Tag: Korea Rep.

S. Korea’s National Football Team Gathers Ahead of Final 2 World Cup Qualifiers

S. Korea's National Football Team Gathers Ahead of Final 2 World Cup Qualifiers

After sitting out South Korea’s past two World Cup qualifying matches with an injury, forward Hwang Hee-chan is back in the mix, fully healthy, and ready to help the country close out the qualifying round on a high note.

Hwang, first-year forward for Wolverhampton Wanderers, arrived at the National Football Center (NFC) in Paju, north of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, Monday afternoon for the start of training camp. South Korea, having already grabbed a spot in the World Cup, will face Iran in Seoul on Thursday and the United Arab Emirates in Dubai on March 29 to close out the final Asian qualification round.

Hwang Hee-chan of the South Korean men's national football team speaks to reporters before a training session at the National Football Center in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on March 21, 2022, in preparation for Asian World Cup qualifying matches. (Yonhap)

Hwang Hee-chan of the South Korean men’s national football team speaks to reporters before a training session at the National Football Center in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on March 21, 2022, in preparation for Asian World Cup qualifying matches.

Both South Korea and Iran have qualified for the World Cup with time to spare, and they will be battling for the top spot in Group A. Hwang said staying motivated, even after qualifying for the big tournament, won’t be an issue for his team.

“Our goal is to win both of the remaining two matches, and we want to finish first in the group,” Hwang said. South Korea currently have 20 points, two back of Iran. “We are all pursuing the common goal and we all understand the importance of that match. I am sure everyone has arrived here prepared to win.”

South Korea’s last win against Iran came in January 2011. In the seven matches since, South Korea have managed three draws and lost four other times. Their most recent meeting ended in a 1-1 draw last October in Tehran, with South Korea wasting Son Heung-min’s second-half goal.

But Hwang said it was still a major confidence boost for South Korea.

“We left that match with a lot of confidence in ourselves but we were also disappointed not to have won that game,” Hwang said. “That’s going to fuel us this time. Since we’ll be playing in front of our home fans, we’ll be able to find an extra gear inside us.”

Hwang missed South Korea’s two previous qualifiers due to a hamstring injury. Without missing a beat, South Korea defeated Lebanon 1-0 and then Syria 2-0. Son, the team’s longtime captain, was also absent with injury.

Hwang said he was never worried about the team because of South Korea’s depth up and down the roster, adding that he was “proud” of his teammates for delivering wins without him.

“In some earlier matches, we were also missing a few players, but we always have players ready to step up and contribute,” Hwang said. “No matter who’s on the field, we’re going to be just fine. We’re not a team that will lose games just because we’re without a couple of players.”

Hwang had a recent injury scare for Wolves last weekend, when he appeared to have hurt his left hip against Everton. He did come in off the bench against Leeds United on Saturday, and he said Monday that he had just suffered a minor bruise.

“It stung for a bit, but after two or three days, I was back to 100 percent,” Hwang said.

Seoane: Azmoun still “missing a lot”

By Rune Gjerulff

Sardar Azmoun is still far from his top level, according to Leverkusen coach Gerardo Seoane.

Bayer Leverkusen coach Gerardo Seoane has emphasized that there is a lot more to come from Sardar Azmoun.

The forward, who arrived injured from Zenit St. Petersburg in January, made his first start for Leverkusen in Sunday’s 0-2 win over Wolfsburg.

Assessing Azmoun’s performance after the game, Seoane told reporters:

“You saw two or three situations, where he was lacking a bit of the final explosiveness to assert himself. We all know it’s difficult to judge what percentage level he’s at. But there is still a lot missing.”

Azmoun will now be able to gain some match practice during the international break, having been called up for Iran’s games against South Korea and Lebanon.

“We are happy for him that he now has two games with the national team. That will do him good,” added Seoane.

A difficult game’ vs. Iran with top seed at stake in World Cup qualifying group, Bento predicts

provided by the KFA. (Yonhap)

With one box checked, Paulo Bento has quickly shifted his focus to the next goal to achieve.

Under his tutelage, South Korea have already booked a ticket to Qatar for this year’s FIFA World Cup with two qualifying matches left. Few would have batted an eye if Bento had chosen to take his foot off the pedal for the rest of the current qualifying campaign.

Instead, Bento on Monday called up most of his usual suspects in a bid to win his team’s final two qualifying matches this month. South Korea will host Iran in Seoul on March 24 and wrap up the final Asian qualifying round by visiting Dubai to play the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on March 29.

With 20 points after eight matches, South Korea are in second place in Group A of the ongoing round, two points back of Iran. The top two teams from each of the two groups in this round will earn automatic berths. Iran and South Korea are already in, while Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Australia are still duking it out for the two tickets in Group B.

Instead of playing it safe this month, Bento has taken dead aim at Iran for the top seed in Group A. Winning the group and rising in the FIFA rankings should also help South Korea’s position in the World Cup draw, allowing them to avoid some tough countries, though Bento said he wasn’t yet thinking ahead to the draw.

“We have two games. We should think how we’re going to face the next opponents and how we can do our job and try to finalize this qualifier in the best possible way,” Bento said at his online press conference Monday. “And that is to get the six points and finish in the first place. After that, we will see what’s coming and see where we’re going to be in the draw. I think we have a good challenge before that.”

Facing Iran has been a challenge for South Korea for years. South Korea’s last victory against the Middle Eastern foe came in January 2011. In their most recent meeting, held in Tehran in October, the teams ended in a 1-1 draw, with South Korea blowing a 1-0 lead in the second half.

South Korea has managed just nine wins against 10 draws and 13 draws all-time versus Iran.

“In the physical aspect as well as in the tactical one, Iran has players that can break the balance in our team, players that have experience,” Bento said. “I have no doubt about their quality. We will try to reach the victory in order to reach the first position in the group. I am sure that it will be a difficult game but at the same time, I am convinced that we can do that and we’re going to try to do that without any doubt.”

To that end, Bento went back to the likes of Son Heung-min, who leads Tottenham Hotspur in goals this season, and Hwang Ui-jo, FC Girondins Bordeaux forward and one of Bento’s most trusted offensive options.

But the coach also made a couple of surprise choices on defense, with Suwon FC defender Park Min-gyu and Seoul E-Land back Lee Jae-ik.

This is Park’s first senior national team callup. Lee had been brought in during the previous World Cup qualifying round in October 2019 but didn’t play in any matches then.

With the starting center back Kim Young-gwon playing with a yellow card — one away from automatic suspension — and another veteran Kwon Kyung-won apparently not 100 percent, Bento said he wanted extra options on his backline. He reserved particularly high praise for the 26-year-old Park, who had appeared in 12 matches for the under-20 national team.

“Park is a good player in the technical aspect. We know he has good defensive principles,” Bento said. “It’s a good opportunity to see him in our context.”

Team Melli Squad list announced.

Team Melli will play complete its FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 schedule by playing a double-header against South Korea and Lebanon on March 24th and 29th respectively. With a day before flying to Seoul on a chartered plane. the squad for the two matches was announced. Iran has qualified for the finals in Qatar and will be battling the Koreans for a top-of-the-table finish and more importantly a significant addition of points in FIFA ranking. The draw in June will seed countries for the Finals based on total points in FIFA Ranking.

Dragan Skočić has announced the list of players invited to the national team camp. The Croat coach is desperate to keep his immaculate, near-perfect record with Team Melli after over two years from his appointment replacing the perpetual failure Marc Wilmots.

The names of the invited players:

    • Goalkeepers:
  1. Alireza Biranvand
  2. Amir Abedzadeh
  3. Hossein Hosseini
    • Defenders:
  4. Sadegh Moharremi
  5. Hossein Kananizadegan
  6. Shoja’a Khalilzadeh
  7. Majid Hosseini
  8. Omid Nourafkan
  9. Milad Mohammadi
  10. Daniel Ismaelifar
  11. Farshad Faraji
  12. Aref Gholami
    • Midfielders:
  13. Saeed Ezatollahi
  14. Kamal Kamiyabinia
  15. Mehdi Mehdipour
  16. Amirhossein Hassanzadeh
  17. Milad Sarlak
  18. Ehsan Haj Safi
  19. Vahid Amiri
  20. Mehdi Torabi
  21. Ahmad Noorollahi
  22. Saman Ghoddos
  23. Ali Gholizadeh
    • Forwards:
  24. Mehdi Taremi
  25. Alireza Jahanbakhsh
  26. Sardar Azmoun
  27. Karim Ansarifard
  28. Allahyar Sayadmanesh

Two players Saeed Ezatollahi and Sadegh Moharremi are suspended for the Korea Rep match with an accumulation of two cards, while Hossein Kananizadegan is surprisingly included in the list despite being sanctioned by the disciplinary committee!!

Khalilzadeh and Hosseini are off injury list.

Team Melli’s next match against Korea Rep. in 13 days’ time will witness the availability of two key players.

Shojaá  Khalilzadeh and Majid Hosseini, both injured playing for their clubs, will be available for selection. The fact that Khalilzadeh’s injury was not serious as initially thought, gave Skocic positive news and quite a relief.

With Kananizadegan’s suspension, Siavash Yazdani unavailable due to Military service, the backline of the team looked suspect and a serious source of concern by Dragan Skocic in recent days, The Croat Head Coach was closely following the situation of his players for the matches against South Korea and Lebanon, two matches in which a victory or at least a draw against Korea and a victory against Lebanon will guarantee Team  Melli, top finish in the table.

Contrary to KayseriSpor’s statements about Majid Hosseini’s deteriorating condition, the Team Melli defender returned to the field in last week’s Turkish Premier League and played for his team for 90 minutes. Skocic, would have picked Omid Nourafkan to play in the central defense although Nourafkan has limited experience playing in that defensive role. Hence the availability of Majidi Hosseini is assuring.

Unlike years ago when Team Melli defenders outnumbered players in the midfield and attack, lately not many players have been selected for the squad in the defensive line.  Paulo Bento, the Portuguese coach of South Korea, recently stated in an interview that his team, despite qualifying for the World Cup, is looking to win the next two remaining games and intends to take the top of the group and will play with all its might.

Azmoun doubtful for Korea match adding to the absentees list.

Team Melli will be with 4 key players for the top-of-the-table match versus South Korea in Seoul next month. “Sardar Azmoun’s ligament damage is still bothering him, he still needs treatment. I can’t say exactly when he will be able to play.” declared  the head coach of Bayer Gerardo Seoane “

Azmoun will need another 3-4 weeks to fully recover which will possibly mean he will miss the match in Seoul. Azmoun’s absence on the top of the 3 known absentees due to suspension and disciplinary issues. Moharrami is out for two matches due to his red card against the UAE, Ezatollahi is also suspended due to accumulations of yellow cards, and KananiZadegan is suspended by the FFIRI for misdemeanors he committed including endangering the health of his Team Melli colleagues by attempting to invite a girl while he was on COVID19 quarantine.

While the four players’ absence seems to be significant on paper, the pleasant surprise is that Team Melli has such a strength in depth that no dramatic action is needed to address these absentees.

Dragan Skocic has many options to replace Azmoun and Ezatollahi as he has a good number of replacements. In defense, with two absentees, it sounds more difficult but Siavaush Yazadni has performed well on his debut in the central defensive role, while Majid Hosseini, Milad Mohammadi, Saleh Hardani, and Aref Agasi are all capable to fill the roles in the defense.

 So, although Team Melli is not at 100% strength, it is hardly a crisis situation facing the Koreans and then Lebanon at Azadi in what is a formality matches as Team Melli already had qualified.

FFIRI bans Hossein Kananizadegan for lack of ethics.

The Disciplinary and Ethics Committee of Iran’s Football Federation FFIRI has issued its verdict regarding the case against Team Melli central defender Hossein Kananizadegan.

“The committee has found Hossein Kananizadegan guilty as charged and fined one billion rials plus a two games ban for violating the ethical rules of football. The ban applies to National Team Games, Futsal, and Beach Soccer. Pursuant to paragraph 1 of Article 63 of the Code of Ethics and paragraph 4 of Article 103 of the Disciplinary Code, the ban and fine contained in the above ruling shall not prevent the execution or the suspension of the ruling as soon as the execution is issued and an appeal is filed. Also, if he has an appeal to file, the player should submit his objection to the ethics committee of the federation within one week from this date, observing the legal formalities mentioned in Article 63 of the ethics regulations regarding the appeal process”.  the ruling declared according to the FFIRI website.

Kananizadegan has been a subject of controversy and his inclusion in the two Team Melli games against Iraq and UAE has been found to be a fraudulent and crooked move by the federation. The notorious Knanizadegan, who always seems to be one step near trouble on and off the pitch has uttered profanity and insulting remarks against Estghelal club fans. The recording he made went viral and was condemned by a large swathe of journalists, fans, and footballers alike. Esteghlal club management filed an official complaint against him in December last year.

The defender will miss both the South Korea match away and the final match against Lebanon in Azadi.

The 27 years old Kananizadegan currently plays his football in Qatar Stars League with Al-Ahli

Yet, the FFIRI Disciplinary committee despite having all the incriminating evidence to prosecute the player, conveniently waited until the last two Team Melli matches then issued the disciplinary action!

Skocic consciously reduced number of midfield players.

The head coach of Team Melli says that he knows that his team has a problem in the middle of the field.

According to ISNA, the Iranian national football team stopped today (Tuesday) in its fourth match in the final qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar against South Korea with a result of one, one.

“In the first half, we realized that we had a problem in the middle of the field and we tried to reduce the distance between the Iranian and Korean players by making changes,” Iran’s coach Dragan Skocic told a news conference after the match.

“We knew we had a three-on-three duel in the middle of the field. In the second half, we had a better view with the addition of the Nourafkan. In the first half, I was aware that if the two strikers went forward, the balance would be upset, but I did it consciously.”

“All the players did their best,” commenting in a question about Sardar Azmoun’s performance

“Today was not the best day for Sardar, but he is one of our most important and key players. His goal in the previous stage made us reach this stage of the competition and continue the dream. “

Asked what he expects ahead for his team and its mission to qualify for the World Cup, Skocic said explained: “I am not satisfied with the result of today’s draw and I am not convinced, but I must say that Korea was a great team and has world-class players. Today’s game was against our direct opponent. We move forward with positive thinking and we are alert to the shortcomings and need to solve the team’s problems and have a better performance.”

Asked if he was surprised in the first half against Korea, Skocic said: “If you had listened to me, you would have realized that we were not surprised. We consciously decided to have more players on the offensive line and the reason for that was to increase the pressure on their defenses. But when we realized that such a plan is upsetting the team balance, we changed the tactics. We were ready for other events. I repeat that I deliberately reduced the number of midfielders and it was a risk that I accepted as head coach.“

Why is the match tomorrow in Azadi closed to the fans?

If you have been following the events of Iran’s football lately, you must have heard the good news of Azadi being opened for a limited percentage of its capacity for fans under the strict protocols. The requirement of AFC includes 2 shots of COVID19 vaccinations amongst a list of other requirements. The opening of the Azadi gate was given by  FFIRI President Aziz Khadem and the Minister of Youth and Sports, Sajjadi.

48 hours before the match, there was a U-turn as FFIRI announced that Azadi will not be open to the fans after all. The football federation did not specifically mention the reason for the change of heart but leaks from FFIRI headquarters insinuated that due to some administrative difficulties, the FFIRI is not in full compliance and therefore no fans can be allowed to enter the stadium for the match against Korea Rep which has to be conducted behind closed doors.

in a matter of minutes, accusations of incompetence, lying, and downright ineptitude were thrown at the football federation in social media plus some semi-official media outlets leading the masses to believe that the failure to adhere to the AFC health protocol is the direct responsibility of the federation with their late application for authorization being one of the main reasons.

 Somehow, this account of administrative failure did not make sense. Many sources, including the FFIRI itself, have declared that the application was sent ahead of time, so there was no question of delay. Like always in Iran, one has to dig quite deep to get to the truth and this one is no exception.

ISNA sport corrospondance said

“While Team Melli fans were rejoicing and preparing to buy tickets to enter Azadi Stadium and celebrate the end of the two-year absence from the stadium, the Football Federation, after two months of storytelling, was finally unable to exercise its full right of hosting, and now Team Melli will be deprived of the support of the fans in one of the major Asian classic encounters.”

“It seems that mismanagement and lack of planning have taken root in Iranian football and this football is not going to breathe new life by changing its management. In the absence of infrastructure and financial resources, the fans are the only important and reliable assets of Iranian football. Thanks to the shortcomings and empty promises of the managers of the Football Federation, Team Melli will be deprived of this valuable capital in the match against South Korea. In the World Cup qualifiers, Iran is only host on paper.”

There is no argument about the incompetence of the federations managers, as the ISNA reporter rightly stated, but after some in-depth inquiry and insiders info, this time it seems that the federation was not that incompetent to be unable to get the process right for a straight forward authorization application from AFC. It is not rocket science after all as even FFIRI can complete it!.

So, what is the real reason for preventing the fans?

There are several theories but the one that is closet to reality in our opinion is the FIFA pressure on Iran to allow women entry into the stadium.

It was only in June that FIFA applied pressure to ensure that Iran allows female fans and expected the authorities to comply, or else. Under Rouhani women were allowed for a couple of matches, but now with Ebrahim Raisi in power, a hardline cleric who was previously head of the country’s judiciary, and has ultra-conservative political views the situation has changed, to the worst. Images of Iranian females waving flogs, taking selfies, wearing lipsticks, or cheering their national team, do not fit the bill. It could also be due to pressure from his hardliner peers’ which has forced the authorities from rescinding the agreement or the promise given to FIFA.

Allowing women in stadiums in Iran in 2019 for the first time since the revolution. was a personal triumph for the Chief of FIFA after a strong reminder from the World Football governing body that Iran would face expulsion from the World Cup if they do not follow the FIFA rules. “Fifa’s stance on the access of women to the stadiums in Iran has been firm and clear: women have to be allowed into football stadiums in Iran. For all football matches,” Fifa had said in a statement at the time.

So, Covid is one great convenient and timely excuse for the authorities to dodge the issue and close the great Azadi for everyone.  Technically speaking, Iran has not broken FIFA rules on women in stadiums.

It can be easily said that Iran has outfoxed FIFA, AFC, Infantino, and everyone else by this simple step. Iran cannot be sanctioned because this step does not target women only but everybody.

After all, the west has experienced firsthand the cunning and skills of the Iranian while negotiating the JCPOA. The Iranians managed to settle everything and agree on terms in 2015 only for one not-so-smart Donald Trump, a shallow person, an inexperienced politician,  to tear it off thinking that he can outsmart the Iranians by quitting the pact and exerting more pressure demanding more strict terms.

History says Iranians did not budge and did not accept the blackmail while it witnessed Trump’s failure. The businessman President of the USA could not outdo the Iranians and it seems like FIFA, a much less of an adversary to the Americans, will see the same fate. After all, they are dealing with carpet merchants with a tradition dating thousands of years.

Pre-match Preview Iran vs. Korea Rep. Lessons to be learned.

With Team Melli sitting comfortably at the top, this particular match remains the most crucial of all the matches. A win by Iran will lead to practically unassailable command for Team Melli and 70% of the mission accomplished towards the qualification for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Of course, the results of other matches are also significant, but not as important as the three points of this one.

Korea Rep will always be a tough and uncompromising opponent for Team Melli never mind the Table or the Ranking. The Koreans are 14 places behind Iran in the FIFA Ranking of October 2021 and 59 points behind. No one should be fooled by such numbers though because the Koreans will surely give it all for this particular win.

FIFA RANKING

RK

Team
Total Points
Previous Points

+/-
22
IR Iran
 Iran
1538.08
 1522.04 16.04
26
Japan
 Japan
1520.46
 1529.45 -8.99
32
Australia
 Australia
1493.99
 1477.21 16.78
36
Korea Republic
 Korea Republic
1479.41
 1474.96 4.45

During the Queiroz era, this match would have been the right candidate for combustions. There was no love lost between Queiroz and the Korean coach. Eventually, Queiroz was instrumental in his counterpart losing his job following defeat to Team Melli. That is all settled now as no such hostility exists between Bento and Skocic.

Politics of the game aside, when it comes to the power, tactics, and influential players, the teams are neck and neck. There is, however, a marked decline of standard and form by the Koreans, versus the ascendency and improvement of Team Melli in the last few years, but particularly under Dragan Skocic.  Despite having arguably the best Asian player in its rank, in the shape of Son Heung-min , the Tottenham winger has been less than effective in a team of many new faces. The Iraqi’s managed to close all doors away to the Koreans,  with the match ending goalless. Lebanon was next where the Koreans won by the tightest of margins. Then came the third match against Syria. The match was drawn 1-1 until a momentary lapse of concentration in the 89th minute of the match by the excellent Syrian defense allowed Son Heung-min to score the easiest of goals and his first for his country since 2019. Son Heung-min was unmarked and the goal came from a set piece.

Sadegh Moharrami during a practice session before the Korea Rep match

The winning goal scored by the Koreans is a lesson to be learned by Team Melli. number one is that players should never relax against them and number two,  Son Heung-min can not be left unmarked in or around the box. That goal was similar in circumstances to the one that was conceded by Team Melli against Iraq in Amman in Round 2 of the same qualifiers, a goal that ended in defeat for Team Melli.

Singling Son Heung-min as their main threat is also misleading as there are many such good players in the squad, however, this team has been surprisingly profligate, wasteful, and squandering chances by the dozen in the last three matches. The other area where the team has seen a decline is the accuracy of the passes and the end result. While passing the ball around might appear neat, the final passes were mostly disappointing. In fact, the Koreans despite their control and passing stats in all three matches, have created only a handful of real scoring chances in relation to their superiority.

KOREA REPUBLIC MEN’S RANKING

The official World Rankings of the international Men’s team

36

40

17

69
Recent Ranking Average Ranking Highest Ranking Lowest Ranking

Team Melli’s perfect record in round three is also somehow misleading. Out of the three matches, only against Iraq that the team shined quite well and the result reflected the good performance. The last one played against UAE was perhaps the most worrying, but we can excuse the team performance as they were playing in a humid and warm climate that normally seeps the energy of players not accustomed to such conditions. As such it results in exhaustion, dehydration, adverse physical conditions, and lack of concentration. A very good example of that was the penalty kick carried out by Sardar Azmoun right at the end of regulation time of the match. His body language did not augur well for a player who is about to take a penalty. He was visibly tired and his feeble kick was easily saved by Khausaif, the UAE keeper.  The miss did not change the outcome, but it could have been costly in other circumstances. Another lesson to be learned by the coaching staff.

We cannot conclude any Team Melli match preview without mentioning the proverbial discipline. While Korea was lucky to get the winning goal against Syria, Iran were lucky not to lose their key central defender with around another half an hour to play. Such fouls like the one committed by Shojaa Khalilzadeh against Ali Mabkhout, was amateurish by a player who was until that time, one of the best players in the match. What instigated this foul was more emotional than tactical. Granted that Mabkhout beat him and was heading towards the goal at the edge of the penalty box, a professional and composed defender would have left his goalkeeper deal with the forward, after all, Beiranvand is one of the best in Asia especially since Mabkhoiut was not in full control of the ball anyway, and he runs behind to cover Beirnavand. Khalilzadeh, took the weaker option by pully Mabkhout!

It was all immaterial at the end because there was a VAR decision that an offside occurred earlier on and Shojaa’s red card was rescinded. A lesson learned? perhaps.

Mental and Emotional control, composure, and cool balanced heads are in short supply at team Melli level. There is always a possibility of combustion and fans have grown accustomed to seeing silly fouls and acts from the players. We just hope that tomorrow in Azadi against Korea is not one of those black days.