Tag: Uzbekistan

04/06/201508/06/2015

Uzbekistan vs. Iran : Match preview

Despite a disappointing AFC Asian Cup 2015 , Mirjalal Qasimov is determined to bounce back strongly in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The friendly against Iran at Bunyodkor’s Metropolitan Stadium, Tashkent is seen as tough test against the top ranked Asian team before starting the long road in the qualifiers. A strong showing by Qasimov’s men will augur well for their first match against North Korea away in Puyong Yang.

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan’s top priority is making it to the FIFA World Cup 2018 being held next door in Russia. Nothing short of qualification for their first ever World Cup will be satisfactory for the Uzbek who seem to have put all their resources into this project.

Uzbekistan is going through a transition where the older generation has all but disappeared and Qasimov is counting on young promising players to achieve their objective. Players like Sardor Rashidov of Bunyodkor was excellent in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 while Igor Sergeyev (Pakhtakor) and Ikrom Aliboev are awaiting their chances to shine for their country.

Qasimov still has some of the veterans on hand. Former AFC Player of the year Server Djeparov (2008 and 2011) and the tough tackling Vitaliy Denisov are still part of the squad but playing peripheral roles. Their experience is considered vital by Qasimov in their quest to make it to Russia in 2018.

7 Uzbek players make their living abroad including Fazil Musayev who had quite a successful season in Iran’s winning the league title with Sepahan Esfahan.

Iran

Iran on the other hand , is considered on of the favorites to make it to the FIFA World Cup 2018. Like Uzbekistan , this match will be a stern test and a good warm up for Carlos Queiroz who found Uzbekistan quite a tough nut to crack when they last met in the qualifiers of the last World Cup.

It is not expected that Queiroz will divert away from his solid defensive game plan. With the skeleton of the 2014 World Cup and 2015 Asian Cup team , Queiroz will continue with the same strategy minus Javad Nekounam who has retired from international football.

The most significant blow to Queiroz will be the absence of Ashkan Dejagah , one of Iran’s best players for the last few years. However , with the excellent Vahid Amiri in form and the emergence of Ehsan Hajsafy in midfield, Dejagah’s absence will be minimized.

The only real concern for Queiroz will be in the goal. Team Melli might find it tough going without a quality keeper between the posts.

Prediction

It is expected to be a tight and closed match with the most likely result being goalless or a small margin win for either sides. Entertainment value is not expected to be high.

Match details

UZBEKISTAN vs. IRAN

Venue: Bunyodkor’s Metropolitan Stadium,

City : Tashkent

date: Thursday 11th June 2015

Time: 17:30 (Tehran) 13:00 GMT

IRAN vs. UZBEKISTAN

Head to Head results

H / A / N	Matches	W	D	L	Goals	+ / –
Home	1	0	0	1	0 – 1	-1
Away	2	1	1	0	1 – 0	+1
Neutral	2	2	0	0	6 – 1	+5
Total	5	3	1	1	7 – 2	+5

Date	Comp.	H / A / N	Final score	Stadium	Attendance
14.11.2012	World Cup Qualifier	H	0 – 1	Azadi Stadium , Tehran	40,000
03.06.2012	World Cup Qualifier	A	1 – 0	JAR Stadium -Tashkent	9,000
05.09.2009	Friendly	A	0 – 0	Tashkent / Pakhtakor	9,500
11.07.2007	Asian Cup / Group C	N	2 – 1	National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur	3,000
14.12.1998	Asian Games	N	4 – 0	Suphachalasai	2,500

UZBEKISTAN Squad

# Players’ name Date of birth Football Club

Goalkeepers
1 Eldor Suyunov -1991 Nasaf
2 Akbar Turaev -1989 Bunyodkor
3 Ignatiy Nesterov- 1983 Lokomotiv

Defenders
4 Anzur Ismoilov- 1985 Changchun Yatai, China
5 Shavkat Mullajanov -1986 Lokomotiv
6 Shukhrat Muhammadiev -1989 Nasaf
7 Egor Krimets -1992 Pakhtakor
8 Islom Tuhtahodžaev -1989 Lokomotiv
9 Vitaliy Denisov -1987 Lokomotiv, Russia
10 Akmal Šorahmedov -1986 Bunyodkor
11 Farrukh Sajfiev- 1991 Nasaf

Midfielder
12 Aziz Haydarov- 1985 Al Shabab U.A.E.
13 Odil Ahmedov- 1987 -Krasnodar, Russia
14 Server Djeparov -1983 -Ulsan, Hyundai
15 Lutfulla Turaev -1988 -Lokomotiv
16 Sandzhar Tursunov- 1987 vorskla, Ukraine
17 Sardor Rashidov -1991 Bunyodkor
18 Shohrukh Gadoev- 1991 Nasaf
19 Ikrom Aliboev -1994
20 Khasanov Jasur – Locomotive 1983 Lokomotiv
21 Fazil Musayev – 1989 Sepahan, Iran

Forwards
22 Zohir Kuzibaev -1986 Mash’al
23 Nasimov Baҳodir – 1987 Padideҳ Eron
24 Igor Sergeyev -1993 Pakhtakor

27/05/2015

Team Melli’s training camp in Turkey is off.

Team Melli’s proposed camp in Turkey is off , according to Team Manager Afshin Peyrovani.

The camp was scheduled for 2nd June to 9th in Istanbul or Ankara, however due to various logistical and financial difficulties, the camp is now canceled, Peyrovani said to the reporters.

The Manager of Team Melli went in length to explain all the reasons behind the cancelation but at the end, it was apparent that money or lack of it was the main reason for cancelation of the training camp in preparation to the Turkmenistan game.

Peyrovani added that Team Melli will be flying to Uzbekistan on a chartered flight and then proceed to the city of Daşoguz , Turkmenistan for the opener match of Iran’s FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification rounds. Peyrovani explained in details on who is paying for the cost of each leg of the flights!

On the subject of the venue, it is apparent that the AFC competitions commission has turned down FFIRI’s protest against the venue and the match is cleared to be played at Turkmenistan’s 3^rd largest city. There was no reason to reject Daşoguz just because it is 600 km away from the capital.

As it is becoming fairly obvious that cost and expenditure is a major concern for FFIRI and Team Melli, expenses and cost are mentioned on every opportunity. FFIRI seems to have difficulty in meeting the requirements of the squad including logistics. Peyrovani talked about the proposal by Guam to play both legs of the matches in the Group D of the World Cup qualifiers in Iran. The suggestion from the Pacific nation is conditional on Iran paying for the expenses of the Guam squad including air fares. Peyrovani said the suggestion sounds good and it will be seriously considered. “If that is approved, one of the matches with Guam will be played in another Iranian City away from Tehran to allow the fans to watch their national team.”

No doubt that the accountant in FFIRI HQ is busy counting bearing the cost of Guam in Tehran versus flying to Hagåtña in Guam some 9445 km (5869 miles) away. Both teams will be travelling a good 17 to 18 hours to reach destination considering a good connection in at least two airports for connecting flights.

Typical Flight Times:

Tehran to Manila 13:15 hours (transit through one of the Persian Gulf airports)

Manila to Guam 3:55 hours

12/02/2015

10 places up in FIFA ranking for Team Melli.

Team Melli climbed 10 places up in the latest FIFA/Coca Cola ranking issued today in Zurich. Iran is now 41^st in the world with 700 points one rank below Poland and one above its group rival in the World Cup 2014 , Nigeria who are 42^nd.

Iran continues to hold the top ranking in Asia, with South Korea placed second with 608 points followed by Japan with 605 on third. Australia, the Asian Cup winner has fourth with a massive 37 places rise in the table.

The Asian teams climbs are all attributed to the results of the recent Asian Cup 2015 held in Australia.

Rank	Team	Total Points	Previous Points	+/-	AVG 2015	Avg. 2014	AVG WGT 2014	Avg. 2013	AVG WGT 2013
41	Iran	700(700.50)	588	10	342.12	444.24	222.12	242.98	72.89
54	Korea Republic	608(608.24)	487	15	343.57	225.59	112.80	277.31	83.19
55	Japan	605(604.87)	563	-1	327.02	205.07	102.53	386.87	116.06
63	Australia	548(548.21)	329	37	272.38	259.19	129.59	229.34	68.80
66	United Arab Emirates	529(528.94)	408	14	245.47	377.77	188.88	241.93	72.58
71	Uzbekistan	493(492.64)	464	0	202.48	287.67	143.84	331.28	99.38
82	China PR	429(429.19)	339	14	244.98	189.38	94.69	140.03	42.01
91	Oman	368(367.51)	346	2	146.02	255.33	127.66	167.45	50.23
94	Iraq	360(360.10)	269	20	225.82	59.48	29.74	163.04	48.91
97	Jordan	353(352.54)	346	-4	102.88	310.32	155.16	160.85	48.25
98	Saudi Arabia	351(351.10)	318	4	122.58	297.06	148.53	127.91	38.37
103	Bahrain	322(322.48)	292	7	162.53	183.65	91.82	108.93	32.68
109	Qatar	305(305.34)	347	-17	141.62	150.66	75.33	173.98	52.19

28/01/2015

Ben Williams removed from refereeing a match in Iran.

Benjamin Williams, the controversial Australian referee has been stopped by AFC from removed as the referee of an official scheduled match in Iran.

Williams was supposed to be the referee of Foolad Khuzestan vs. Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the upcoming AFC Champions League match, but after the events of the Iran vs. Iraq match in Asian Cup 2015, the AFC has decided against sending the Australian to Iran.

Williams dismissed Iran’s left back Mehrdad Pooladi after two bookings for two innocuous offenses, both of which were controversial to say the least. The second booking was a flagrant carriage of injustice as seen by many independent observers. That dismissal meant Team Melli playing with 10 men for one entire half.

The AFC like FIFA, never admits to refereeing mistaken nor does it condemn them publicly. However, they do covertly suspend or discipline referees in rare cases where refereeing decision raises much controversy or strong protests. Ben Williams is a prime candidate for dismissal from the tournament after refereeing 3 matches in which he was error prone and whistle happy. Being an Australian has definitely saved his skin in this tournament, despite the fact that many of his compatriot media personalities have spoken against his decisions. Williams was not allocated any matches after the quarter finals and that controversial Iran vs. Iraq match.

Iran’s Alireza Faghani will referee the final match while Bahrain’s Nawaf Shukrallah will referee the playoff match. The two along with Rashvan Irmatov of Uzbekistan are considered to be Asia’s top 3 referees.

22/01/2015

South Korea to meet the winner of Iran vs. Iraq in the semi finals.

22 January 2015 WSG

Melbourne: Son Heung-min scored twice in extra-time as two-time champions Korea Republic secured a third consecutive appearance in the semi-finals of the AFC Asian Cup after edging out Uzbekistan 2-0 in a thrilling quarter-final at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on Thursday.

Bayer Leverkusen forward Son netted with just over a minute of the first half of extra-time remaining following an entertaining yet goalless 90 minutes of normal time, which was the first draw of the tournament, before repeating the feat at the end of the second period.

And having followed up their win over Uzbekistan in the third place play-off at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup with a fourth consecutive win of the 2015 campaign without conceding a goal, Uli Stielike’s Group A winners will face either Iran or Iraq in Monday’s semi-final at Stadium Australia in Sydney.