Tag: Qatar

07/04/2023

Seeding for AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ Final Draw confirmed

the-afc.com

Kuala Lumpur: The seeding for the highly-anticipated AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ Final Draw, which will take place on May 11, 2023, 2:00pm (local time), in Doha, Qatar, has now been confirmed following the release of the latest FIFA World Ranking.

As with the previous editions of Asia’s crown jewel, Qatar have been allocated the first position in Pot 1 ahead of the draw to be held at the Katara Opera House to ensure that the host nation commences the tournament with the opening match scheduled for January 12, 2024.

Joining the hosts and defending champions in Pot 1 are the teams ranked from second to sixth in Asia in the latest FIFA Ranking namely, four-time winners Japan, three-time champions Iran, two-time winners Korea Republic, 2015 champions Australia and Saudi Arabia who will be aiming to claim their fourth Continental crown.

Pot 2 will comprise 2007 champions Iraq, 2019 hosts the United Arab Emirates, Oman, 2011 semi-finalist Uzbekistan, and two-time runners-up China PR and Jordan.

Meanwhile, Bahrain, Syria, Palestine, Vietnam, Kyrgyz Republic and Lebanon will take their places in Pot 3, while India, debutants Tajikistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia will complete the line-up in Pot 4.

Similar to the expanded 2019 edition in the United Arab Emirates, the 24 teams will be divided into six groups of four teams each across Groups A to F, with the top two and four best third-placed teams advancing into the final 16 of the competition before the Asian champions are crowned on February 10, 2024.

Some of the most iconic names of Asian football are expected to grace the Final Draw as Draw Assistants with the Head Coaches from the 24 teams also poised to be in attendance.

Final Seeding for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Draw

Pot 1: Qatar (hosts), Japan, Iran, Korea Republic, Australia, Saudi Arabia

Pot 2: Iraq, UAE, Oman, Uzbekistan, China PR, Jordan

Pot 3: Bahrain, Syria, Palestine, Vietnam, Kyrgyz Republic, Lebanon

Pot 4: India, Tajikistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia

01/03/2023

Iran U20 starts AFC Asian Cup 2023 with victory.

Iran’s U20 team started the AFC U20 Asian Cup 2023 with a positive win against Qatar in Istiqlol Stadium, Fergana.

The only goal of the match came from a penalty that was beautifully struck by Amin Hezbavi in the 65th minute.

Despite the close result, Iran’s U20 dominated the field and was the team most likely to score but for a series of brilliant saves from Qatar Keeper Amir Hassan and some lax finishing by the Iranian players.

In the first half, Iran’s players in their all-white kit started the game aggressively and could have opened Qatar’s goal in the first few minutes, but the Qatari goalkeeper displayed brilliant reflexes to deny the Iranians players. Despite the fact that Iran was the better team in the first half and had many opportunities to score , the half ended in a goalless draw.

In the second half, Samad Marfavi’s players’ stepped up a notch or two and were on the move from the start. The team was more settled and played some beautiful football too. Qatar were denied any opportunity until the last minute of the injury time when Iran’s keeper Adib Zarei made a finger-tip save to deny Qatar an undeserved equalizer.

While the Iranian team was careful not to fall prey to the Qataris’ quick counter-attacks and opportunism, they continued pressing the Qataris until they were awarded a penalty. In the 65th minute of this match, Iran finally took the lead and scored the winning goal on a penalty kick by Amin Hizbavipour.

Iran always looked the better side in control limiting Qatar to the occasional attacks which bore no fruit for the Marooni of Qatar.

While the team looked side physically and technically with an added bonus of individual skills, There were however those perennial shortfalls in Iranian players, like slowness, poor finishing, wastefulness, and mental strength. These are fundamental weaknesses that have their origin in grassroots football as the result of poor infrastructure, antiquated basic training methods from early ages, and poor tactical discipline. A coach such as Samad Marfavi can do so much in the short span of time that he has with the group to prepare a team for a major championship, however, he must be commended on the fine display by this Javanan team.

Next Match

on Saturday, the 13th of March, Iran will meet Australia at 15:00 local time and (13:30 Tehran). The Australians lost their first match against Vietnam in the match earlier.

Group B Standing

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Vietnam	1	1	0	1	0	+1	3
2	Iran	1	1	0	1	0	+1	3
3	Australia	1	0	1	0	1	−1	0
4	Qatar	1	0	1	0	1	−1	0

IRAN U2O SQUAD

#	Pos	Player Name	Date of birth (age)	Club
1	GK	Mohammad Khalifeh	19 August 2004(age 18)	Persepolis
12	GK	Adib Zarei	19 January 2004(age 19)	Shahin
22	GK	Mohammad Sadegh Salehi	5 March 2004(age 18)	Sepahan
2	DF	Milad Kor (captain)	19 October 2003(age 19)	tractor
5	DF	Mehran Feyzabadi	8 July 2003(age 19)	Esteghlal
18	DF	Ali Akbar Ranjbar	2 February 2004(age 19)	Paykan
5	DF	Amin Hazbavi	6 May 2003(age 19)	Foolad
4	DF	Ali rezaei	26 March 2003(age 19)	Be’sat Kermanshah
14	DF	Mersad Seifi	11 August 2003(age 19)	Nassaji Mazandaran
13	DF	Amin Pilali	7 January 2003(age 20)	kia
6	MF	Farhad Zavoshi	8 February 2003(age 20)	Havadar
7	MF	Hossein Nokhodkar	24 February 2002(age 21)	Gol Gohar
8	MF	Mohammad HIranossein Zavari	11 January 2001(age 22)	Sanat Naft
15	MF	Mohammadreza Torabi	18 July 2004(age 18)	Esteghlal
16	MF	Mohammadreza Bordbar	26 August 2004(age 18)	Malavan
21	MF	Ahmad Reza Jenadeleh	20 March 2001(age 21)	Foolad
23	MF	Seyed Reza Mousavian	24 June 2001(age 21)	Foolad
9	FW	Amir Ebrahimzadeh	31 January 2004(age 19)	tractor
19	FW	Mojtaba Fakhrian	15 May 2003(age 19)	Aluminium Arak
11	FW	Salim Toomaj	9 January 2005(age 18)	Fenerbahçe
17	FW	Amirreza Eslamtalab	30 January 2003(age 20)	kia
18	FW	Amir Shahim	18 September 2003(age 19)	Gol Gohar Sirjan
10	MF	Erfan Bagheri	15 December 2003(age 19)	kia
20	FW	Saeid Saharkhizan	26 January 2003(age 20)	Havadar

21/02/202321/02/2023

Iran’s youth final preparation for the AFC U20 Asian Cup.

The AFC U20 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2023 will start on the first of March 2023, with Iran grouped with Qatar, Australia, and Vietnam in Group B of the competition. The matches will be played in Tashkent and Fergana. Javanan Team (Iran U20) will have its final practice game this afternoon in Tehran against the Pas team.

Iran’s U20 is currently coached by Samad Marfavi who has coached at several club levels including Esteghlal. The Team will be flying directly to Fergana, the venue of the first match versus Qatar on a chartered flight thus avoiding commercial flights which would have taken the squad 23 hours to reach Fergana.

Group B

Qatar, Australia, Vietnam, Iran

This group looks like another tough-looking group that has two former winners in Iran and Qatar, 2010 runners-up Australia and 2016 semi-finalists Vietnam.

Qatar were perfect in Group B of the Qualifiers as they cruised to wins over Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Bahrain, scoring 14 goals and conceding just once.

Iran were equally impressive, topping Group J with nine points while Australia didn’t put a foot wrong either in Group H, also registering three wins.

Vietnam are the odd ones out, sealing their place in the Finals as among the five best runners-up after finishing second in Group F.

The Southeast Asian side, however, have become a force to be reckoned with at all age-group levels, and fans can rest assured there will be no easy matches in Group B.

MATCHES SCHEDULE

Wednesday, 1 March 2023 – 19:00	Istiqlol Stadium, Fergana
Qatar	Iran

Saturday, 4 March 2023 – 15:00	Istiqlol Stadium, Fergana
Iran	Australia

1 March 2023

Tuesday, 7 March 2023 – 15:00	JAR Stadium, Tashkent
Vietnam	Iran

Iran won this championship 4 times in a row in 1973, 1974, 1975, and 1976. After the revolution, Iran has failed to win any titles and the drought at the youth level is now at a staggering 47 years!!

Lack of resources, poor preparations, sub-standard organization, and Iranian coaches’ standards have been the Achilles’ heel of Iran’s youth football.

Samad Marfavi, like many other Iranian coaches, has stagnated and lacks knowledge of modern football. The failure of the football federation to prepare a cadre of good domestic ex-footballers to turn into quality coaches by sending them abroad for quality education and coaching seminars has limited the success of Iranian caches. Much of the success of the youth teams evidently is due o individual performances rather than teamwork and quality coaching.

CHANCES OF QUALIFICATION

While at this level, the standards of teams are quite close and predictions are difficult, Iran U20 has as good a chance as any of the teams. The physicality of the Iranian players is always a strong point, but the Qatari and Australian teams benefit from quality coaching and long-term career development by their respective football associations, something that the Iranian side lacks in earnest.

This group is a tight call. Iran players need to be strong mentally as much as physically to navigate through the group round.

THE SQUAD

GK ADIB ZAREI (Shahin Bushehr)
GK MOHAMMAD KHALIFEH (Persepolis)
GK MOHAMMADSADEGH SALEHI (Sepahan)

DF ALIAKBAR RANJBAR (Peykan)
DF ALI REZA SAADIPOUR (Fajr Sepasi)
DF AMIN PILALI (Kia)
DF FARZIN MOAMELEHGARI (Iman Sabz Shiraz)
DF MAHDI JAVID MEHREH (Sepid Roud Rasht)
DF MERSAD SEIFI (Nassaji Ghaemshahr)
DF MILAD KOR (Tractor)
DF MOHAMMAD AMIN HAZBAVI (Foolad Khuzestan)

MF ABBAS SHARAFI (GolGohar Sirjan)
MF AHMADREZA MOUSAVI (Sepahan)
MF AMIRREZA ESLAMTALAB (Kia)
MF ARSHIA SARSHOGH (Sepahan)
MF FARHAD ZAVOSHI (Havadar)
MF HOSSEIN HAJIZADEH (Persepolis)
MF MIRMOHAMMADREZA TORABI (Esteghlal)
MF MOHAMMADJAVAD HOSSEINNEZHAD (Sepahan)
MF MOJTABA FAKHRIAN (Aluminium Arak)

FW AMIR EBRAHIMZADEH (Tractor)
FW ERFAN GHORBANI (Kia)
FW SAEID SAHARKHIZAN (Havadar)

01/02/2023

Former Team Melli coach on his way to Qatar.

Carlos Queiroz, who was the head coach of the Iranian national team at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, is on the verge of becoming the new coach of Qatar, DN, a Portuguese news website, reported on Tuesday.

According to DN, the Portuguese coach is on his way to Doha to sign a contract and will soon be announced as the new coach of the Qatar national team.
The 69-year-old Queiroz is one of the seven Portuguese coaches handling foreign teams.

The list includes Fernando Santos (Poland), Rui Vitória (Egypt), Pedro Gonçalves (Angola), Paulo Duarte (Togo), Hélio Sousa (Bahrain), and José Peseiro (Nigeria).

Meanwhile in Tehran, the local media reported that the Iran football federation has negotiated with the 67-year-old Argentine coach Cuper.

Cuper was sacked by DR Congo after a poor start to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying in June 2022. The coach has had spells in charge of Valencia, Inter Milan, and Egypt.

“I’ve recently seen the rumors on social media but the federation has not negotiated with the coach,” Mehdi Taj said. The federation didn’t renew the Carlos Queiroz coach’s contract after a dismal run in the 2022 FIFA World Cup .

Taj also said the head coach of the Iran U23 football team will be named as soon as possible.

06/12/202206/12/2022

Saudi Arabia set to host 2027 Asian Cup after India withdraws bid

Saudi Arabia looks set to host the 2027 Asian Cup after becoming the sole bidder for the tournament when India withdrew its bid.

LUSAIL CITY, QATAR – NOVEMBER 22: Saudi Arabia players celebrate the 2-1 win during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group C match between Argentina and Saudi Arabia at Lusail Stadium on November 22, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar. (Photo by Clive Brunskill / Getty Images)© Clive Brunskill

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said in a statement that the All India Football Federation had pulled out from the selection but did not provide any reasons for India’s decision.

“The Asian Football Confederation has been officially notified by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) of their decision to withdraw their bid from the AFC Asian Cup 2027 host selection process,” the regional body said Monday without elaborating.

Three-time champions Saudi Arabia will now probably host their first AFC Asian Cup. The AFC Congress will formally decide on the host in the Bahrain capital of Manama in February next year.

Saudi Arabia caused one of the biggest shocks in the ongoing World Cup in Qatar when they beat Argentina 2-1 in their opening match, although the team were not able to advance past the group stage.

The 2023 Asian Cup will also be hosted by Qatar. It was previously set to be held in China but the country withdrew because of its Covid-19 guidelines.

The Asian Cup is staged every four years. Qatar won the tournament’s last edition, in 2019, which was hosted by the UAE.

Results by nation

**AFC Asian Cup winners**
National team	Winners	Runners-up	Total	Years won	Years runners-up
Japan	4	1	5	1992, 2000, 2004, 2011	2019
Saudi Arabia	3	3	6	1984, 1988, 1996	1992, 2000, 2007
Iran	3	0	3	1968, 1972, 1976	–
South Korea	2	4	6	1956, 1960	1972, 1980, 1988, 2015
Israel	1	2	3	1964	1956, 1960
Kuwait	1	1	2	1980	1976
Australia	1	1	2	2015	2011
Iraq	1	0	1	2007	–
Qatar	1	0	1	2019	–

26/10/2022

AFC U20 Asian Cup™ Uzbekistan 2023 draw

Tashkent: The continent’s rising stars are set for exciting tussles following the completion of the AFC U20 Asian Cup™ Uzbekistan 2023 draw on Wednesday.

The 16 teams were divided into four groups with the top two from each group to advance to the quarter-finals in the March 1 to 18, 2023 showpiece.

Hosts Uzbekistan were placed in Group A alongside Indonesia, Iraq and Syria.

Group B will see Qatar, Australia, Vietnam, and Iran vying for the quarter-final berths while Korean Republic, Tajikistan, Jordan, and Oman are the four teams in Group C.

Group D saw defending champions Saudi Arabia, Japan, China PR, and the Kyrgyz Republic being drawn together.

Youth Competitions Brand Reveal

Besides continental glory, there will be four tickets at stake for the FIFA U20 World Cup 2023, which will return to Asia in Indonesia from May 20 to June 11.

Draw Result

Group A: Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Iraq, Syria

Group B: Qatar, Australia, Vietnam, Iran

Group C: Korea Republic, Tajikistan, Jordan, Oman

Group D: Saudi Arabia, Japan, China PR, Kyrgyz Republic

18/10/2022

Iran quietly pulls out from hosting AFC Asian Cup 2027!

While there was no confirmation or news from FFIRI, the Asian Football Confederation has removed the name of Iran as a candidate for hosting AFC Asian Cup 2027.

Iran, or specifically, FFIRI has sent the required documentation to the AFC and prepared an extensive file on the facilities, accommodations, and logistics in addition to culture and country attractions. However, the withdrawal of Iran’s name while Saudi Arabia and India are the front runners for hosting is a bit of a mystery. Iran last hosted the competition in 1976 after it was the host in 1968 for the first time. Meanwhile, Qatar will be hosting the championship for the third time in 2027. It hosted the Asian Cup in 1988 and 2011 too.

India and Saudi Arabia have emerged as the final two bidders to host the AFC Asian Cup 2027, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced on Tuesday.

The development came to the fore after Qatar was chosen as the host country for the AFC Asian Cup 2023. The next year’s continental men’s football showpiece was earlier set to be held in China but they withdrew, prompting AFC to look for new hosts.

Qatar, the reigning Asian champions, was earlier interested in hosting the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. But since the Qatar Football Association (QFA) is now hosting the 2023 edition, they dropped out of the 2027 race.

Uzbekistan and Iran, the two other countries interested in hosting the AFC Asian Cup 2027, officially withdrew their bids on December 14, 2020, and October 13, 2022, respectively.

The final decision about who will host the AFC Asian Cup 2027 will be taken by the AFC Congress at its next meeting scheduled in February 2023.

“In the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, we have two exemplary bids,” AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said.

If the AIFF wins the bid, it will be the first time that India will be hosting the marquee continental football tournament. Three-time champions Saudi Arabia are also bidding to host their maiden AFC Asian Cup.

The last edition of the AFC Asian Cup was held in the UAE in 2019. India exited the tournament in the group stages.

18/07/2022

Four countries compete in hosting AFC Asian Cup 2023

the-afc.com

Kuala Lumpur: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has received Expressions of Interest (EoI) from four AFC Member Associations (MAs) to host the AFC Asian Cup 2023™ final competition.

Following the AFC’s invitation to all MAs to express their interest in hosting the flagship men’s national team tournament on May 31, 2022, the following AFC MAs have responded by the extended deadline of July 15, 2022, and expressed their interest to bid for the hosting rights of the AFC Asian Cup 2023™:

· Football Australia

· Football Association of Indonesia

· Korea Football Association

· Qatar Football Association

In accordance with the bidding process, the Bidding Regulations were distributed to the MAs on June 17, 2022, and the deadline for Bidding MAs to submit the Bid documents is set for August 31, 2022.

Following this, an overall evaluation of the bids will be undertaken by the AFC Administration prior to the selection and announcement of the host for the 24-team competition by the AFC Executive Committee on October 17, 2022.

03/06/2022

AFC U23 : Iran-Turkmenistan match preview

After settling for a point against Qatar on Matchday One, head coach Mehdi Mahdavikia wants Iran to improve their sharpness in front of the goal after mustering only three shots on target from a total of 14. In a performance that was more worrying than encouraging, the Omid Team (U23) lacked sharpness, and finishing touch in a performance marred by fundamental defensive errors. A better team than Qatar would have inflicted some damage on Team Melli.

“My players had a lot of opportunities in our opening game against Qatar but we couldn’t convert our chances and this is a problem,” said Mahdavikia. “We lost two points even though we were the better team in terms of possession. After conceding late in the second half, we managed to salvage a point and we must do better against Turkmenistan.”

The former Iran International stressed his team must remain focused on Turkmenistan as the three points are crucial.

A failure to win the 3 points will put the Iran U23 team in a difficult position as they are going to face group leader and host Uzbekistan in their final group match.

“The game against Qatar is finished now and we must stay completely focused on the next match. We started our recovery and we are looking forward to getting the three points against Turkmenistan. We respect all teams, but we need to get the three points against them.”

Meanwhile, Ahmet Agamyradow’s Turkmenistan faces another litmus test when they meet Iran in their AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Uzbekistan 2022 Group A tie on Saturday.

Turkmenistan, who are appearing in the AFC U23 Asian Cup for the first time, held their own against hosts Uzbekistan on Matchday One but were undone by a penalty as they fell to a 1-0 defeat.

Agamyradow, while satisfied with his players’ performance against Uzbekistan, admitted they have to be smarter in decision-making during matches moving forward.

“We made one mistake during a set-piece situation and that caused us the game,” said Agamyradow. “This is football and now we have to switch our attention to our next opponents. In our opening match against Uzbekistan, we used up plenty of energy to defend and we lacked ball control in certain situations.”

Turkmenistan almost equalized in added time with Muhammadqodir Khamraliev sending his free-kick just wide and Agamyradow wants his players to have the same fighting mentality against Iran.

“I was very happy with how my players responded when we were trailing by a goal. They showed determination and almost scored in the end with the set-piece situation. I want my team to play with the same intensity as they did against Uzbekistan.

“It’s the first time we are playing in the AFC U23 Asian Cup and to start off with a defeat is difficult for any team. We had a day’s rest and will regroup for our next match against Iran.”

Turkmenistan v IR Iran
Venue: Bunyodkor Stadium (Tashkent)
Kick-off: 18:00 (UTC +5)

02/06/2022

Shahriari saves Iran against Qatar.

Tashkent: Iran and Qatar settled for a 1-1 draw following late drama in Group A of the AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Uzbekistan 2022 at the Bunyodkor Stadium on Wednesday.

Qatar looked to have sealed the points through Ahmed Al Ganehi’s 87th-minute effort, only for Erfan Shahriari to salvage a point for Iran with his strike in stoppage time.

Determined to redeem themselves after their group stage exit in 2020, Qatar were the first to have a sight on goal when Osamah Al Tairi beat the offside trap in the third minute, before pulling back for Moustafa Tarek who, however, struck directly at goalkeeper Parsa Jafari.

Iran, who had scored nine goals in the Qualifiers, responded immediately with captain Yasin Salmani collecting Ahmad Shariatzadeh’s through ball into the box before beating two defenders only to see his shot deflect off Ahmed Suhail’s back heel.

That was to be the turning point as Team Melli Omid controlled possession and had a handful of opportunities through crosses into the area, but Salmani and Shariatzadeh were unable to lay the finishing touch.

Qatar’s best chances of the opening half came through corner kicks, none more so than in the 43rd minute when Hashim Ali was left unmarked near the post but failed to keep his volley on target as both sides went into the halftime break level.

Shahriari, who replaced Arya Yousefi at the start of the second half, came close to connecting to Mohammad Khodabandelho’s chipped effort into the box six minutes in before heading wide moments later.

While Qatar were pegged back in their own half for the most part, the young Maroons had a chance in the 62nd minute following a swift counter-attacking move with Yusuf Abdurisag threatening the Iranian backline, but his twist-and-turn effort lacked precision.

In an effort to bolster their midfield presence, Qatar head coach Nicolas Cordova sent on Al Ganehi and Andri Syahputra in the 72nd minute, which proved successful in not only pushing the Iranians back but also paving the way for the opening goal with Al Ganehi collecting Tarek’s pass in the box and slotting past Jafari in the 87th minute.

However, Qatar’s celebration only lasted three minutes as an unmanned Shahriari latched onto a stray ball in the box, before slamming home from close range.

Iran will face fellow Turkmenistan next on Saturday, while Qatar take on Uzbekistan in the day’s later kick-off.

Iran Line-up:

P. Jafari ; M. Hashemnejad, M. Kor, A. Jafari, S. Fallah, M. Khodabandelou, A. Sadeghi (80′ B. Arazi), Y. Salmani (90+3 Y Rostami) ,A. Shariatzadeh (74′ Sabet),M. Ghorbani, A. Yousefi (46‎’ E. Shahriari)