Tag: Vahid AMIRI

Destination Turkey.

The two mighty neighbors Turkey and Iran have a heavy mutual influence on each other, due to geographical proximity, economic benefits, linguistic and ethnic relations. They were also regional rivals at some stage of history and fought each other for influence and power. In modern times, the relation has been peaceful and friendly.  Football formed part of this peaceful relationship and also created a regional rivalry.

The Turkish association with European football and its membership in UEFA, has immensely benefitted its development. The Turkish national team, despite making it to the World Cup twice only in their history (1954 & 2002), was always considered to be better and stronger than Iran’s Team Melli from the early 50s. Those days, the two countries played a lot of football against each other including a regional tournament called RCD which was a three side annual tournament that also included Pakistan in the 60s.

However, like many things after the 1979 revolution, with Iran’s major change of political ideology, the two countries experienced less than a cozy relationship, football naturally suffered from this cold relation and the two countries cut off their football connection. Neither side showed any interest in playing friendlies against the other, no doubt politics playing a major role in the break of footballing relationship.

Meanwhile, Turkish football, at club level at least, was thriving. The trio, Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, and Besiktas were as good as many first-rate  European clubs. With financial clout and huge fan bases, Turkey became the focus of attention and the destination of many foreign players.  For years, the Turkish clubs employed the services of European, African and Latin American footballers, those included some household names in football. However, the majority of the big name European signings were players at the twilight of their careers who were there for a last-ditch attempt to enrich their bank accounts before hanging their boots rather than seeking glory.  The success of the policy of the Turkish clubs in attracting high profile aging footballers was mixed perhaps moderately successful at best.

What the Turkish club ignored was the abundance of talents on the eastern and southern borders. Iran and to a certain extent, Iraq had a wealth of young talents that were there for the taking. Since the late nineties, European clubs, particularly the German realized that as a number of the best Iranian players were employed by clubs like Bayern Munich , Hamburg, Hertha Berlin, and Arminia Bielefeld While talented Iraqi players headed south to the Persian Gulf states. At no time, the Turks endeavored to attract Iranians and Iraqis to play for their teams, although it would have been a good investment and certainly cheaper for them too.

By the beginning of the second decade of the millennium, The Turkish clubs, at last, looked at Iran. There had to be something special in that country’s football that can generate quality players for Team Melli.  With shoestring budgets, Iranian clubs managed to continuously deliver talented players thus enriching Team Melli and many 0f those young players eventually heading outside Iran to play professional football. In the process, Iran has made 4 appearances in the FIFA World Cup after a break of 20 years since the initial one in 1978, but also steadily climbed in the FIFA World Ranking to approach the elites. Meanwhile, Turkey managed one appearance in 2002.

That made the Turkish clubs think hard and employ scouts to talent hunt in Iran and seek bargains and future investments from the Persians.

For the Iranians, Turkey is the perfect destination for a professional player. The culture, the climate and the proximity of the two countries make it an ideal place to play football, to develop and to make a decent living.  Although the flood gates had hardly opened on the Iranians, the Turkish clubs are beginning to be shrewd as they are constantly on the lookout for talented players even as young as 18 years old. In the case of Allahyar Sayyadmanish, who was hardly a fixed player in his club Esteghlal, such investment could turn out to be a clever an astute move by Fenerbahçe. The giant Turkish club is now seeking the services of the 19 years old Iraqi forward Muhanad Ali Kadhim from Al Shorta Club.

It is a win-win situation for both sides. Iranian Players can develop well in Turkey with training facilities and passionate fans enhancing the league to become one of the best in Europe. It is certainly the right environment for aspiring young Iranian and Iraqi players.

 

Allahyar Sayyadmanesh, is an 11th Iranian footballer in Turkey.

Naser Sadeghi (Galatasaray / Konyaspor)
Mohammad Khakpour (Vanspor)
Reza Shahroudi (Altay)
Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh (Erzurumspor)
Mohammad Moemeni (Erzurumspor)
Hamed Kavianpour (Kayserispor)
Sajjad Şhahbazzade (Alanyaspor) ♣
Payam Sadeghian (Osmanlıspor) ♣
Vahid Amiri (Trabzonspor) ♣
Majid Hosseini (Trabzonspor) ♣

♣ currently active.

Al Ain: Ahead of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 semi-final between two unbeaten giants of Asia, the-AFC.com looks at the key facts and history surrounding the eagerly-anticipated clash.

No Taremi for Team Melli

The major team news ahead of the semi-final is the enforced absence of Mehdi Taremi, who will miss Monday’s clash through suspension having collected a second yellow card against China PR.

While card trouble has cost them the Al Gharafa star, who has scored three goals in UAE 2019, the Iranians will welcome back Vahid Amiri, while Yoshinuri Muto returns from suspension for Japan.

Outstanding yellow cards were erased following the quarter-finals, meaning only a red card in Monday’s match will result in a player missing the final.

Carlos Queiroz’s Iran have become one of only three teams in history to go through their first five games at an AFC Asian Cup without conceding a goal, but the amazing record of goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand goes back even further.

The Persepolis shot-stopper has represented his country in 20 competitive matches (including UAE 2019 and FIFA World Cup qualifiers and finals) and conceded only four goals, keeping a remarkable 17 clean sheets, with only Portugal, Spain and Syria finding a way past him.

Japan have claimed a piece of statistical history of their own in the UAE. Hajime Moriyasu’s side are the first ever to win five successive matches by a single-goal winning margin.

Asian powerhouses, divergent histories

The two sides are both Asian football powerhouses, having qualified for the past two FIFA World Cups – and in Japan’s case, every edition since 1998 – but the East Asians have had far more recent success on the continental stage.

While Iran are enjoying the excitement of being 90 minutes away from reaching the AFC Asian Cup final for the first time since 1976, Japan have been champions in four of the last seven editions, and three of the current squad were part of the victorious 2011 team.

Japan have only ever lost once at this stage of the competition, a 3-2 defeat to Saudi Arabia in 2007, which was also the last time the Samurai Blue lost any AFC Asian Cup match outside of penalty shootouts.

Despite making their first appearance in the last four since 2004, Iran have not a lost a single AFC Asian Cup match inside 90 minutes this century, with three of their previous eliminations coming from the penalty spot, and the other twp – both defeats to Korea Republic – suffered in extra time.

Unfamiliar foes

Despite their permanent presence in the latter stages of both the AFC Asian Cup and FIFA World Cup qualifying, Japan and Iran have consistently managed to avoid each other in competition draws.

It has been over a decade since their last competitive fixture, a 2-1 Samurai Blue win in 2005, while their last AFC Asian Cup clash came back in 2004 when the two sides shared the spoils in a 0-0 draw in Group D.

 

Head2Heads

IRAN VS JAPAN

H / A / N Matches W D L Goals + / –
H 3 1 2 0 5 – 4 1
A 3 0 1 2 2 – 4 -2
N 11 5 3 3 12 – 10 2
Total 17 6 6 5 19 – 18 1

 

Matches

Date Competition H / A / N score Stadium Attendance
13.10.2015 Friendly H 1 – 1 Azadi Stadium , Tehran 15,000
17.08.2005 World Cup Qualifier A 1 – 2 Nissan Stadium , Yokohama 65,000
25.03.2005 World Cup Qualifier H 2 – 1 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 120,000
28.07.2004 Asian Cup N 0 – 0 Olympics Sport Centre , Chongqing 52,000
11.08.1999 Friendly A 1 – 1 International Stadium, Yokohama 35,860
16.11.1997 World Cup Qualifier N 2 – 3 Larkin Stadium-Johor Bahru 22,000
18.10.1993 World Cup Qualifier N 2 – 1 Al Khalifa Stadium , Doha 15,000
03.11.1992 Asian Cup A 0 – 1 Big Arch Stadium , Hiroshima 37,000
01.10.1990 Asian Games N 1 – 0 Fengtai Sports Center-Beijing 10,000
20.01.1989 Friendly H 2- 2 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 50,000
04.12.1988 Asian Cup N 0 – 0 Qatar FC Stadium , Doha 4,000
22.09.1986 Asian Games N 2 – 0 Hanbat Stadium, Daejeon 30,000
20.11.1982 Asian Games N 0 – 1 Modeltown Stadium-New Delhi 10,000
18.12.1966 Asian Games N 1 – 0 Tarua Football Stadium-Bangkok 20,000
11.12.1966 Asian Games N 1 – 3 Chulalongkon University Stadium-Bangkok 10,000
08.03.1951 Asian Games N 3 -2 Ambedkar Stadium -New Delhi 30,000
07.03.1951 Asian Games N 0 – 0 Ambedkar Stadium – New Delhi 23,000

Sweet start, looking ahead for Spain.

Millions of Iranian men and women, boys and girls danced in the streets of major Iranian cities to celebrate Team Melli’s victory against Morocco to register its first win in the FGIFA 2018 World Cup and only the 2nd victory in the history of the competition. The first win being the historic match vs USA in Lyon in World Cup 1998.

To the displeasure of the religious factions and extremist, Girls danced, men sang and the  whole crowd forgot their daily hardship to enjoy this unique moment of joy in a remarkable display of patriotism

After The dust has settled, and after all the so-called experts got it all wrong by favoring the Moroccans, Queiroz and his coaching staff need a long thought about what has emerged from the match against Morocco

Team Melli impressed in qualifying rounds, the defense was impeccable conceding only in the last game against Syria when Iran has already qualified, Iran remained unbeaten throughout and only let in five goals in their 18 qualifying matches.

Queiroz and the boys were both left rueing the draw that saw them placed in the same group as 2010 winners Spain and European champions Portugal, with only the top two sides advancing to the last 16.

Spain and Portugal, 10th and fourth in the world rankings respectively, have won four major tournaments between them in the past 10 years. Before the match, Queiroz said his side had been “drawn in the hardest group in the World Cup”.

Going into injury time in St Petersburg, it looked like being a result neither Morocco nor Iran wanted, before Morocco’s Sofyan Amrabat conceded a needless free-kick by fouling Saman Ghoddos near the corner flag.

But that gave Ehsan Haji Safi the opportunity to whip in the free-kick, and Bouhaddouz could only steer the ball into his own net for an Iranain victory.

Morocco and its suitor can bemoan their luck . the experts can have their excuses for getting it wrong , but that is already water under the bridge. Team Melli needs a vast improvement comes the 20th June when they play the Matadors.

Biranvand was solid and any fears of flouting seemed like just a scare. The defense was well below the experience of the other group teams with Rouzbeh Chesmi who played all the 90 minutes having only 11 caps and substitute Majid Hosseini only 1 cap! However, they stood the pressure well and the Moroccans only 2 real chances, both yielding no results.

It was the midfield where the Most Valuable man for Team Melli was playing. Omid Ebrahimi was exceptional, his hustling, penetrations, that golden pass to Azmoun and his forcefulness was a delight to watch. In contrast, Ansarifard was far from effective in his unfamiliar role. Shojaei did manage to be effective but the service to the forward line was found wanting. Amiri and Jahanbaksh operated as wingers but none of them supplied quality balls to Azmoun who was not in his best form admittedly.

Queiroz will have a different strategy and game plan for Spain. He is the master of defensive strategy and not much of a believer in pressing opponents. Such tactics that Moroccans used did not yield results. Queiroz is wary of the individual skills of the Spaniards and will refrain from engaging them deep.

For Spain, Jahanbakhsh needs to raise his game. Amiri might not suit Queiroz tactics and on the half back, Milad Mohammadi could be a potent weapon to supply crosses to Azmoun. Depending on the readiness of Dejagah , he will surely be needed if he is fit.

Spain, is far from formidable. It suits Team Melli for all their opponents to be the favorites. Queiroz will have his master plan ready for the novice Fernando Hierro despite the high class of the Spanish players and the immense experience and championship pedigree they possess.

Team Melli on track for the Uzbekistan match

Team Melli is on course in preparation for the crucial match against Uzbekistan on Monday.

FIFA announced the name of the referees for the match. Ahmad Abu Baker Said Al Kaf from Oman will be assisted by Hamed Suleiman and Abu Baker Saleem. The fourth referee is Omar Mubarak all from the Sultanate of Oman.

The Omani referee was the fourth official in 4 matches in the recent FIFA World Cup U-20 championship 2017 in South Korea. He was not assigned any matches to referee. His last international match was in Sydney on 27th March 2017 refereeing the match between Australia and UAE which the host won 2-0.

Meanwhile, the FFIRI has encouraged the fans not to go to Azadi Stadium in matchday unless they carry a ticket on hand. The ticket sales for the match against Uzbekistan is all on-line through a dedicated website. No tickets will be sold on the match day from kiosks.

FIFA was given assurance by the FFIRI and the security authorities that strict measures and tight security will be implemented on match day following the terrorist attacks Parliament and the Ayatollah Khomeini mausoleum a few days back.

Carlos Queiroz is relying on his team’s solid defence with a perfect defensive record of not conceding a goal since the opening match, while he will be deploying  a powerful offensive line up front to unsettle the Uzbek defenses. Azmoun has been in top form , while both Ansarifard and Ghoochannejad had their best ever forms playing in Europe. domestically , Mehdi Taremi has been the best Iranian forward and the league’s top scorer.

To supplement the forwards, Jahanbakhsh and Vahid Amiri will be feeding the attackers with their runs and crosses on the flanks , leaving Dejagah and Ezzatollahie to cover the middle of the field.

There are no injuries worries to report in the squad , however , Ashkan Dejagah is short of match practise and made a short appearance for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga following a long injury. Ramin Rezaeian is without a club after he was sacked from Persepolis , nevertheless the defender form was quite good against Montenegro in the recent 2-1 win.

 

Queiroz sends 7 Persepolis players back to Tehran.

 

While Team Melli is actively training in the camp set in Dubai, the head coach sent Persepolis players on the first flight back to Tehran from UAE.

This follows the harsh criticism by Branko Ivankovic, the head coach of Persepolis and his club management about the untimely break of the league program demanded by Queiroz and agreed by FFIRI. Earlier on Ivankovic said any failure by Persepolis to win the league title must be shouldered by Carlos Queiroz who disrupts the rhythm of his team.

In a statement to the press, Mehdi Taj the head of FFIRI who approved the Team Melli plans, tried to calm the situation and agreed that any program must be discussed by all stakeholders before being carried out. Taj however blamed the AFC scheduling for the problems of Team Melli. He said ” not only in Iran we suffer from this bad programming by the AFC but also Qatar and UAE suffer from it too. I have talked to Shaikh Salman (AFC President) and expressed my views. He agrees that there should be some changes in the system” 

Persepolis management meeting with the players after the abrupt return from Team Melli camp in Dubai

Interestingly enough, both Qatar and UAE are enjoying a full league program without any interruptions at this stage. Qatar and Iran will meet on 22nd March in Doha.

Sending the Persepolis contingent back is worrying as Queiroz has a tendency to castigate players for absenteeism, even if such absentee is beyond the players control. It remains to be seen if Queiroz will take punitive action and leave the Persepolis players out on the bench for the next match against Qatar.

Persepolis has 7 players , the highest number, in the squad of Team Melli. The players arrived in Tehran on Wednesday and met with the club management. None of the players was prepared to give statements to the press after the meeting and leaving the club premises in Tehran.

 

Goalkeeper: Alireza Biranvand

Defenders: Ramin Rezaeian, Seyed Jalal Hosseini, Mohammed Ansari

Midfield:  Vahid Amiri, Kamal Kamyabinia

Forward: Mehdi Taromi

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.

Mirjalal Qasimov – Head Coach of Uzbekistan

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

3 more players added to Team Melli squad

After the conclusion of the Hazfi Cup final match in which Zob Ahan managed to beat Naft Tehran 3-1 to lift the cup for the third time , Carlos Queiroz added 3 more players from the two teams to Team Melli squad.

Vahid Amiri , Alireza Birnavand from Naft Tehran and Ghassim Haddadifar from Zob Ahan are the additional players who will join the squad with immediate effect.

Vahid Amiri is arguably one of the best players in this season. A player full of class whose performance helped his team challenge for the title and qualified to the quarter finals of the AFC Champions League. His teammate Alireza Biranvand has not been his best after some shaky displays, however he remains one of the most promising young and upcoming goalkeeper in Iran with an exceptional hand throws the like of which is rarely seen in football.

Haddadifar is one of the veterans of Team Melli despite the fact that has not managed to impose himself as a starter. Haddadifar has been consistently playing well for his club.

 

Team Melli is practicing on daily basis until the flight to Tashkent for the friendly match versus Uzbekistan before proceeding to Turkmenistan.

 

Revised Team Melli Squad

Player's NameCapsGoalsTeam
AKHBARI, Mohammadreza0Saipa
AMIRI, Vahid51Naft Tehran
AZMOUN, Sardar84Rubin Kazan
BIRANVAND, Alireza10Naft Tehran
BEIGZADEH, Hashim201Esteghlal
EBRAHIMI, Omid90Esteghlal
EZZATOLAHEI , Saeed0Atletico Madrid
GHAFOORI, Vourya80Sepahan
GHOOCHANNEJAD, Reza2513Al Wakrah
HADDADIFAR, Ghassim180Zob Ahan
HAGHIGHI, Alireza160FC Penafiel
HAJSAFY, Ehsan674Sepahan
HEYDARI, Khosrow550Esteghlal
HOSSEINI, Jalal966Al Ahli
KNANI-ZADEGAN, Mohammad Hossein0Malavan
MAKANI, Sousha30Persepolis
MOHAMMADI, Milad0Rah Ahan
MONTAZERI, Pejman281Umm Salal
POURALIGANJI, Morteza61Tianjin Teda
POURGHAZ, Ezzatollah0Malavan
REZAEIAN, Ramin30Rah Ahan
SHARIFI, Mehdi20Sepahan
SHOJAEI, Masoud606Al Shahaniya
TAROMI , Mehdi0Persepolis
TEYMOURIAN, Andranik909Tractorsazi
TORABI, Mehdi0Saipa

 

 

Iran downs Copa America Host

By Matthew Rogerson

www.goal.com

Mar 26, 2015 21:12:38

Goals in each half saw Carlos Queiroz’s men record an outstanding friendly win in the clash in Austria

In one of Chile’s final friendlies before they open the South American showpiece against Ecuador in June, Jorge Sampaoli saw his side fall to goals in either half from captain Javad Nekounam and Vahid Amiri.

Carlos Queiroz’s Iran started brightly and were rewarded after 21 minutes when Nekounam converted Andranik Teymourian’s corner.

Sampaoli, who named Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sanchez on the bench, introduced the latter at the break, although Amiri added to Chile’s frustrations when he doubled Iran’s advantage early in the second half.

Brazil are next up for Chile – as the sides meet for the first time since their last-16 World Cup clash – while Iran face Sweden following victory in their first outing since the Asian Cup.

Eduardo Vargas fired over following a smart turn 12 minutes in, after Chile had survived some early Iran pressure.

Masoud Shojaei then went down under a clumsy challenge from Gonzalo Jara, although the referee waved away the half-hearted penalty protests.

Nekounam eventually made Iran’s pressure pay when the skipper bundled home the opener amid slack marking from Rodrigo Millar and questionable goalkeeping from Barcelona’s Claudio Bravo.

The goal sparked Chile into life, with Juan Cornejo flashing a shot wide before the half-hour mark, before Fabian Orellana hit the side-netting from close range.

Mark Gonzalez saw a header beaten away by Alireza Haghighi as Chile piled on the pressure prior to the interval to no avail.

Sampaoli opted to introduce star man Alexis at the interval, but it was Iran who found the target next as Reza Ghoochannejhad latched on to a throughball and picked out Amiri.

The Naft Tehran forward calmly finished from inside the area to put Queiroz’s side firmly in control.

Matias Fernandez almost reduced the deficit with a fierce drive prior to the hour with Jose Fuenzalida angling a strike wide of the far post as Sampaoli’s men continued to knock on the door.

Veteran David Pizarro was brought on to try to find a way back into the game for the South Americans, but Chile found Haghighi in fine form as the goalkeeper smartly kept out Fernandez’s free kick going into the final 20 minutes.

Despite the late pressure, Chile failed to avert a second defeat in eight post-World Cup outings, leaving Sampaoli questions to answer with the Copa clash against Ecuador in Santiago less than three months away.

Team Melli downs Chile 2-0

Team Melli Captain Javad Nekounam scored in the first half while the excellent Vahid Amiri added another goal in the second half for Team Melli to register an important morale boosting win against the team that was ranked 4 in the FIFA World Cup 2015 and the host of Copa America 2015.

The friendly match was played in NV Arena in the small town of St. Poulten , Austra in front of a small but voicferious crowd.

iran-chile gb

The match was split equally in terms of control as Iran was the better team in the first apart from the last 10 minytes of the first half , while Chile was the team which had more ball posession in the second after the introdcution of Alxis Sanchez.

Iran first goal came from on the 21st minute with a perfect corner by Ando Teymourian who found his Captain  in a telepathic style ,  Nekounam perfectly positioned with ample space just had to slot the ball past Oscar Bravo , the Barcelona keeper.

Team Melli was the better team in the first half playing a compact game mixed with pace and energy during offensive moves. Defensive orgnization was perfect with very few balls seriously bothering Haghighi.

Ashkan Dejagah was by far the best player on the pitch giving the Chilean defenders extra headache while providing several glorious balls to his teammates. Shojaei was guilty of wasting 3 certain scoring chances. Dejagah was finding his teammates in space and dribbling past the Chileans with ease even while double-teaming him.

Pejman Montazeri of Iran (left) and Chile's Eduardo Vargas (right) fight for possession

Alireza Haghighi had to make one save in anger during the first half but it was an important one. in the last minute of the half Haghighi denied the Chilean forward Fernandez from scoring when he parried his powerful header from close range for an excellent save.

The First half ended IRAN 1-0 CHILE

In the second , Chile was out to wipe out Iran’s lead and score a few goals ahead of their encounter with Brazil on Sunday. The Introduction of Alexis Sanchez , the Arsenal star player , made a significant difference in the pace and organization of the Chileans.

Despite the initial substantial ball possession , it was Iran that scored from a text book counter attack move when Masoud Shojaei passed the ball to his right , where Ghoochannejad raced past  the half back and then sent a diagonal perfectly weighted ball to the on rushing Vahid Amiri for the Naft player to score his first goal for Team Melli and Iran’s second of the game.

 

After the goal , a period of sustain pressure  where Chile players gave it every thing to recover , but failed to score as the highly disciplined back four were more than a match for the powerful and skilful Latin Americans. Sanchez in particular was initiating most of the attacks by Chile and skillfully feeding his teammates but to no avail.

Iran , despite the lack of ball possession in the 2nd half , were still dangerous in the counter attack. Masoud Shojae was unfortunately the weak link and he could only drag his foot around till Queiroz realized he needed to be subbed for a fresh player.

Vahid Amiri and Ashkan Dejagah continued their excellent forms through the 2nd half which saw the introduction of Karim Ansarifard in place of Ghoochannejad.

The Osasuna forward had a nightmare of a match failing to complete any pass while nearly costing his team a goal while back defending a corner.

Chile had their own chances but their finishing was not up to scratch while the Iranian defense was at its best.

 

Line Up

IRAN: 1     A. Haghighi   ; 4     J. Hosseini     , 15     P. Montazeri     , 19     H. Beikzadeh     , 11     V. Ghafouri     , 6     J. Nekounam     , 7     M. Shojaei   (O. Ebrahimi  70′)  , 21     A. Dejagah     , 14     A. Teymourian  , 13     V. Amiri (R. Rezaeian 90′)  ,  16     R. Ghoochannejhad (K. Ansarifard 74′)

 

CHILE: 1     C. Bravo  ; 18     G. Jara , 5     E. Roco  (G. Medel  63′) , 13     J. Cornejo    , 27     E. Pulgar   (C. Aránguiz  46′) , 11     M. González (C.A. Gutiérrez 46′) , 14     M. Fernández    , 19     F. Orellana  (A. Sanchez 46′) , 24     J. Fuenzalida ( M. Isla 62′) , 15     R. Millar  (D. Pizarro 63′)   , 9     E. Vargas

 

 

Iran looses the quarter finals in a thriller at Brisbane.

Team Melli lost the quarter finals match on penalty shootout against Iraq in a thrilling encounter at Brisbane Stadium.

Iran took the lead through Sardar Azamoun from a powerful header of a cross provided by Vouriya Ghafoori  on minute 24.  to make it 1 – 0 for Iran.

Iraq equalized  on 56th minute from Ahmed Yasin after Iran defense failed to clear and the ball hit Pouraliganji into the net.  The matches ended 1-1 for extra time to be played.

The Captain of Iraq  Younis Mahmoud made it 1 – 2 for his team on minute 93′ . Morteza Pouraliganji on minute 103′ scored from an Ando Teymourian corner kick to make it.2 – 2

While the match was on its final minutes, Morteza Pouraliganji who was the hero of Iran made a gross error and fouled Iraq forward for the referee to call a penalty which was dispatched by the 20 years old Iraqi defender  Dhurgham Ismail (116 minute.)

And then the grand finale came when Reza Ghoochannejhad scored with one minute left to make it 3 – 3

The two players who missed penalties of Iran were Hajsafi and Vahid Amiri,

fans and players mingle in brisbane

The first controversy of the match was the appointment of the whistle-happy Australian referee for the match. He was the referee of the first match of Iran in the AFC Asian Cup which Iran won 2-0 but so some crucial errors by the Australian which lead Queiroz to publicly complain about this referee. For expressing his views , AFC slapped an US$ 3000 fine on Queiroz which the Portuguese coach rejected as harsh and uncalled for.

Appointing the same referee for a crucial match was an indicative of a juvenile delinquency by the AFC and the organizers. Instead of trying to steer away from controversy , the AFC has fallen into it either by pure ignorance or by blatant intent and in an up your nose attitude towards Queiroz and Iran!

The controversial Ben Williams lasted for 42 minutes before he was on the act justifying earlier complaints against him. The referee awarded Mehrdad Pooladi a second yellow card right towards the end of the half for an innocuous challenge on Iraqi goalkeeper who made a theatrical scene and pushed Pooladi to the ground.

The feeble referee reacted to Iraqi players protests and awarded Pooladi a second yellow and then walked away. He was not aware that Pooladi was already on a yellow until the Iraqi players dragged him back to remind him.

Williams have a long sheet of controversial , poor decision-making and being conned by players. He is a poor choice for a referee at international level but being an Australian , and the tournament is in Australia, it is obvious that his sub-standard refereeing will be forgiven.

 The penalty loss spells the end of Iran’s participation in the Asian Cup. It is the third time in a row that Team Melli is eliminated in the Quarter finals of the competition in extra time or penalty kicks.

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