Tag: Morteza Pouraligangi

Two young defenders are to be added to Team Melli's squad.

After lots of criticism of Amir Ghalenoei for his aging squad, the injury to Morteza Pouralgangi, and his subsequent operation which will put him out of action for six months, forced Ghalenoei to pick a replacement for the defender. The Team Melli head coach finally remembered that the team requires f much-needed youth energy to this geriatric team.

Amin Hezbavi, the Omid and the Qatari Al Sadd defender is now included in the squad. The 20-year-old Khuzestani player (born in Ahvaz) joined Al Sadd club in 2023 and has featured in this team as a fixed player despite his young age. Hizbavi has already scored a stunning header for his club in the Qatar Star League. Hizbavi has played for the Omid team and was one of the stars.

The Other addition is Gol Gohar and Omid Team defender, Saman Fallah. Despite the failure of the team under Reza Enayati, Fallah displayed some impressive football work on the flanks as a winger. The 22-year-old player from Sari is playing his football in Peykan but it is only a matter of time before one of the three big clubs in Iran will lure him, or if he gets the proper advice and opportunity, will head towards professional football in the Persian Gulf states or Europe.

Pouraliganji, who was looking for the third appearance in the AFC Asian Cup with Team Melli, will now be a TV spectator watching Iran matches in Qatar.

The selection of Pouraliganji's successor in Team Melli has become a subject of many discussions in the last few days. Majid Hosseini, the Kayserispor of Turkey, is mentioned as a candidate. However, Amir Ghalenoei opted to invite Amin Hizbavi and Saman Fallah instead. That is quite a move from the head coach of Team Melli, who disappointed many fans and critics with his last selection for the Jordan 4 side tournament. His selection of Karim Ansarifard was a particularly disappointing and a step backward move for a team that is in dire need of rebuilding and decreasing the average age.

Team Melli will play two matches in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers against Hong Kong and Uzbekistan this year and then head to Doha for the AFC Asian Cup 2023.

Team Melli might be without Saman Ghoddos!

Saman Ghoddos may not be able to accompany Team Melli for the upcoming two matches of World Cup qualifiers due to the recent changes announced by the English Football League.

The Team Melli camp begins with a group of domestic league players and in few days, the legionnaires will arrive in Tehran to join for the match against Syria. Among the about 20 legionnaires invited to the national team, Saman Ghoddos may not be able to accompany the team against Syria and Iraq due to Iran's health regulations associated with covid19 and the new English Premier League restrictions on players.

The Premier League said in a statement yesterday: "The Premier League clubs today, despite their reluctance, unanimously decided not to allow players to travel to countries on the red list. The decision of these clubs is supported by the Premier League. And about 60 players from the 19 Premier League clubs who are set to travel to 26 countries on the red list for the September national games will be negotiated with the Football Association and the government to find a solution. But due to concerns, there is no exemption for travelers from entering the Red List countries."

As a result of this new restriction, Liverpool was the first EPL Club that has not allowed the departure of several of its national team players, including Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Fabinho, Alison Becker, because Egypt and Brazil are on the Red List.

Considering the Covid19 situation in Iran and the daily cases exceeding 40,000 people infected with death figures of 700 patients in recent times, it seems that the restriction will apply to Brentford Midfielder, Saman Ghoddos.

If that is the case, Skocic will be without the services of one of the best legionnaires.  Ghoddos is the only Iranian player to play in four major leagues in the world. In the last Team Melli games in Bahrain, Ghoddos showed his excellent technical qualities and sharp eyes for creating scoring chances for his forwards. with defense-splitting passes.  Apparently, it seems Skocic will be deprived of this player's qualities.

Skocic had previously lost Morteza PouraliGanji and Aref Gholami due to a cruciate ligament rupture, and Ehsan Hajsefi's injury sparked speculation about the possible absence of the national team captain. It remains to be seen where the Football Federation's consultations will go in the coming days, and if Ghoddos is not invited to the squad, it has certainly been imposed on players due to Premier League restrictions. Ghoddos recently had the opportunity to play for his club in the second week of EPL, and last night he played 90 minutes for Brentford in the Carabao Cup, in which he was his team's best player Bretford winning 3-1.

Alireza Mansourian pledges full support to Queiroz

Naft Tehran coach and a former Team Melli player, Alireza Mansourian pledged his full support to Team Melli and Coach Carlos Queiroz. Mansourian was present at the farewell ceremony of Team Melli to wish them well before departure to Australia. In a short statement to the press at Team Melli camp site, Mansourian said “I came here to show my support to the boys, and Carlos Queiroz. It is my duty to do so and I sincerely wish Team Melli all the best in their difficult task in Australia. Yes, it is not an easy job by any means but the boys are well up to it.” “Queiroz has been trying his best for the team, however the preparation was less than ideal and there is no denial in that. However some might justify the circumstances and whatever was said; we must admit that the preparation of Team Melli was well below Querioz’s expectations and definitely way below our competitors’.” Mansourain , who has 3 players in the squad Biranvand, Amiri and Pouraliganji added “I believe that Queiroz and Team Melli in general were victims of the disputes between the Ministry of Sports and the football federation. That should not have happened but the reality was, a high tension between these two organizations resulted in Team Melli being hurt by it.” Alireza Mansourian urged all the fans and the media to be behind Team Melli and support the team to the end.