mild shot, Kanani cleared the rebound.

Ruslan Mingazov came close for the hosts with a thunderous shot that beat Haghighi but also was wide of the upright.

In the last quarter of the match, Team Melli continued pressing using the good old crosses, which seemed to be the only option. Several crosses ended up with Azmoun and Taremi who missed the target by small margins.

This tactics of crosses was the result of the bad pitch that did not aid playing on the floor and also due to the parking the bus of Turkmenistan. The only shortcoming was all the crosses came from the right side as Team Melli had little options from the left, something that Queiroz must be worried about.

And then the Turkmen players started time wasting as early as the 70th minute!

The onslaught by Team Melli continued right to the end without a result. Alarmingly the only shot on target from distance came right at the end of the match when Ando released a ferocious shot in 88th minute. Gorbunov only parried the ball then cleared by the defense.

 At the end, it was a disappointing result for Team Melli. This team is definitely work in progress, There are obvious shortcomings one of which is the acute shortage of creative players. The midfield is simply short of idea and skills to feed the forwards.

Iran maintains Top FIFA ranking in Asia.

Iran climbed two places up in the latest FIFA ranking issued today.

After the European tour where Team Melli defeated Chile and then lost to Sweden , Iran’s ranking in the table improved to maintain the top position in Asian followed by Japan and South Korea. Australia , The AFC Asian Cup holder was ranked 4th.

At world level , World Cup holder Germany continues at the top followed by Argentina , Belgium , Colombia and Brazil.

 

AFC Teams Ranking

Rank Total Points Previous Points +/-   Avg. AVG WGT Avg. AVG WGT Avg. AVG WGT Avg.  AVG WGT
40 IRNIran 689(689.43) 692 2 336.87 336.87 439.32 219.66 250.48 75.14 288.80 57.76
50 JPNJapan 614(613.94) 617 3 335.96 335.96 213.61 106.81 392.56 117.77 267.01 53.40
57 KORKorea Republic 575(575.44) 594 -1 312.46 312.46 217.75 108.87 267.84 80.35 368.81 73.76
63 AUSAustralia 531(531.08) 549 2 272.17 272.17 240.62 120.31 192.79 57.84 403.82 80.76
68 UAEUnited Arab Emirates 501(500.59) 523 1 242.20 242.20 291.77 145.88 277.90 83.37 145.70 29.14
73 UZBUzbekistan 476(476.22) 483 -1 181.07 181.07 303.39 151.69 277.53 83.26 301.00 60.20
82 CHNChina PR 408(408.01) 423 1 245.50 245.50 132.40 66.20 131.43 39.43 284.41 56.88
86 IRQIraq 385(384.76) 353 11 218.68 218.68 119.25 59.63 150.88 45.26 305.95 61.19
95 KSASaudi Arabia 349(349.39) 339 4 118.20 118.20 297.06 148.53 149.41 44.82 189.20 37.84
97 OMAOman 341(341.11) 356 -1 124.70 124.70 242.23 121.11 173.89 52.17 215.63 43.13
99 QATQatar 337(336.65) 300 10 171.62 171.62 160.54 80.27 153.89 46.17 192.94 38.59
103 JORJordan 316(316.20) 326 -2 61.72 61.72 272.08 136.04 241.77 72.53 229.57 45.91
108 BHRBahrain 299(298.85) 319 -4 147.44 147.44 151.92 75.96 120.79 36.24 196.05 39.21
125 VIEVietnam 229(228.83) 220 5 96.12 96.12 119.71 59.86 61.37 18.41 272.19 54.44
126 SYRSyria 225(224.74) 141 26 131.58 131.58 85.69 42.85 86.70 26.01 121.51 24.30

A winning start for Iran Beach soccer.

Iran Beach soccer team started its pursuit to defend its Asian Title by defeating Lebanon 3-2 in Doha , Qatar.

The 2015 Asian Beach Soccer Championship matches are being held in the Katara Arena on the beach of Doha with the presence of 15 teams.

Lebanon scored the first goal but Mohammad Ali Sadeghi soon equalized for Iran. Farid Blokbashi put Iran in front with a spectacular header to make it 2-1 for the defending champion, before Mohammad Ahmadzadeh scored a third with one of his trickery shoots to put Iran 3-1 ahead with 6 minutes to go, A long range shot from Lebanon’s Halawi to make it 3-2 to ensure a thrilling finale, however Iran held comfortably and finished the first match on the right track with a hard fought win against an excellent Lebanese team.

Naderi wasted a penalty in the match, saved by the brilliant Lebanon keeper.

Iran will have a break tomorrow before meeting Thailand on Wednesday.

The winners, runners-up and third-placed team of this tournament are all guaranteed a spot at July’s FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Portugal.

Iran, the side ranked highest in Asia by FIFA, will face Thailand and Lebanon in Group D. In Group B, Japan, who finished fourth at the 2000 and 2005 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups, are set to do battle with China, Vietnam and Kuwait, while the UAE, Uzbekistan and Iraq will compete in Group C.

The top two teams from each group will progress to the competition’s knockout stage ahead of the final which will be held on March 28.

Only six teams have confirmed their 2015 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup places so far – Italy, Portugal, reigning champions Russia, Spain, Switzerland and Fiji.

AFC Beach Soccer Championship 2015 Groups

Group A: Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Laos

Group B: Japan, China, Vietnam, Kuwait

Group C: UAE, Uzbekistan, Iraq

Group D: Iran, Thailand, Lebanon

Iran’s U23 team (Omid Team) will start its long journey for the Rio De Janeiro Olympic Games 2016 Qualification at Azadi Stadium against Nepal on Monday 23rd March 2015.

The match on Monday is not expected to attract large number of fans due t the Nowrooz holidays and also due to the low expectation from a sting of failure by Iran that has hit this particular age group.

 

Mohammad Khakpour, a former Team Melli defender has been given this mammoth task and will be making his first attempt at this level of football to take Iran to the Olympics.  Last time Iran made the Olympics games was back in 1980 Moscow games which eventually it boycotted.

Group C of the AFC U-23 Championship consists of Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Afghanistan and Iran will be played in Tehran. The final rounds will be played in Qatar nine months from now.

On Paper the group looks easy enough for Iran to make the final championship rounds along with Saudi Arabia. However, with recent Iranian teams performances against inferior oppositions, nothing is taken for granted. Omid Team personal have already been talking about the strength of the Nepalese team, the first of Iran’s opponents. Saudi Arabian teams at any level, of course are always very competitive and difficult to beat.

Palestine has emerged as a strong team at senior level and their U-23 remains as unknown quality. Neighboring Afghanistan has been solidly progressing at football and their players have a good knowledge of Iranian teams.

The squad was boosted with the news that Azmoun and Jahanbakhash will be joining them despite the objection of Team Melli coach Queiroz.  A ruling by Ali Kaffashian favored Omid Team and frustrated Queiroz who has considered robbing of these two players from him as the final nail in the coffin.

 

 

 

Schedule & Results:

23-03-2015 15:00
AFGHANISTAN PALESTINE
Venue: PAS Stadium, Tehran
23-03-2015 17:00
NEPAL I.R. IRAN
Venue: Azadi Stadium, Tehran

****************************************************
25-03-2015 15:00
PALESTINE SAUDI ARABIA
Venue: PAS Stadium, Tehran

25-03-2015 17:00
AFGHANISTAN NEPAL
Venue: Azadi Stadium, Tehran

****************************************************

27-03-2015 15:00
SAUDI ARABIA AFGHANISTAN
Venue: PAS Stadium, Tehran
27-03-2015 17:00
I.R. IRAN PALESTINE
Venue: Azadi Stadium, Tehran

****************************************************
29-03-2015 15:00
NEPAL SAUDI ARABIA
Venue: PAS Stadium, Tehran

29-03-2015 17:00
I.R. IRAN AFGHANISTAN
Venue: Azadi Stadium, Tehran

****************************************************

31-03-2015 15:00
PALESTINE NEPAL
Venue: PAS Stadium, Tehran
31-03-2015 17:00
SAUDI ARABIA I.R. IRAN
Venue: Azadi Stadium, Tehran

 

 

 

NEPAL U-23 TEAM SQUAD

GK: Alan Neupane , Amrit Chaudhary , Bikesh Kuthu

 

DF: Man Bahadur Tamang , Kalu Thapa, Aditya Choudhary , Aakash Thapa , Ananta Tamang , Dinesh Rajbanshi

 

MF: Gaurab Budhathoki, Heman Gurung , Hemant Thapa Magar , Jagjeet Shrestha , Jangbu Sherpa , Kamal Shrestha , Prakash Budhathoki , Sulav Maskey , Bishal Rai B

 

FW: Ranjan Bista , Amar Dangol , Biswas Shrestha , Anjan Bista , Bimal Gharti Magar

What is behind the Chile game cancelation talk?

 

 

The Iranian football federation financial difficulties and failure to cover the activities of the national teams are old news. Under Kaffashian administration, the FFIRI has suffered chronic financial hardship, lack of resources and failure to create a proper marketing and sponsorship strategy to generate revenue for his federation.

The initial plan to play Sweden was a God send for the FFIRI as the Swedes have taken care of almost all the cost including transportation and accommodation for the Iranian squad and delegation. All that Iran needs to do is to turn up for the match.

A match agent who has a close working relationship with FIFA and Carlos Queiroz wisely proposed an extra match against Chile utilizing the South American’s team presence in Europe for a match against Brazil at the Emirates Stadium in London. Initially the date was agreed and Chile was to play against Iran in Sweden a few days before the Sweden match. As there was some fear by the Swedes that the proposed match with Chile and particularly the result might over shadow the main attraction, the Sweden-Iran match, they objected to the match venue being played in Sweden.

The agent then suggested Austria and presented another verbal proposal which would cost the FFIRI nothing while the agent would retain the match ticket sales income and TV broadcast rights. This proposal was agreed by the FFIRI verbally and a contract was to be sent for approval and signature.

On the presentation of the formal contract, there was a clause about a payment of 75,000 Euros outstanding from the previous camp in Austria that the FFIRI has to settle. On being alerted to the clause, Ali Kaffashian had a change of heart as he is reluctant to pay (!) , hence his quote that the Chile match is not confirmed yet.

The federation has no choice but to pay the bill outstanding for a long time. Unless this bill is settled, there would be no match against Chile in Austria anytime soon.

It is amazing how a football federation that cannot pay a 75,000 Euro bill has the audacity to file to host the most prestigious Asian football tournament and expect to win against the UAE !