Tag: Montenegro

Morale boosting win for Team Melli against Montenegro.

Team Melli defeated Montenegro 1-2 in a friendly International match in the capital city Podgorica on Sunday.

Team Melli was camping in Austria, before travelling to Montenegro for the match. Both Iran and Montenegro are preparing for the FIFA World Cup2018 qualifiers next week.

Iran played a goalless draw against Montenegro three years ago before the World Cup. The Montenegro team has performed well in the current World Cup qualifying rounds with good results such as the win against Denmark in Copenhagen.

According to Queiroz at the pre-match press conference, Montenegro game style is similar to Uzbekistan and that is his reasoning behind arranging this match.

Iran and Uzbekistan’s national teams will play Azadi Stadium next week with Team Melli looking for a win to seal their qualification for the second consecutive World Cup.

Team Melli line up against Montenegro included : Alireza Beiranvand, Morteza Pouraliganji, Pejman Montazeri, Saeid Aghaei, Ramin Rezaeian, Saeid Ezatolahi (Ezzaat Pourqaz) Ehsan Hajsafi (Ali Karimi) Ashkan Dejagah (Reza Ghoochannejhad) Mehdi Torabi, Karim Ansarifard (Milad Mohammadi) and Sardar Azmoun (Ehsan Pahlavan)

Iran played the final ten minutes of the match short of one player after the expulsion of Morteza Pouraliganji for a second yellow card.

In the tenth minute Sardar Azmoun scored for Iran again after 8 months dry run. Aghaei sent a long ball to Rezaeian who headed towards Torabi and the quick and artistic move of  Mehdi Torabi was effective in gifting the goal to Sardar Azmoun.

After the goal, Montenegro took the majority of possession and threatened Team Melli several time. Biravand in goal was a saviour and prevented the collapse in the first half. However in the 31st minute the hosts scored the deserved equalizer through their star player  Jovetic the ex- Manchester City player and currently playing for Seville in the La Liga.

Saeid Ezatolahi powerful shot from a free kick, the header against the bar by Azmoun were among the two most serious attempts by Team Melli to take the lead again. Montenegro had several chances too but the half ended in a 1-1 draw.

In the second half, the substitute Ali Karimi’s cross and followed by Ramin Rezaeian header, once again to Sardar Azmoun , set up the second goal for Team Melli. The young striker has increased his goals tally to eighteen with this brace.

The host once again had most of the possession but to no real threat on the solid and tight Iranian defence.

Apart from the dismissal of Pouraliganji , the match went According to script that Queiroz wanted it

The game ended 2-1 as Asian top ranked team in the FIFA rankings, gathered valuable points to add for next months.

Queiroz once again, gave two players their debut. Saeed Aghaei and Ehsan Pahlavan made their first appearance for Team Melli and played quite well against the organized Montenegro team.

Both of them were encouraging.

Queiroz gave a chance for seventeen players in the match and utilized his full quota under the rules. Many fixed players did not get a chance to play including the likes of Jahanbakhsh, Taromi, Shojaei, Amiri and Jalal Hosseini.

The make-shift team of Queiroz has proved that he has managed to create two parallel teams capable to compete at the highest levels in any match. So that injuries and suspensions, without prejudice to the team, does not affect the overall performance.

This was a morale boosting win against a European team away from home.

Iran climbs 1 place in August 2014 FIFA Ranking

Team Melli climbed 1 place up  in the August 2014 FIFA ranking to 48th place below Paraguay and above Montenegro. Iran dropped 6 places last month despite playing in the FIFA World Cup down in the world ranking to no. 49

There is no change in the continental ranking top 2 in  Asia as Japan maintains  its top rank followed by Iran in second.

Officially there is only one friendly match arranged between now and the start of the AFC 2015 Asian Cup in Australia starting mid January.

Iran is also without a coach as the negotiations between FFIRI and Queiroz has stalled,

 

Aug 2014
Last Updated 14 Aug 2014
Next Release 18 Sep 2014

Rnk Zon. Rnk Team Pts +/- Pos
44 1  Japan 593 1 Up
48 2  Iran 563 1 Up
51 3  Uzbekistan 528 1 Up
56 4  Jordan 500 1 Up
57 5  Korea Republic 499 -1 Down
65 6  United Arab Emirates 464 0 Equal
67 7  Oman 447 2 Up
79 8  Australia 391 -3 Down
83 9  Saudi Arabia 377 -5 Down
88 10  Palestine 363 -3 Down

Match Review : Iran vs. Montenegro

On Monday , Team Melli will be facing the most serious opponent in its humble low-key series of friendlies when they meet Montenegro. The ex-Yugoslav country is relatively new member of world football community, nevertheless , they have shown some good promise and results,

During the World Cup 2014 qualifiers, Montenegro was grouped along with England, Ukraine , Poland, Moldova and San Marino. While England qualified directly at the top of the group , Ukraine came second and lost to France in the play-off. Montenegro was placed a respectable 3rd ahead of once mighty and more experienced Poland.

Iran and Montenegro have never met at international level before.

The match on Monday at the TSV Hartberg Fußballstadion, in Hartberg Austria , will probably be the first match where Queiroz has the luxury of fielding his strongest side which includes the legionnaires Dejagah , Ghoochannjad , Shojaei , and Davari. Those players joined the camp later than the rest. However, being a friendly match, changes or at least 6 of them is a forgone conclusion in the match.

In the Belarus game, fatigue was evident on the Iranian players. According to the sources close to the camp, the tough physical training has continued in Austria where it has left of in South Africa. This has obviously  taken its toll during that match. With Queiroz betting on the high physical preparation of his players as a tool to counteract the more skillful and tactical oppositions in Brazil, it seems that the grueling training regime will continue in the Austria camp. As the result of the first match in the World Cup is so vital , as admitted by both Nigeria and Iran coaches, Queiroz has repeatedly stated that he wants to see a physically robust team. The result of friendlies does not matter to him, as much as the physical strength and players’ stamina. This match should be a good test for Team Melli. A strong defense and solid midfield will definitely make Queiroz much happier and hopeful of positive results in Brazil.

Montenegro does not have a good defensive record as they have conceded 17 goals in the WC qualifiers. That should wet the appetite of Ghoochannejad and co to try their luck at scoring for a change in a team that is shy on scoring.

On Friday , Montenegro lost to Slovakia 2-0 while in March they beat Ghana , one of the World Cup qualifiers,  1-0.

The match kick off time is 18:30 (21:00 Tehran time). A large number of Iranian expatriates fans are expected in Hartberg for the match. The ever loyal fans were present at the last game against Belarus and they created an ideal atmosphere for the boys with their chanting and singing.

IRIB will be broadcasting the match live for the rest of the world.

Teymourian “The problems at Team Melli can be resolved”

In a brief statement to FFIRI website, Andranik “Ando” Teymourian commenting on the Sunday match against Belarus, said “We had a few problems in the defense and forward lines in that match, but none of it is of any serious nature. They can be resolved. ”

The Esteghlal midfielder who is in camp in Austria with his teammates said “”From nearly 90 days, we have been doing intense physical training focused on improving the body, stamina and endurance. This is a demanding process that puts the body under pressure.”

“This is the second serious test since our qualification. I believe that the players have done their best in these two matches.” Added Teymourian , who is a key player for the team.

Iran played a goal-less draw against Belarus on Sunday May 18th .

Teymourian then commented on the attendance at the match “I feel so proud seeing all these Iranian fans at such venues. I like to sincerely thank the Iranian community in Austria that have given us so much support and encouragement. “

“Belarus is a good team and plays at the highest level of football in Europe (…) . Their physical condition was high. We are trying quite hard to reach an optimum physical level. In the match yesterday , we had a couple of good chances to score , but we wasted them.”

Meanwhile Mohammad Reza Khalatbary reflected on the match and basically repeated the same on the conditions of the players.

“We have tried our best , but we were tired after such long and demanding training”

Asked if he is satisfied with his own performance , Persepolis winger responded  “It is the coach that should be asked if I was good enough or not. I tried my best.”

With less than a month to the first match, the two players’ statements are slightly worrying. It seems that all this time spent in training, the focus was on physical conditions of the player and less emphasis on tactics. Despite what Teymourian claimed about Belarus, they are far from top European side with a FIFA ranking of 83 and that was evident in their match against Team Melli. Although , Team Melli was not playing at full strength, it could only create 2 or 3 serious scoring chances against Belarus.

Teymourian did not elaborate on the solutions at hand, and did not comment on the forthcoming match against Montenegro, which is currently the highest ranking Team that Iran will met in the preparation before the World Cup standing at # 54.  Iran next opponents for test matches will be Angola (FIFA Rank #94)  and finally Trinidad and Tobago. (FIFA Rank #74)

Iran - Belarus May 2014 [1]

Team Melli to meet Belarus in Austria.

Team Melli’s will be meeting Belarus in its first friendly match of the Austrian camp conducted in preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2014. The match  will be held on Sunday Afternoon at 14:00 local time (16:30 Tehran times) in Franz Fekete Stadium .

This is the second international practice match of Team Melli since the first game against Guinea which Iran lost (1-2). That match was played 73 days ago in Azadi stadium.

Despite the low ranking of Belarus ( # 83 in the World), Iran players can expect a better and more appropriate experience as the result of the type of football that Belarus plays which is close enough to the Bosnian style of play. In general this type of football is played right across Eastern Europe.

The majority of Belarus national team players are home based playing in the domestic league with only a few making their living in Russia.
in Austria Team Melli will play two more games against Montenegro and Angola. The only international game in the South Africa camp was cancelled , however , Team Melli played against 4 club sides , which was far from ideal as the declared objective of Queiroz was to get familiarized with the way that Nigeria plays. Those South African Clubs offered nothing like the style of Nigeria national team.

Iran and Belarus have met twice before. In 2003, in Minsk Belarus won 2-1  while in 2007 the teams drew 2-2 in Tehran

Beitashour,Haghighi R.,Hoisseini,Davari,Nekounam-Sadeghi AH,Mahini,Ghoochannejad, Dejagah, Jahanbakhsh,Shojaei

Team Melli to face Angola in Austria.

Angola national football team will play the Iranian counterpart in friendly match, scheduled for May 30 in Austria, according to the chairperson of the Angolan Federation of Soccer (FAF), Pedro Neto.

This match was suppose to be played in Tehran , but Mohammad Nabi has announced two weeks ago that the match is canceled, however he said that a friendly match will be played against an African team in the European camp of Team Melli. It is now clear from the Angolan side that the match has been shifted to Europe rather than canceled. According to the Angolan source, the game will be played in Europe to facilitate the integration of the athletes playing on that continent.

The match will allow the Sable Antelopes (nick name of Angola national team) to meet  the Iranians again after 1-1 draw in 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Angola will face Mozambique on March 5, under FIFA date, prior the match against Team Melli.  Angola will be under a new coach Romeu Filemon, who took over from the Uruguayan Gustavo Ferrin.

Team Melli is also scheduled to Meet Belarus and Montenegro in the European camp, but the dates are not confirmed yet.

Friendly matches announced for Team Melli

Team Melli will be playing against Belarus and Montenegro during the European camp on may 2014.

As part of the preparation for the FIFA World Cup , Carlos Queiroz will be taking Team Melli squad to Europe , most probably a camp in Austria, which would last for two weeks. During this training camp , two friendly matches have been arranged with East European teams, Belarus and Montenegro.

After the completion of the European camp , Team Melli will continue the preparation program in Tehran where a another friendly match is scheduled on the 31st of May. The opponents will be an African country , either Angola or South Africa. Thus Team Melli would have played with teams that are tactically and physically close to two opponents in the Group F, Nigeria and Bosnia. Iran will still be looking for a Latin American team to play a friendly match against to gauge its capabilities with Argentina in mind. Such opponent team might be available when Team Melli sets camp in Brazil , early in June. At the moment, 8th of June 2014 is booked for a match against Montenegro in Brazil, however the opponent might change to a South American team pending negotiations.

 

Team Melli Training Camp matches.

18th May 2014 vs Belarus in Europe (Austria)

26th May 2014 vs Montenegro in Europe (Austria)

31st May 2014 vs Angola or South Africa @ Azadi

8th June 2014 vs Montenegro in Brazil