Tag: Morocco

Iran sink France to win group F

Salar Aghapour starred as IR Iran downed France to win Group F at the FIFA Futsal World Cup Uzbekistan 2024.

Iran’s futsal team outclassed France to win Group F at the FIFA Futsal World Cup Uzbekistan 2024™. Salar Aghapour was once again the hero for Team Melli, scoring twice to take his tally to the tournament to six. Iran will now play Morocco in a mouth-watering last-16 match-up. France, for their part, faces an easier-on-paper game against Thailand.

While missing several players due to illness and two due suspension, Iran was in full control of the game but their appetite for scoring was not evident. France, likewise was content with distributing the ball and waiting for a quick counterattack.

Salar Aghapour opened the scoring for Iran with Oladghobad and Rafieipour adding to the tally to make it 3-0, before Agahpour added a fourth to make it 4-0. Mamadou Toure scored France’s consolation goal for the match to end 4-1.

France lost to Portugal 4-1 in an earlier match and will be Team Melli’s next opponent in the round of 16 in Bukhara on 26th September. Winning that match, Iran will most probably meet Brazil in the quarter-finals.

France goals: Mamadou Toure (37) IR Iran goals: Salar Aghapour (25), Moslem Oladghobad (28), Alireza Rafieipour (30), Salar Aghapour (37) Player of the Match: Moslem Oladghobad (IR Iran)

Futsal News

Hossein Tayebi’s injury is not serious enough to miss the Asian Nations Cup.

Hossein Tayebi, the captain of Iran’s national futsal team and Palma club, was injured during his team’s match against Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga, The match ended with a 1-0 defeat for Palma, raising concerns about his absence in the AFC FUTSAL ASIAN CUP™ 2024, which is scheduled to be held in Thailand. The injury of the captain of the national team is not serious as Palma’s medical crew is trying to prepare him for the next games. According to the announcement of the Futsal Team Melli coaching, the participation of the national team in the first camp and friendly tournament in Vietnam is not mandatory for Tayebi, and the announced list, which includes the players of the domestic league, is supposed to participate in these matches.

Vietnam Four-side International tournament

The International Futsal Quadruple Tournament at the national team level will take place in Ho Chi Minh City. HCM from March 28 to 31. This is the “springboard” for Vietnam Futsal (VN) to activate the World Cup ticket-hunting campaign for the third time in a row. Iran will find this invitational tournament an opportunity to test itself against strong opposition and lay a claim to the title that is held by Japan.

In addition to the Vietnamese team, the three international guests are Iran (Asian runner-up), Morocco (African champion), and New Zealand (Oceania champion – OFC). The teams will play in a round-robin format.

AFC FUTSAL ASIAN CUP™ 2024

Group A: Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, China PR

Group B: Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Australia

Group C: Japan, Tajikistan, Korea Republic, Kyrgyz Republic

Group D: IR Iran, Kuwait, Bahrain, Afghanistan

MATCHES SCHEDULE


18 April 2024 – 16:00 – Iran v Afghanistan – Indoor Stadium Huamark, Bangkok
18 April 2024 – 21:00 – Kuwait v Bahrain – Indoor Stadium Huamark, Bangkok
20 April 2024 – 16:00 – Afghanistan v Kuwait – Indoor Stadium Huamark, Bangkok
20 April 2024 – 21:00 – Bahrain v Iran – Indoor Stadium Huamark, Bangkok
22 April 2024 – 21:00 – Iran v Kuwait – Indoor Stadium Huamark, Bangkok
22 April 2024 – 21:00 – Bahrain v Afghanistan – Bangkok Arena, Bangkok

Shamsaei to continue as Futsal head coach!

Iran’s national futsal team returned to Iran on Sunday from Kuwait, after losing to Japan in the finals of the 16th AFC Asian Futsal Cup. Ehsan Usooli, head of Iran’s futsal committee, who was in Kuwait with the national team, was questioned by the media at the airport who were seeking some justifications for the avoidable loss.

in response to reporters’ questions, Usooli said that  Vahid Shamsaei, the head coach, will continue to be employed according to his contract. The contract of Shamsai and his assistants with the national team is until the end of 1401 (March 2023) adding that this contract will probably be extended for another year. Shamsaei has experienced three competitions as Iran’s futsal head coach. First, in the preliminary and qualifying rounds of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup and then the Thailand Continental tournament where Iran lost to Morocco in the final, while the last one was in the appearance  AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2022 where he again tasted defeat in the final match against Japan. Currently, the Iranian national team does not have a special plan after the Asian Championship, and it seems unlikely that the Caspian tournament will be held with the participation of teams such as Russia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan.

Usooli did not indicate if there will be an internal review of Shamsaei’s performance and failures and his suggestion that Shamsei will be continued as a head coach indicates that there will be no performance analysis.

Shamsaei in a bold but not very wise move completely overhauled the national team getting rid of most of the players that were winners of trophies at the Asian level and performed admirably at FIFA competitions. However, that was a major mistake by the relatively inexperienced coach and it meant that Iran lost its title in a match that a more experienced coach and players would have probably won easily.

Iran Futsal losses to Morocco in the finals.

The Iranian national futsal team lost the final match of the Intercontinental Cup 2022 against the Moroccan team in extra time.

The final match of the 6 sides’ futsal tournament in Thailand was played on Friday, the match ended 4-3 in favor of Morocco.  Morocco scored two goals in the first half, but Iran tied the game in the second half with goals scored by Saeed Ahmed Abbasi and Hossein Tayyebi. Morocco scored again in the 39th minute but Tayyebi responded by scoring the equalizer in the last seconds. The game ended 3-3 in regulation to send the match into extra time.

The powerful  Moroccans scored the fourth goal in overtime depriving Iran of the championship. The Iranian team won against Finland and Vietnam in the preliminary stage. Shamsaei’s boys defeated the host Thailand in the semi-final by a score of 3-2 to qualify for the final. In the ranking match, Thailand finished third by defeating Finland in penalty kicks. Iran’s national futsal team is preparing to participate in the AFC Futsal Asian Cup, which will be held in Kuwait in October. In this competition, Iran is grouped with Indonesia, Lebanon, and Chinese Taipei.

After returning from Thailand, the national team will resume their camp in Tehran and then leave for Kuwait.

Wilmots terminated his contract before the Iraq game!

In a series of bizarre justifications and rhetorics, the head of the Iranian Football Federation says Wilmots had terminated his contract before the game against Iraq!

Mehdi Taj spoke about the recent developments of Team Melli and Wilmots in a radio programme today noon (Friday).“after the World Cup and the Asian Cup, 2019 many believed that the next coach should be young and experienced and must be foreign nationals. The federation first spoke to Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui, who turned down the offer due to the ill health of his father suffering from cancer. After that, we shifted our attention to Hervé Renard  (Morocco’s World Cup coach), but he said he could only accept the offer to coach Iran from June however we needed a coach from the March at least. Finally, we negotiated with Marc Wilmots, who was young enough (50 years old) and had experienced four World Cup as player and coach. He was an asset to the Belgian national team and was a very good choice for Team Melli, and everyone had confirmed him!” Mehdi Taj continued.

“When Wilmots came to Iran, we signed a good deal with him, but we insisted that the amount of the contract should remain confidential and not be transparent (…). It was also stated in a clause that any party unilaterally terminates the contract, will pay damages to the other an amount equivalent to three months wages.”

“It is has been mentioned in various media outlets that the contract with Wilmots and his assistants is valued up to € 5 million, which is untrue and those who have claimes that are liars. In my opinion, the Majlis member who publicized this figure should not talk about these issues and he should think about solving people problem.”

“We signed a contract that included everything, and before we presented it to Wilmots, we consulted three international legal experts, one of whom is a member of the FIFA Appeals Committee,” said the head of the Iran Football Federation. “The figure of Wilmot’s contract is reasonable for anyone who knows Belgian football. It is not right when the lawmaker says this trainer isn’t worth $ 500,000. There are many foreign and domestic coaches in our league who earn more than  $ 500,000.”

“When we signed the contract on May 22, one of the clauses referred to the subject of outrageous US sanctions and that may affect the way we pay our salaries, which led Wilmots to request two days for consultation,” Taj added. “The contract stipulates that if the coach does not receive his entitlements for 2 to 3 months, he can terminate unilaterally. Mark Wilmots terminated his contract before the match against Iraq.

“In the meantime, we have sent several letters to FIFA to pay Wilmots’ money out of their budget, but due to the new sanctions, they have not been able to find a bank, and Wilmots has stated that the federation has no will to pay him. However, we paid 7 days later. Taj added: “At the last meeting, he wanted us to guarantee that payments would not be delayed, but I told him that we should discuss more urgent clauses in view of the termination of his contract before playing with Iraq.”

Branko Ivankovic : ” No intention to coach Team Melli”

Former  Team Melli and Persepolis coach Branko Ivankovic says he has no intention of coaching Iran national football team.

Ivankovic led Persepolis to the Iranian domestic treble last season but left after they failed to pay him his salary, a common practice in Iran in the last few years.

The 65-year-old coach, considered as one of the best foreign coaches of Team Melli, won the gold medal in 2002 Asian Games and led Team Melli to third place in 2004 AFC Asian Cup.

The Croat coached Iran at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where the Team Melli failed to qualify for the next stage after losing to Mexico and Portugal. while drawing with Angola.

“At the moment, I have a lot of offers from Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Japan and China but have not accepted them so far. In Al Ahli, I was fired after three matches, something I never experienced such a thing before. I believe I worked well for the team as it needed some changes in dressing room but this is football and I accept it,” Ivankovic said.

Asked why he left Persepolis at the end of the last season, Ivankovic said, “I had four fascinating years in Iran and I so much miss the country. However, I was forced to leave Persepolis because they didn’t pay our salaries for about one year. At that time, Al Ahli gave me a good offer and I accepted it,” he added.

Persepolis have lost three times in the last 10 matches but Ivankovic says they are favourites to win the title for the fourth time in a row.

“I think Gabriel Calderon needs time in Persepolis because he is a great coach. Persepolis fans love their team and support their players and coaches. In my opinion, Persepolis and Sepahan are vying for the title in the current season,” Ivankovic stated.

Ivankovic believes that Team Melli had a chance to qualify for the next round at the FIFA 2018 World Cup.

“I think (Carlos) Queiroz preferred to defend in Russia. Iran could have played attacking football against Portugal and Span. After beating Morocco, Team Melli should have taken risks,” said Ivankovic .

“Is there any chance to return to Team Melli if he receives an offer?”

“I would prefer to work at club level. I am not going work as a national team head coach,” Ivankovic concluded.

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.

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Team Melli Head Coach

Queiroz defends his selection

Portuguese head coach Queiroz left Persepolis captain Seyyed Jalal Hosseini and Esteghlal winger Vouria Ghaffouri out of his squad for next month’s FIFA World Cup, insisting before squad travel to Istanbul, that the decisions were purely based on tactical issues.

“We have to call only 23 players in our final list and we could not do anything else because of the rules and logistical issues,” Queiroz said in response to criticism and then talked about the important players who have no place in his squad.

Referring to Jalal Hosseini, Queiroz said: “I respect Jalal with all my heart, but this respect should be for the next generation of Iranian football as well. We need a younger Team Melli for the upcoming events and we have to move forward. I emphasize that Seyyed Jalal will remain on our waiting list and will join Team Melli if we need him.”

When asked about Vouria Ghaffouri, the coach answered: “I needed a solid right fullback in the national team, but at his club Esteghlal he was used as a right midfielder or winger, with the decision of head coach Winfried Schaefer. I have no idea why Mr. Schaefer was surprised by seeing Vouria is not in the squad. I don’t know why he’d say that. Mr. Schaefer does not believe in Vouria as a right back and has changed the player’s position.”

Queiroz’s reasoning has not convinced many experts with some accusing him of creating tension as result of his not-so-cordial relations  with the coaches of both clubs.

Team Melli travelled to Istanbul on Monday to hold a training camp in the European country. The Persians will face Turkey football team on May 29 in a friendly match as part of preparation for the 2018 World Cup.

Iran have been drawn in Group B of the 2018 World Cup along with Morocco, Spain and Portugal.

Julen Lopetegui “Iran a fierce rival for Spain”

Head coach of Spain National Football Team Julen Lopetegui describes Iran’s national team as a fierce rival for his team during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Lopetegui says he and his assistants have gained a good knowledge of the Iranian national team and its head coach.

Speaking to IRNA’s correspondent in Madrid, Lopetegui s`aid Iran’s head coach Carlos Queiroz has been working with Team Melli for many years, and during these years, Queiroz has launched an interesting plan for the country’s football which has led to significant growth of the team in technical areas.

He went on to say that the Iranian national football team has a great sense of belonging which prompts its players to work within a regular plan. “This has led to a competing sense among them and this will put us in trouble during our competition.”

Head coach of Spain went on to say that Iran also has the experience of attending world cups in the past and performed well during those competitions. “Iran has made great progress in football over the past years and will emerge as a fierce rival for Spain.”

Iran’s national football team is in Istanbul to hold a training camp in the country. The team will face Turkey football team on May 29 in a friendly match as part of its preparation for the 2018 World Cup.

The Team Melli has been drawn in Group B of the 2018 World Cup along with Morocco, Spain and Portugal.

It will open the campaign with a match against Morocco at Saint Petersburg on June 15. Team Melli will later face Spain in Kazan on 20 June before meeting Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in Saransk five days later.

The matches of the 2018 World Cup will be held between June 14 and July 15 at 12 stadiums.

Morocco announces FIFA World Cup 2018 squad

Morocco coach Herve Renard announced a provisional list of 23 players and three reserves that will make up the North African team, who return to the World Cup for the first time since 1998.

The team will begin their preparation in Rabat on 24 May before taking part in three warm-up matches, prior to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™.

Renard’s Atlas Lions will play Ukraine on 31 May and Slovakia on 4 June (both games in Geneva, Switzerland) before taking on Estonia in Tallinn on 9 June.

Morocco’s match schedule at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

All squads are provisional until the final list of 23 players is announced by FIFA, following their submission by participating teams, on 4 June.

Morocco provisional squad

Goalkeepers: Mounir El Kajoui (Numancia, Spain), Yassine Bounou (Girona, Spain), Ahmad Reda Tagnaouti (Ittihad Tanger);

Defenders: Mehdi Benatia (Juventus, Italy), Romain Saiss (Wolverhampton Wanderers, England), Manuel Da Costa (Basaksehir, Turkey), Badr Benoun (Raja Casablanca), Nabil Dirar (Fenerbahce, Turkey), Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid, Spain), Hamza Mendyl (Lille, France);

Midfielders: M’bark Boussoufa (Al Jazira, UAE), Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord, Netherlands), Youssef Ait Bennasser (Caen, France), Sofyan Amrabat (Feyenoord, Netherlands), Younes Belhanda (Galatasaray, Turkey), Faycal Fajr (Getafe, Spain), Amine Harit (Schalke, Germany);

Forwards: Khalid Boutaib (Malatyaspor, Turkey), Aziz Bouhaddouz (St. Pauli, Germany), Ayoub El Kaabi (Renaissance Berkane), Nordin Amrabat (Leganes, Spain), Mehdi Carcela (Standard de Liege, Belgium), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax, Netherlands)