Tag: Lithuania

Iran futsal to play USA for a place in the next round.

Vilnius

Iran’s National Futsal team will meet Team USA on Friday evening in matchday two of FIFA Futsal World Cup 2021 hosted by Lithuania. currently . Futsal Team Melli started in a positive note by defeating the Serbian Team 3-2.

Playing in their first FIFA Futsal World Cup since 2008, USA had a return to forget as they went down to an 11-0 defeat, albeit against reigning world champions Argentina. Their pride hurt, the Americans will need to dig deep if they are stay in contention for a place in the last 16 and go some way to matching their run to third place in 1989 and to second place three years later.

Iran are in a very different place after a confidence-boosting win over Serbia. Dominant in the first period, the Iranians clung on in the second. After their third place at Colombia 2016, big things are expected from Iran again. They will start favorites against USA, but will have to make do without the suspended Hamid Ahmadi, with Hossein Tayebi almost certain to miss out too through injury.

A win for Team Melli will ease their mind and go to the last match against World Champions without any due pressure.

Iran and USA met only once befor on in 18th October 2011 in whic Team Melli defeted the American 8-0. There is a good chance to improve this record later on this evening.

Iran Futsal wins the Continental championship 2021

Iran National Futsal Team defeated host Thailand in the final of the Continental championship 2021.

In the match held this Friday afternoon, Iran was facing its toughest opponent in the tournament in host Thailand. Buy the final whistle, The Persian came out 5 -1 winners to clinch the title in which 8 teams participated.

Playing a silky futsal and with a dazzling performance, Iran made it look easy against a tough Thai team that struggled to beat weaker teams on its way to the final. Within minutes of the start, Iran scored, and by half time Team Melli was 3-0 up0.

In the second half, Iran continued as they left scoring two more goals to make it 5-0. Thailand scoring a consolation  3minutes before the final whistle.

Alireza Rafiei (2 goals), Behzad Azimi (2 goals), and Farhad Tavakoli scored for Iran. The Iranian national futsal team is preparing for a strong presence in the Futsal World Cup 2021 in Lithuania to improve on the previous tournament result.

Iran’s Futsal to meet Uzbekistan in the Semi-Finals

Uzbekistan beats Iran in Thai Futsal Tournament semi-final

The Iranian national futsal team will face Uzbekistan in the semi-finals of the Continental Futsal Championship.

On matchday 3 of the championship, a shock defeat was registered when Kosovo were beaten by Mozambique while the host Thailand escaped narrowly after defeating Uzbekistan. Yesterday, Kosovo managed to stop Thailand the tournament host, but today it lost to a weak Mozambican team and failed to advance to the semi-final.

In the last match of the group,  Thailand and Uzbekistan played a close competitive game. Thailand finally managed to defeat Uzbekistan 4-3 to jump to the top of the group. The Thai team along with Uzbekistan advanced from the first group while Iran and Egypt qualified from the second group for the semi-finals.

The semi-finals will take place on Thursday, with Iran facing Uzbekistan and Thailand facing Egypt.

 

Earlier in the championship, Iran emerged victorious over Tajikistan on Monday with a 7-0 win over their opponents in Group B. In its first group match, the Iranian futsal team defeated Lithuania 5-0.

Iran participates in the competition as part of the preparation for the 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup, which will be held in Lithuania from Sept. 12 to Oct. 3.

Iran is in Group F along with Argentina, the U.S., and Serbia.

25-30/7/2021

Venue: Show DC Hall 1

Live Streaming: Futsal Thailand FB page and Thairat On Line Youtube Channel

Nations

Group A
A1 – Thailand
A2 – Uzbekistan
A3 – Kosovo
A4 – Mozambique

Group B
B1 – IR Iran
B2 – Egypt
B3 – Tajikistan
B4 – Lithuania

Fixture

25/7/2021
10.30 Egypt vs Tajikistan 1-0 (1-0)
12.45 IR Iran vs Lithuania 5-0 (5-0)
15.00 Uzbekistan vs Kosovo 6-3 (3-3)
17.15 Thailand vs Mozambique 6-4 (6-1)

26/7/2021
10.30 Lithuania vs Egypt 4-2 (2-1)
12.45 Tajikistan vs IR Iran 0-7 (0-4)
15.00 Mozambique vs Uzbekistan 0-10 (0-2)
17.15 Kosovo vs Thailand 6-6 (2-2)

27/7/2021
10.30 Tajikistan vs Lithuania 9-2 (3-1)
12.45 IR Iran vs Egypt 2-2 (1-0)
15.00 Kosovo vs Mozambique 1-2 (0-2)
17.15 Thailand vs Uzbekistan 4-3 (1-2)

Continental Futsal Championship – Group A Standing
1. Thailand ——————–3-2-1-0-16-13-7
2. Uzbekistan ——————3-2-0-1-19–7-6
3. Mozambique ——————3-1-0-2–6-17-3
4. Kosovo ———————-3-0-1-2-10-14-1

Continental Futsal Championship – Group B Standing
1. IR Iran ———————3-2-1-0-14–2-7
2. Egypt ———————–3-1-1-1–5–6-4
3. Tajikistan ——————3-1-0-2–9-10-3
4. Lithuania ——————-3-1-0-2–6-16-3

29/7/2021

7/8 place final
Group A 4th ranked vs Group B 4th ranked
10.30 Kosovo vs Lithuania

Semifinals

SF 1 – Group B Winners vs Group A Runners up
13.30 IR Iran vs Uzbekistan

Group A Winners vs Group B Runners up
SF2 – 16.30 Thailand vs Egypt

Late strike by Ansarifard gives Iran a narrow win against Lithuania

Karim Ansarifard scored a late winner to give Iran a 1-0 victory over Lithuania in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Friday.

Carlos Queiroz’s side, who will face Morocco, Spain and Portugal in Group B at the World Cup, went into the game on the back of a 2-1 friendly defeat against Turkey in Istanbul and struggled to create chances against Edgaras Jankauskas’ lively Lithuania side.

After going in goalless at half-time, Iran spent much of the second half pinned back by waves of Lithuanian attacks, with Justas Lasickas firing over the crossbar before substitute Povilas Leimonas failed to hit the target after a neat passing move culminated in a chance on the hour mark.

Iran came to life in the last 10 minutes of the game, piling forwards and creating a number of chances before Olympiacos striker Ansarifard tried his luck from the edge of the penalty area and found the net in the 88th minute.

While the result – Iran’s fourth victory in their last six international friendlies – will have pleased Queiroz, the manner of his side’s performance will have given him food for thought ahead of their group opener against Morocco on June 15.

This was the last friendly of Team Melli. Due to a mixture of issues, games against Greece and Kosovo were cancelled. At the last minute it was been able to arrange this game against Lithuania. The Iran was the first team to arrive in Russia and has been in Moscow for 3 days, where it will play. its fifth participation in the World Cup.

Lithuania is a fourth tier team of Europe, which has not played in any World Cup, nor is it expected to do so in the short and medium term. The team consists of local players who play in their country’s, infima league, where their first division players, would have problems playing in the third division of Spain, for example.

I

FFIRI to file a complaint against Greek FA with FIFA.

As the media in Iran were actively researching this new European and less known team including for information such as their foreign based players, it was announced soon after (about seven hours later) by the Kosovo Football Association that it was calling off the match with Team Melli , due to the demand to play behind closed doors without spectators.

The match was scheduled to take place at İstanbul Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadyumu (same venue as the match against Turkey), but with the cancellation of this match, Team Melli is now only practicing in Turkey. After that, the  final list will be declared, then the squad will head to Russia to complete its last match against Lithuania.

After canceling the game, the Iranian Football Federation FFIRI condemned its Greek counterpart, saying it has suspended all relations with the Greek Football Association in a more formal and demonstrative fashion!  The statement by the federation, said “Despite the claims, the Iranian national team was always ready to play in Greece, as the documents exchanged between the two federations had an account of this issue. The FFIRI will file a complaint and report the issue to FIFA and will take all legal action for compensation for the losses incurred. Until such time as FIFA takes action on this case, the Iranian Football Association has announced that it will suspend all its relations with the Greek Football Association. “

Apparently the topic of the discussion was the venue of the game with Greece. The Greeks suggested to play in Greece, Xanthi. Then Athens was discussed as an alternative to Xanthi, but eventually the game was canceled because of the Greek Football Association sponsor! The federation statement goes on to point out the attempts to replace Greece with the new opponent and the subsequently canceled match with Kosovo:

“At the right time, all the necessary actions to find an alternative team to play the friendly match were taken on June 2nd. After seeking several options, the Football Federation of Iran began talks with the Kosovo Football Federation and a preliminary agreement for a friendly match was made. Following the initial agreement, the Iranian Football Federation accepted all the demands of the Kosovo Federation (including transport, residency, etc.), a new and final request was submitted by the Kosovo Football Federation that rendered playing the match Impossible. “

New and last-minute wishes? What the Kosovars have pointed out is very much a normal football practise of 100 of years and that is the presence of spectators. The Iranians have not accepted that and subsequently the game was called off. Now, who is desperate for a practise match, Kosovo who has nothing to play for , or Iran with a World Cup ahead in a fortnight?  Simple question , who is the loser here, regardless to the fact that Kosovo ranks 152 in the FIFA Ranking, which is even worst that Sierra Leone at 103?

That episode clearly shows the shortsightedness of the Iranian football officials and the stubbornness of one Carlos Queiroz, a coach who is not world renowned for his flexibility or diplomacy.

With this account and since it is unlikely that in these one-two days a new opponent will provide a challenge and much-needed practise for Team Melli, the Iranian side’s preparations for the World Cup was made up of a match against the Olympic team of Uzbekistan, under strength Turkish side and a match against reserves of Lithuania, ranked 91!!

Thus , Team Melli is about he worst  prepared team of the FIFA World Cup 2018 Russia.

 

Chaos supreme in Iran`s preparation matches.

The saga of Team Melli friendly games disruptions and cancellations continues unabated.

When it comes to arranging friendlies ahead of major tournaments like the World Cup or Asian Cup, one way or another it always seems that the schedule is marred by chaos and disorganization. The preparations for this FIFA World Cup 2018 is no exception.

Majority of the problems are self-inflicted, as it stems from the fact that the administration with feeble international public relations , lack of management and organizational skills added to the head coach shenanigans and antics , leads to chaos for Team Melli.

While most federations have a two-year calendar, published and known to the media and the clubs, Iran’s FFIRI plays it by the ear. Guessing games requirement , picking opponents ,  embarking on secretive negotiations thereafter striking last-minute deals, added to lack of transparency by officials, paints a grim picture of the important issue. of arranging friendly games for Team Melli.

The Federation officials always justify their failures and numerous match cancellations on factors such as sanctions and difficulties in finance transactions,  however , although this may be true in few cases, the culprit remains the poor  events management and chaotic programming of FFIRI.

Only a few days ago , yet another important test for Team Melli against Greece was canceled ! This was announced by Greece head coach only. No one exactly knows the real reason as FFIRI are not forthcoming. Luckily FFIRI found an alternative option in Kosovo. Perhaps not a stern test as good as Greece , nevertheless it was an essential match for Team Melli.

Another shocker followed soon as Kosovo also cancelled or turn it down depending on your perspective. The Reason was clear this time and quite frustrating too. Kosovo did not fancy playing an International football match behind closed-door depriving their fans as Queiroz demanded!

Queiroz has such habits which FIFA should really put a stop to it. Playing behind closed doors should not be accepted at international level. After all the National Team of any country has millions of followers and is not a private property of an individual, that is why it is called a National Team.

The last test match is now on the 8th of June against Lithuania. The fans would think at least this one will pass smoothly without any glitches, right?

Not that simple. The first surprise is that this match will NOT  be played in a STADIUM!

After Kosovo , the Lithuanian were not amused either when they discovered that the Lithuanian team will play Team Melli in the training field of the Spartak stadium in Tushino on June 8.

 RIA Novosti head coach Edgaras Jankauskas said :

“At first we thought that the match with Iran would take place at the Spartak stadium, but it turned out that we will play in the training field! We will not be able to bring our strongest team to Moscow, because the date is unofficial, and the championship in Lithuania is now going on.”

Before hoping and praying for Team Melli’ s success on the field in what looks like a really tough group, some prayers must go to the FFIRI  to get themselves competent and professional administrators who can do a better support job than what they are offering now.

Team Melli loses to Turkey.

Team Melli, which is actively preparing for the 21st FIFA World Cup, played the Turkish national team on Monday at Fatih Tarem Stadium, Istanbul. Turkey won the close match 2-1, goals scored by Cenk Tosun 6′ and 50′, with Iran scoring a late consolation from a spot kick by Ashkan Dejagah.

The starting lineup for Team Melli was: Alireza Beiranvand, Ehsan Haj Safi, Roozbeh Cheshmi, Milad Mohammadi, Masoud Shojaei, Morteza PouraliGanji, Karim Ansarifard, Mehdi Taremi, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Sardar Azmoun and Ramin Rezaeian. In the second half, Omid Ebrahimi, Vahid Amiri, Saman Ghoddos, Mehdi Torabi, Reza Ghoochannejad and Ashkan Dejagah were substituted in.

At the onset, the Turkish team had a good opportunity to open the scoring, but Alireza Beiranvand deprived the hosts as early as the second minute. However, the resistance was broken very soon after, as in the 6th minute, the Everton striker Cenk Tosun broke through the defenses and left Roozbeh Chesmi in his shadow with a clever and relatively easy dummy to shoot past the hapless Beiranvand.

Turkey, which was in the control of the game for the first 20 minutes, still had a number of opportunities but could not increase the tally. In the 23rd minute, Ehsan Haji Safi was placed in a one-on-one situation with Turkish keeper from an immaculate diagonal pass by Alireza Jahanbakhsh, but the midfielder was far too casual and his low weak shot was easily saved by the Turkish goalkeeper Serkan Kırıntılı.

Three minutes later, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who was one of the better Team Melli players, was in the center of the Turkish penalty area, and after a nice move past the Turkish defense, he latched on a fierce shoot which the goalkeeper again saved depriving Iran from a much deserved equalizer.

Despite the efforts made by the Iranian players in the first half, Queiroz players went into the dressing room a goal behind.

The second half started for Iran in different circumstances, as the team tried to score an early goal, but in the 50th minute, the weakness in the defense line enabled Tosun to easily score his second goal. The culprit was Beiranvand again for his poor timing and unforced error. The host was 2-0 up early in the second half.

After this goal, the substitutions by Queiroz started and the players who seem to be among the starters of the team started entering the pitch to increase the pressure on Turkey and show more aggressiveness, but there was still an inconsistency among the players. The team lacked any effective plan to score with most of the final balls ending up wasted or intercepted by the Turks.

 In the final part of the match, there was little sign of a concerted attack strategy to score.  This showed, more than anything else, the team’s weaknesses in many areas which surely requires addressing before the start of the World Cup to overcome these weaknesses.

The main problem of the team remains the central defense and the goalkeeper. Beiranvand’s weakness have been  evident for a long time now. With two of the most experienced defenders out of the squad ( Jalal Hosseini and Vouria Ghafoori ) , short of a miracle , the Portuguese coach is hard pushed to find a suitable solution.  This lack of experience and skill , raises real concerns against the likes of Ronaldo.

In the 91st minute of the match, Reza Goochannejad close range shot was blatantly handled by Turkish defender Omer Byram on the goal line. The Uzbek referee had no hesitation to call the penalty, in addition to the expulsion of the defender who was barely on the pitch for a couple of minutes. Ashkan Dejagah scored this penalty shot.

Team Melli will have two other preparations for the match versus Morocco in the Group B of the World Cup, but the meeting with Greece is still unclear, Lithuania is certain.

Queiroz hopeful to make it to Round 16 in the World Cup 2018

Iran coach Carlos Queiroz said in an interview with Agência Efe that he believes he can take his team to the Round of 16 at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and chose the country where he was born in Portugal as a ” Group B” favorite, completed by Spain and Morocco.

In charge of the Iranian team since 2011, Queiroz has made the Team Melli one of the top teams in Asia, beating virtually all regional rivals in the World Cup preparation round.

Despite the confidence in his team, Queiroz acknowledges that Spain is not only favorite to pass the stage, but also to the title.

“Iran is a country that is not on the list of priorities for the press, but the work we have done in recent years deserves a little more attention. Overall, Asian football is not always present in the news, unless you speak Japan and Korea, which have a lot of influence in Europe in general, “he said.

In the friendly of this Fifa day, Queiroz chose to face two rivals of the region. First, playing Tunisia, who are in Group G of the World Cup. Then he takes his team to face Algeria, who competed in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but did not qualify to Russia 2018.

“We always have a lot of difficulties during the preparation. There are some issues we are always struggling with, such as financial difficulties and relations with other countries, which are sometimes not easy for Iran. But we always try to do our best and, with colleagues, seek solutions, “explained the Portuguese head coach.

“We are going to play with Tunisia, Algeria and Turkey, which everyone knows is very strong even though they are not in the World Cup, as well as with Greece and Lithuania, we are better than we were in the last World Cup when we practically did not play with anyone,” he said.

Asked if group B is the group of death, Queiroz stressed that the two favorites are Spain and Portugal, but said nothing is decided. For him, Iran and Morocco are outsiders but will try to qualify for a place in the last 16 of the World Cup.

“It is no secret that Spain and Portugal are favorites, but I do know that Iran will be there, and it is very difficult to know who will advance, I do not want to choose, but it will be them (the Spanish team) who will decide, but I want Iran and Portugal to move on, “he said.