Tag: Mehdi Taremi

Match Preview: Korea Republic v  Iran

the-afc.com
Seoul: Top spot in Group A is on the line when familiar foes the Korea Republic and Iran clash on Matchday Nine of the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar™ at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Thursday.
Both teams have already secured their passage to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ having wrapped up the first two places with minimal fuss, while the pair remain unbeaten after eight games.
The Iranians currently sit two points above the Taeguk Warriors with two games to play and if they avoid defeat in the Korean capital, Team Melli will go into their final fixture against Lebanon in Mashhad as firm favorites to progress as group winners.
Iran and Korea last faced off on Matchday Four at Azadi Stadium and there was little to separate the sides as they played out an entertaining 1-1 draw with Alireza Jahanbakhsh’s leveler canceling out Son Heung-min’s opener.
Since then, they have each won all four of their games, with Iran booking their ticket to the FIFA World Cup Qatar™ following a 1-0 victory over neighbors Iraq on Matchday Seven and the Koreans joining them after a 2-0 win against Syria on Matchday Eight.
Another successful qualifying campaign has seen the Iranians advance to the global showpiece for the sixth time, and third in a row, while Korea’s record is among the best in world football as they have now reached an incredible 10 successive FIFA World Cups.
The match-up at Seoul World Cup Stadium brings back memories of the final round of the 2018 AFC Asian Qualifiers when Iran, already confirmed as group winners, also traveled to the Korean capital on the penultimate game.
With Korea still involved in a battle for the second spot, the sides played out a goalless draw as Carlos Queiroz’s 10-man Iran posted a ninth successive clean sheet following a trademark resolute performance at the back.

It was another in a long list of matches in what is one of Asian football’s biggest rivalries, with the sides having met numerous times over the years, including in the past four FIFA World Cup qualifying campaigns.

The last three meetings have all ended in draws, while Iran had won the previous four – all by a 1-0 scoreline – as they proved a continuous thorn in the Korean side. You have to go back to the 2011 AFC Asian Cup™ quarter-finals for the last time Korea recorded a victory.
Ahead of the latest battle in the rivalry, Iran has been dealt a triple blow with captain Jahanbakhsh, Mehdi Taremi, and Saman Ghoddos all ruled out of Dragan Skocic’s squad through COVID-19.
Paulo Bento has few such worries with star man Son arriving on the back of bagging a brace in Tottenham Hotspur’s win over West Ham United on Sunday and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Hwang Hee-chan returning after missing the last two AFC Asian Qualifiers due to injury.
The game marks Korea’s final home match in Group A as they travel to Dubai to take on the United Arab Emirates on March 29, when Iran will bring the curtain down on their campaign at home to Lebanon.
Korea Republic v  Iran
Venue: Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul
Kick-off: March 24, 20:00 (UTC+9)

5 Key players absent against South Korea!

Team Melli’s bad fortunes continue ahead of the top of the table clash with Korea Rep. and Lebanon as five key players of the team will be absent.

An absence could affect the equations of Skocic and the national team. Following the announcement that Saeed Ezatollahi and Sadegh Moharremi, two starters for Team Melli are serving suspensions, it has now been reported that the PCR test of Saman Ghoddos, Mehdi Taremi, and Alireza Jahanbakhsh has been declared positive and these players will most likely not be able to play against Korea Rep. and most probably against Lebanon 5 days later.

The recently appointed team manager Hamid Estili’s has also been diagnosed positive. This is all confirmed by the official FFIRI website

It is now more likely that Skočić will start with a new look team while giving fringe players some game time. In any case, Iran will not have its full team available against the Koreans.

On a positive note, this match seems to be a perfect opportunity for the reserve players to show their worth for Skočić and lay claim for a starting role. These players can show their ability in the match against a powerful South Korean team that has been improving throughout the qualifiers while their golden boy Sun Heung-min is in peak form for Tottenham. Of course, picking replacement players will not be an easy task for the Croat coach looking to defend his undefeated record with Iran. Whatever the case, the composition of Iran’s team against Korea is broken. Skočić has to walk on the edge of the sword and get his team out of this difficult situation. It remains to be seen what Team Melli will do without its key players in the match against South Korea. A positive result, in a form of a draw or a win, will enhance the reputation of Iran globally but most importantly, their place in the FIFA Ranking table, so important for seeding in the Wold Cup Qatar 2022.

Saman Ghoddos out of the squad.

Team Melli midfielder Saman Ghoddos has been diagnosed positive in the latest PCR and hence lost the chance to travel to the Korean capital for the match against the host nation and the following match against Lebanon in Mashad.

In a communique with the FFIRI Brentford, the premiere league club from London has confirmed that Ghoddos will not be available for selection for the upcoming international matches.

Hamid Estili, who has recently been appointed as the new Manager of the Iranian national team, confirmed the news: “Unfortunately, we will not have Ghoddos in these two matches, but we hope that other legionnaires will be able to join the squad and play for Team Melli without any problem”. Saman Ghoddos was a starter and played both the last two matches against UAE and Iraq. His absence gives coach Dragan Skocic some difficulty. Skocic has announced that the result of the game against South Korea is very important to the team.

Team Melli arrived early morning Sunday in Korea and after the PCR test, were immediately sent to quarantine. Many Legionnaire players are yet to join including Azmoun who played for Leverkusen today in a 2-0 away win versus Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. Taremi is also expected to leave for Korea after the match against Boavista. Milad Mohammadi, Ehsan Hajsafi, and Karim Ansari also played for AEK Athens in a 1-0 loss to PAOK in the Greek league.

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!!

Taremi saves Porto from Home defeat

The top of the Portuguese League clash between the leaders Porto and second-placed Sporting Club was played at Dragao Stadium in Porto.

That important match for the Portuguese fans was also the center of interest for the Iranian as the Team Melli central forward Mehdi Taremi was starting and the stage was open for him to prove his worth especially after the rumored interest by Arsenal to sign him in the summer. Taremi did not disaaponit. Not only he was the man of the match, but he also scored a brilliant header to save his team from defeat from their fiercest rival.

In this ill-tempered match, Porto was stunned early in the game when the host Sporting scored the opener with a nice close-range header by Paulinho in the 8th minute. As that was not bad enough, the guests Sporting, managed to score the second goal of the game in the 34th minute by Nono Santos from an error committed by Porto Captain Pepe. Sergio Conceiço’s team was able to score their first goal on Mehdi Taremi’s assist to Vieira in the 38th minute.

The first half ended 1-2 to Sporting.

The physical play of both teams caused the referee to brandish many yellow cards, and by the 49th minute, the color of this card turned red for Sporting player Sebastian Coates, with Sporting having to play most of the second half with 10 players. Porto’s pressure was immense in the second half until finally, Mehdi Taremi raised majestically to head a cross into the far corner of Sporting keeper, scoring the equalizer in the 78th minute with his exceptional header.

After the goal, there were many clashes between the players and some also involved the bench. Some ugly scenes were witnessed with the Referee unable to control the match. Not only there were individual pockets of fights everywhere on the pitch which saw an invasion from everyone including the whole bench of both teams. The melee continued until the match was prematurely ended.

It was pandemonium and ugly. Pepe and another player sporting player were dismissed.

The bright side of these ugly scenes is that, for once, Mehdi Taremi took a distance from all these trouble spots. He hardly got himself involved with the opposition players and did not go to the referee and blab his mouth like he usually does. Is this a sign of maturity? We hope that Taremei, a star on his own right now at the world level, maintains this attitude and calm. Indeed it was a truly admirable act by rational Mehdi.

With this draw, Porto reached  60 points to remain at the top of the standings of the Portuguese Premier League.

A critical look at Team Melli.

Team Melli got the result it wanted against the UAE and put further pressure on Korea Rep for the race at the top of the group. With qualification assured, it was an excellent opportunity for Dragan Skocic to introduce changes in the lineup, but to the great disappointment of many, he stuck with the same players except for those enforced changes such as through suspensions or Covid.

If the mission of Skocic was just to finish the match with three points and minimum damage, then he achieved that objective, but it was far from pretty. A countless number of passes went astray, the finishing in front of the goal was abysmal, final balls lacking accuracy, misunderstanding between players and lack the sense of urgency and accuracy. Players were guilty of some unprofessional works at this level. Team Melli must look beyond the final two games of the group, although the one against Korea is a good test, and start looking forward to how would they like to play and compete.

To be recognized and accepted, Team Melli has a long way to go in a relatively limited time period.

Player’s selections and Opportunities

Skocic pick for the match was frustrating. If Team Melli has any aspiration to stand and be counted amongst the elite in Qatar, then Skocic must think positively and bravely to build a team of 23 highly-rated players and not just stick with a skeleton of 11 to 13 fixed starters. That was Queiroz regime style and despite the limited success of Queiroz’s team, it failed to go beyond the group stages in Russia and did not win the title in the Asian Cup 2019.

To give players confidence, Skocic must offer them the chance to play and perform. The bench players must be as good as the main players. Bench players must be integrated and there is no better way of such integration except actually giving them the minutes at any opportunity.

Skočić missed that opportunity against the UAE. Perhaps fear of losing was the catalyst and that is understandable. It is not a crime for a coach to be result-oriented, however, there is a time when the future integration and strength of the team must take priority.

Shaky individual Performances

Non-performing players or those who are consistently playing sub-standard games must realize that they would lose their place in the lineup. For example, both Ghoddos and Gholizadeh were poor against Iraq, yet they both kept their places against UAE. To create the spirit of competition amongst the players, Skocic could have dropped them for this match to send a signal to everyone else that there is no such thing as a permanent place in the team, sub-standard performances have consequences, there are alternative options who can fill the gap and the team is more important than the interest of the individuals.

That methodology has proven to work, as the problem with Taremi proved not long ago.

Most professional coaches religiously adhere to this mindset, Skocic must follow too. If a player is selected to play, he must deliver.

If a player continues playing weakly and yet he is still picked up for matches, there will be a sense of injustice and disappointment in the team the consequences of which is unimaginable.

Players must feel that bad performances will have consequences and hence give it 100% effort. Players in Team Melli must understand that there are at least two if not more players that can take their place if they do not deliver. This is missing in Skocic team.

Professional players of this generation will develop a false sense of security and believe in their own vitalness. Only a good professional coach can change that.

Disciplinary acts.

Then there was another disturbing part. The disciplinary record of Team Melli is absolutely dismal. There are far too many yellow and red cards awarded to them. It is an indication of lack of guile, professionalism, and most probably negligence.  There are certain Team Melli players that one feels could be dismissed anytime due to a wild or mistimed tackle, pure negligence, and lack of maturity. leading to suspensions and negative effects on the team. Whatever it takes, Skocic and his coaching staff must strengthen the mental agility and emotional control of the players. The World Cup is too valuable of a place for the Team to lose players through suspensions because of loss of concentration.

Game Plan

While there were some nice touches and inter-passing, despite the lack of continuity, the game plan against the UAE was not clear specifically at the forward end. There were few crosses on the flanks while Iran has the best players who could cross. There was also a lack of aerial firepower up front where the like of Taremi can excel, the direction and control of the midfield were lost mainly due to the failure of the Team Melli midfielders in keeping the ball and timely distribution. Game plans normally do not cater for players’ dismissal and that could have been a reason for the bewilderment of the team, however, even with one player short, Team Melli still managed to miss at least two certain goals!

Creativity and flexibility.

Team Melli is struggling to break down compact defense teams. Even if that is successfully done, the rate of conversion against the chances created is poor. There has been an embarrassing number of easy scoring chances missed

The problems stem from the heart of midfield. The sight of Team Melli probing from side to side, with a painful lack of incision, has left some critics lacking in confidence in the team. Flanks that feed the tall attackers seem to go missing in action. Apart from Jahanbakhsh, no other midfield player seems to have the vision and the creativity that is required at the top-level competition. The generations of Khodadad Aziz, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Ali Karimi, Nekounam which then continued with Mojtaba Jabbari, Ando Teymourian, and Ashkan Dejagah have served the Team well through the years, now such creativity is simply lacking.

The root cause is the standard of the domestic league in Iran which is feeble and has failed to produce the quality required at the international level. The solution at Skocic’s hand. Somehow he must address this complicated issue.

Players rating vs UAE

Amir Abedzadeh : Another commanding, confident and perfect display. Despite the few attacks by the opposing team, Abedzadeh handled the ball and any aerial threat with ease and did not put a foot wrong, Oozes with confidence and that transmits to the defenders in front of him too [8.75]

Sadegh Moharrami : Disappointing premature game end for such a skillful half-back. His second yellow card and subsequent dismissal were unprofessional, reckless, and negligent for a player at the international level. We sincerely hope that a good lesson is learned  [5.0]

Omid Noorafkan : In the makeshift defense line, Noorafkan played well as a central defender partnering with Kananizadegan. Solid and steady although the UAE attacks were sparse and hardly threatening [7.7]

Milad Mohammadi: Had a quiet game, but it is apparent that this pacey defender has lost some of his finer touches. His ball distribution and passing lacked accuracy and was guilty of some bad passes [6.8]

Hossein Kanani-zadegan : Another solid performance at the center of defense. His timely header saved the Team a certain goal. Despite playing in an unusual formation with his regular partner (Khalilzadeh) missing, his coordination with Noorafkan was immaculate. [8.4]

Saeed Ezatollahi : Still wobbly and at times acts like a bull in a china store. The defensive work was as expected but he lacks consistency. Got himself booked for an unnecessary foul, then escaped another booking minutes later with a bad tackle. [6.7]

Saman Ghoddos : The second consecutive game in a row that Saman looks lackluster. It was not a difficult decision for Skocic to sacrifice him after Moharrami was dismissed. He made little difference in the team and lacked proper and accurate ball distribution for his teammates. It is a pity as Ghoddos is a highly technical and visionary football. He has yet to deliver at Team Melli though. [6.0]

Ali Gholizadeh : After a marvelous run late in the second half where he showed tremendous skills, his run towards the UAE goal and the feeble shoot on goal, while Taremi on his left was wide open, is bordering a crime. He did not have a good game like his partner Ghoddos. It is unsettling and as such robbing the team of creativity. Missed two glorious goal-scoring chances [6.3]    

Alireza Jahanbakhsh : Another top performance from the Captain of Team Melli. His enthusiasm, skill, and vision are going to be much needed if Iran has any aspiration in qualifying from the group stages of the World Cup. He is the Maestro of the team [8.9] Man of the Match

Mehdi Taremi : He delivers when needed. That goal against UAE was a poacher’s goal and that is what makes Taremi so special and a valuable asset to the team. He suffered from some fatigue especially when he had to return back and cover for the team missing a player, but still performed admirably [8.8]

Vahid Amiri : A few flashes of brilliance but Amiri like many of his teammates today lacked the high passing accuracy. It is expected from him to feed the forwards with crosses, but they were scarce and far apart thus hardly creating any threats. He still covered quite well in the back when needed. [7.5]

Substitutes

Ahmad Nourollahi : Found it hard to control the midfield after he came as a substitute. His one shot at goal was way off target., otherwise he had a quiet game. Perhaps recovering from Covid had some effect on his performance  [7.0]

Saleh Hardani : taking into account his status as a new member of the team, he played with confidence and boldness against quite a pacey UAE winger. He never let his guard down and filled Moharrami’s slot quite well. A very good prospect and a player that needs to be given more playing time [7.8]

Siavaush Yazdani Moghadam : Not enough playing time to rate him, but in the opportunity given, he played well without any problem.to be

Team Melli striker Mehdi Taremi offered to Arsenal

According to CBS sports website, A dramatic deadline day looks set to end with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leaving Arsenal with Barcelona has reached an agreement to sign the former Gunners’ club captain on a free transfer. Arsenal who looks like having a crisis in the forward line, with their two main strikers being out of contract in the summer has already failed to attract the Serbian forward Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina after Juventus secured his services for a €70m transfer fee

The Gunners have also been offered several players on loan this month, including Real Madrid’s Luka Jovic and Team Melli striker Mehdi Taremi of Porto, and have been working to upgrade Arteta’s strikeforce before the transfer window closes Monday night. Meanwhile, Arsenal have made one signing, securing the services of Colorado Rapids center back Auston Trusty.

Porto, meanwhile, have lost three of their key players in recent weeks, namely Jose Corona, Sergio Oliveira, and Luis Diaz, and it is unlikely that the Porto boss will take another move in the transfer window. Mehdi Taremi who scored the winning goal against Iraq on Thursday to qualify for the World Cup 2022,  is currently in the camp of Team Melli and will face the UAE tomorrow.

It will be suicidal for Porto to part with Taremi at this stage, especially since they are challenging for the League titke.

Iran confirm Qatar 2022 berth

the-afc.com
Tehran: The Islamic Republic of Iran booked the first AFC ticket to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 with a third consecutive win in Group A of the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar, beating neighbours Iraq 1-0 at Azadi Stadium on Thursday.
The result sees Team Melli go back to top the group after Korea Republic had temporarily snatched the lead with a win against Lebanon earlier in the day, the Iranians building an unassailable lead at the top that pulled them past the finish line with three games to go.
Both teams were lively from the off with chances coming as early as the sixth minute when Omid Noorafkan got a shot following a good pass from Alireza Jahanbakhsh, but Iraq’s Fahad Talib fisted the ball away for a corner.

At the other end just a few minutes later, Aymed Hussein got a header on Bashar Resan’s delivery from the flank, but an alert and well positioned Amir Abedzadeh held the ball, with the following attack seeing Jahanbakhsh’s long range shot take a bounce before hitting the post, in what was an exhilarating opening 12 minutes.

With 25 minutes on the clock, Talib pulled off a magnificent double save after Jahanbakhsh’s shot was spilled into Mehdi Taremi’s path, with the FC Porto striker’s shot going straight at the Iraqi keeper’s fists to be sent away. Vahid Amiri also got a shot seconds later, but that was deflected behind for a corner by Talib.

Talib’s heroics showed no signs of stopping when Ali Gholizadeh, unchecked, was in on goal following a magnificent long pass from the other side of the pitch by Jahanbakhsh, yet the former’s shot was yet again saved by the Iraqi keeper, capping off an electrifying opening 45 minutes

The deadlock was finally broken just two minutes after the break, when Ahmad Ibrahim attempted to intercept but missed Jahanbakhsh’s low through ball, allowing Taremi a clear path on goal with the Team Melli forward dinking it just above Talib to pull his country ahead.

Saman Ghoddos almost doubled IR Iran’s lead when Taremi’s feigned run between the two central defenders as Moharrami played the former through, allowing the Brentford FC man to take a low shot from close range that skimmed past the post.

The Lions of Mesopotamia threatened to equalize with 15 minutes left on the clock after substitute Hasan Abdulkareem fired a stinging low shot that was saved by Abedzadeh, but fell into the path of Huseein who could not get a clean touch on it.

The result sees Iraq remain in fifth place with four points, with IR Iran topping the group with 19 points. Iraq faces Lebanon away in four days, while Dragan Skocic’s men will remain in Tehran to take on the United Arab Emirates on the same day.

At last, Taremi lands in Tehran and available for the match against Iraq

Tehran :

Mehdi Taremi, who was stranded in Turkey for days after his flight to Tehran via Istanbul was diverted due to a severe snowstorm in Istanbul airport, finally landed in Tehran early morning Thursday.

The Iranian  Porto striker underwent the PCR test and the result returned negative after arriving in Iran and hence Taremi is available for selection for the match against Iraq.

Due to fatigue and other issues, Dragan Skocic, might very well opt to use Taremi as a substitute rather than in the starting lineup. The technical staff, due to the absence of many of their players, made a great effort to ensure the availability of Mehdi Taremi for this match.

Team Melli will still be deprived of 3 key players, Azmoun, Nourollahi, and Hajsafi.