I would've prefered Australia to South Korea(we've played them 4/5 times these last years) and Japan and Uzbekistan for the offensive style to Saudi Arabia and DPR Korea. It's strange that we're in the same group again with UAE?? Thanks for the info FCMB.
Iran's schedule : MD 1: September 6, 2008 - Saudi Arabia v Iran MD 2: September 10, 2008 - Iran bye MD 3: October 15, 2008 - Iran v DPR Korea MD 4: November 19, 2008 - UAE v Iran MD 5: February 11, 2009 - Iran v South Korea MD 6: March 28, 2009 - Iran v Saudi Arabia MD 7: April 1, 2009 - Bye MD 8: June 6, 2009 - DPR Korea v Iran MD 9: June 10, 2009 - Iran v. UAE MD 10: June 17, 2009 - South Korea v. Iran
From many International forums I got the impression the Koreans seem to be scared by the group and the saudis seem confident, and they should be KSA in their last few games with Korea have almost everytime beaten them.. Iran should qualify but we have to tighten things up.. Irans most recent games, with Korea Republic: 22/07/2007: Asian cup quarters: Iran 0-0 Korea Rep. (2-4 PSO) 15/11/2006: Asian cup qualifier: Iran 2-0 Korea Rep. 02/09/2006: Asian cup qualifier: Korea Rep. 1-1 Iran 1 WIN 2 DRAW 0 LOSE with Saudi Arabia: 24/08/2001: WC qualifier: Iran 2-0 Saudi Arabia 28/09/2001: WC qualifier: Saudi Arabia 2-2 Iran 24/10/1997: WC qualifier: Saudi 1-0 Iran 1 WIN 1 DRAW 1 LOSE with Korea DPR: 03/06/2005: WC qualifier: Iran 1-0 Korea DPR 30/03/2005: WC qualifier: Korea DPR 0-2 Iran 27/10/2003: Asian cup qualifier: Korea DPR 1-3 Iran 3 WIN 0 DRAW 0 LOSE with UAE: 07/06/2008: WC qualifier: UAE 0-1 Iran 02/06/2008: WC qualifier: Iran 0-0 UAE 12/01/2007: friendly match: UAE 0-2 Iran 2 WIN 1 DRAW 0 LOSE Interesting fact, UAE has NEVER EVER scored on us! ONLY based on these result we should cruise through, also reckon there is only 1 friendly match. The rest are qualifiers or asian cup final matches.
You might be interested to know that the only 3 undefeated teams from Round 3 are Iran, North Korea and South Korea! North Korea did not concede a single goal in the third round! So as it stands, it's two Koreas, two Arabs and Iran! And as ShaRule said, away to Korea in two games with a home against UAE, all in 11 days will be very tough! Let's hope Iran has more or less qualified by that stage (optimistic, but not impossible).
MD6 reminds me of the game Iran played against Japan (WCQ'06) right around Nourooz. The stadium was packed! and a win is almost guaranteed with an atmosphere like that! Holidays, new years, and happy spirits. I'm pretty confident that Iran will win that game.
oh btw, Vienna was loaded with Turks, Brussel with Arabs and blacks, and England is in serious need of Toothbrushes. Can't wait to leave this cold-hole, and go to Gothenburg. Feb 11? Damn...
The list for the Saudi Arabia match: Keepers: Rahman Ahmadi, Ebrahim Mirzapour, Vahid Taleblu, Mehdi Rahmati Defenders: Mohammad Nosrati, Mojtaba Shiri, Jalal Hosseini, Hadi Aghili, Ahmad Alneme, Mohsen Bengar, Hossein Kabi, Sattar Zare Midfielders: Mehdi Mahdavikia, Javad Nekounam, Masoud Shojaei, Kianush Rahmati, Mehdi Rajabzadeh, Mohammad Nuri, Maziar Zare, Milad Zeniedpour, Andranik Teymourian, Ferydoon Zandi, Majid Gholamnejad, Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht, Jalal Rafkhaei, Mojtaba Jabbari, Ebrahim Sadeghi, Pejman Nuri, Ehsan Hajsafi, Iman Mobali Strikers: Gholamreza Rezaei, Mehdi Seyyedsalehi, Mohammad Parvin, Rasoul Khatibi, Milad Meidavudi, Mohammad-Reza Khalatbari, Mehrzad Madanchi, Vahid Hashemian I'm very happy with this list, as we can field a number of strong line-ups with the listed players. ----------------------Rahmati------------------ -Gholamnejad---Hosseini----Aghili---Aleneme- ----------------------Nekonam----------------- -------MahdaviKia---------------Zandi-------- -----------------------Shojaei----------------- -------------------Hash----Rezaei------------- ----------------------Taleblou------------------ ------Kaebi-----Bengar----Nosrati---Shiri/Zare- ----------------Andranik/K.Rahmati----------------- --------------Mobali-----------Hajsafi------------- -----------------------Jabbari-------------------- --------------Meydavoodi----Madanchi------------- We'll have to wait and see who makes the final cut, and who makes the starting 11!
I'd go with any of these three or slight variations of them: 4-4-2 ---------------------------Rahmati/Mirzapour-------------------------- -------------------Hosseini---------------------Aghili------------------ ---------Kaebi--------------------------------------------Nosrati------ --------------------------------Nekounam----------------------------- -----------------Mahdavikia------------------------Zandi-------------- --------------------------------Shojaei-------------------------------- --------------------Hashemian------------Nikbakht Vahedi-------------- 3-5-2 ---------------------------Rahmati/Mirzapour-------------------------- ---------Kaebi-----------------Hosseini---------------------Aghili------ ----------------------Nekounam-------Ando--------------------------- --------------Mahdavikia---------------------------Zandi-------------- --------------------------------Shojaei-------------------------------- -----------------Hashemian---------------Nikbakht Vahedi------------- 4-5-1 ---------------------------Rahmati/Mirzapour-------------------------- -------------------Hosseini---------------------Aghili------------------ ---------Kaebi--------------------------------------------Nosrati------ ----------------------Nekounam-------Ando--------------------------- --------------Mahdavikia---------------------------Zandi-------------- --------------------------------Shojaei-------------------------------- ------------------------------Hashemian------------------------------
Nouri blows dick, Alenameh or whatever his name is, seemed good enough for that position. Plus, he plays with an offensive style which is very good considering that our forwards and midfields usually lack the support from our back lines.
Don't you guys think it's too risky playing 4-4-2 (diamond) against KSA in an away match?? I thought about it, and I think we will be far too vulnerable. I propose this: 4-2-3-1: ----------------------Rahmati----------------------- --G'nejad------Hosseini----Aghili-------Aleneme-- ----------------Sadeghi---Nekounam----------------- ----------M'kia-------Shojaei-------Rezaei-------- ---------------------Hashemian--------------------- I agree that it's not wise to introduce P.Nouri to the lineup this late. Aleneme seems solid, although he's rather panicky on the ball. Zare might be a better choice, simply due to his experience (he's not great, but he doesn't make fatal mistakes, either). I love Zandi, but I think we're better off starting Mehdi, and then subbing Zandi in for Mehdi and switching his position with Rezaei. I'd also like to note that Sadeghi is not nearly as crap as many make him out to be. He didn't play well for us during the last round of Q matches, but he's improved dramatically since. I realize that the opposition in the WAFF tourny was poor, but Sadeghi nonetheless revealed his ability to get past defenders with his speed and make plays with his quite decent through balls. Plus, it's apparent that he has become quite accustomed to Daei's tactics for Team Melli (just as G'nejad has). He deserves much better than he's getting from the fans. It's fine to criticize our players, but I'm absolutely convinced that those fans that constantly, ceaselessly, unconditionally bash Sadeghi and Zare have never even seen them play (or at least more than one match).
lol actually I wrote this based on the list. I guess you could replace Nosrati with another left back and Nikbakht with Rezaei but I generally like it the way it is.
Well, here is the list as it stands at the moment: Goalkeepers Mehdi Rahmati Vahid Taleblou Rahman Ahmadi Defenders Hadi Aghili Jalal Hosseini Mohsen Bengar Sattar Zare Mojtaba Shiri Mohammad Nosrati Hossein Kabi Majeed Gholamnejad Ahmad Alenemeh Midfield Ferydoon Zandi Masoud Shojaee Javad Nekounam Ebrahim Sadeghi Mojtaba Jabbari Ehsan Hajsafi Kianoosh Rahmati Jalal Rafkhaei Andranik Teymourian Forwards Vahid Hashemian Gholamreza Rezaei Mehrzad Madanchi Milad Meidavoudi Rasoul Khatibi So from your list, Mirzapour is out, Mahdavikia is out, and Nikki is out. I highly doubt any of our stars in Europe will be able to participate in the match against Azerbaijan on Wednesday, which means the lineup against Azerbaijan will differ from the lineup against Saudi Arabia (unfortunately). I'm quite confident that Daei will start the Saudi Arabia match with this lineup: ----------------------Rahmati----------------------- --G'nejad------Hosseini----Aghili-------Zare------ ----------------Sadeghi---Nekounam--------------- ---------Rezaei------Shojaei-------Zandi------------ ---------------------Hashemian--------------------- If in fact our stars in Europe don't play against Azerbaijan, I'd love to see how this lineup works out: ----------------------Rahmati----------------------- --G'nejad------Hosseini----Aghili-------Aleneme-- ---------------------K.Rahmati-------------------- --------E.Sadeghi-----------------Hajsafi-------- -----------------------Jabbari--------------------- ----------------Rezaei--------Madanchi---------- Madanchi and Rezaei are similar in their strong build, excellent pace, and ability to shake-off defenders. It may not be wise to pair them together, but who knows; maybe they'll exhibit great chemistry!
^ hahaha, a day or two after Daei released the list of 30+ players, he shortened the list to the roster I've provided above. There are about 26 players on the new list. On Friday, Team Melli will fly to Kish Island to hold a 4-day training camp with 22 players. Our Europe-based players will not participate in the match against Azerbaijan tomorrow, and they will join Team Melli on Sept. 2nd.
Only in Iran ! But seriously- yes, that is the plan. In all fairness, it's not an easy task pulling Euro-based players from their clubs for any amount of time, let alone a good week or two. After all- Osasuna will be missing two of their starters .
After today's match with Azerbaijan, a few things should be noted: -Sadeghi is really only effective against crap opposition. He played well in WAFF, but he was pretty bad against Azerbaijan. -Don't be surprised if Daei ends up playing K.Rahmati alongside Nekounam in a 4-2-3-1 against Saudi Arabia! In fact, after today, I'm quite convinced that Sadeghi will be benched in place of K.Rahmati, who has played quite well and is far more effective than Sadeghi . Knowing Daei, both of these guys still have a better shot at starting than Andranik does... -While he's still young, Meydavoodi seriously, seriously has a problem with scoring/finishing and needs to get his act together if he wants playing time... -Daei stated in his post-match comments that he plans on using Hashemian. Since he's quite likely to play a 4-2-3-1 against Saudi Arabia away, it's quite likely that the line-up will be this: ----------------------Rahmati---------------------------- -Kaebi/G'nejad--Hosseini----Aghili----Zare/Aleneme-- --------------K.Rahmati---Nekounam--------------- ---------Rezaei------Shojaei-------Zandi------------ ---------------------Hashemian---------------------- The only two spots that I think are really still up in the air are LB and RB. I'm pretty sure Daei will start with Zare once again, but the choice for RB is more of a mystery. Before today, G'nejad was Daei's pick for sure. Given Kaebi's strong performance today, however, it's tough to say who'll get the nod (G'nejad played well today, too, but he played as a sub for Sadeghi at RM). I think it's safe to say that Kaebi is better defensively, but G'nejad, in my opinion, is better offensively (better passes, much better crosses). Kaebi is also much faster than G'nejad. Personally, I'd like to see Kaebi and Aleneme start against Saudi Arabia with the above lineup (I'm certain we'd leave Riyadh with 3 points).
Thanks, Raqi. The goal was really excellent. G'nejad's pass was quality. He kicked with the outside of his right foot and perfectly found Nouri's head for the finish. Good finish by Nouri, but an even better setup by G'nejad. I watched the Azerbaijan match for the second time now, and I've reached a couple of conclusions: 1. K.Rahmati is awesome. He saved us numerous times when it appeared as though the Azeris were sure to reach a scoring opportunity. In my mind, there is currently no one better than Rahmati to play alongside Nekounam in a 4-2-3-1. His style of play is indeed very similar to Neko's, as he's a great tackler that can also shoot the long-range shot with accuracy. Andranik is in poor form at the moment, and his game isn't nearly as refined as Rahmati's, anyway. Sadeghi is just nowhere near as effective and influential as Rahmati, especially in the DM role. 2. G'nejad>Sadeghi. It has become apparent that G'nejad is far more consistent and influential than Sadeghi, which is why I'd play him at RM in a 4-4-2. His crosses and through balls are quite strong, and he seems very confident on the ball. If we play a 4-4-2 (diamond) with just one DM, then obviously Nekounam gets the nod and Rahmati will have to sit the bench. I've been on a number of forums where members keep including Andranik in their lineups. Andranik is not in form at the moment, nor has he played with the national team for awhile! I love the guy for his gheyrat, just like everyone else, but the fact of the matter is K.Rahmati is playing far better football at the moment, and he has become accustomed to Daei's tactics. I know Daei loves Sadeghi, but I think he finally realized that in a 4-2-3-1, Rahmati is far better suited than Sadeghi to play alongside Neko. Despite what many believe, I really don't think Sadeghi will start against Saudi Arabia.