Calendar (in French time) in group B
November 21: England-Iran, at Khalifa International Stadium (2pm, BeIN Sports 1).
November 25: Wales – Iran, at Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium (11 am, beIN Sports 1).
November 29: Iran – United States, at Al-Thumama Stadium (8 pm, BeIN Sports 2).
Their nickname: Tim-e melli (“national team”), or Shirants Perse (“lions of Persia”).
Group of 25:
Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand, Amir Abedzadeh, Hossein Hosseini, and Payam Niazmand.
Defenders: Majid Hosseini, Hossein Kanani, Shoja Khalilzadeh, Morteza Pouralijanji, Sadiq Moharami, Milad Mohammadi, Ehsan Hajsafi, Ramin Rezaian, Abolfazl Jalali.
Midfielders: Saeed Ezzatullah, Ali Karimi, Ahmad Nurullah, Rouzbeh Chesmi, and Wahid Amiri.
Attackers: Saman Gudos, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Ali Gholizadeh, Mehdi Turabi, Sardar Azmoun, Mehdi Tarami, Karim Ansarivard.
Qatar is better than ever. Iran will play in Qatar its sixth and final stage of the World Cup for the third time in a row. The country never passed the first round, and had to wait twenty years between its first participation in 1978 and its second in 1998. Absent in 2002 and 2010, the Iranians qualified in 2006, but also in 2014 and 2018.
Coach: Carlos Queiroz, 69 years old. After a three-year break, the Portuguese coach returned to the Iranian national team in 2022. The short-lived former Real Madrid coach (one season in 2003-2004) is preparing to play, not far from Tehran, for the third World Cup in a row. With Iran, his fourth title from a personal point of view, since he led Portugal in the 2010 World Cup. His main titles, Queiroz won decades ago with the young Portuguese: two titles of world champion under the age of 20, in 1989 and 1991.
Brief note of the Le Monde Cabinet
strength point. Since 1998, the Iranians have been building a solid experience at this level (five out of seven participations), as they no longer have any contradictory opponents. Football players are regularly exported everywhere: to Holland, Portugal, Germany and even England.
The central joint – Hussein Kanani – Shojaei Khalilzadeh – is developing in the Qatari club from Al-Ahly. If the legendary Ali Daei (longtime international top scorer, before Cristiano Ronaldo set the record) is to retire, Iran must rely on Sardar Azmoun (41 goals in 65 caps), who has just recovered from an injury dating back in early October, as well as on Mahdi. Tarime (27 goals in 60 games), at Porto since 2020.
vulnerabilities. Iran often competes at the world level but rarely wins. Even at the Asian level, since their three successes in the Asian Nations Cup in 1968, 1972 and 1976, Iran have often been eliminated in the quarter-finals of this competition, in only one semi-final match in 2019. An epic still awaits.
Finally, the political climate surrounding the team — the players showed their support for the Iranian women before the match against Senegal by hiding their shirts under black jackets — is complex. The star Sardar Azmoun took a firm stand: I am not afraid of being eliminated. Shame on you for killing people so easily and long live the women of Iran. » Voices outside and inside the country called for Iran’s exclusion from the World Cup.
Cabinet rating (out of 5): 2. Winning the World Cup for the second time over the arch-enemy of America, after the 1998 Lyon match, will it be enough to judge Iran’s success in the World Cup? No, the Iranian national team must have more ambition, and after all, why not imagine them climbing into the last 16 behind the English and ahead of the Welsh and Americans?
Keep an eye on him.
Saman Quddus A skilled ball player, he alone embodies the diaspora within this Iranian selection. The former Amiens player was born and trained in Sweden, more precisely in Malmo, like Zlatan Ibrahimovic. At the age of 29, Ghoddos has only been selected since the summer of 2017 and has already signed up for… the Swedish selection. In January 2017, the Iranian-Swedish played two friendlies, not recognized by FIFA, with a goal against Slovakia.
Imagine Arsene… of Women, which launched in September political uprising After the death of the Iranian girl Mohsa Amini, 22, she is still officially banned from playing football matches. Regularly, as during the Persepolis FC match in 2018, some defy the ban by disguising themselves as men to thwart security.
In the same year, while trying to enter a stadium disguised as a man to watch a game of her favorite team, a young woman was arrested. She sets herself on fire After a few months, fearing imprisonment. His death prompted FIFA to direct Iran to finally open its stadiums to female spectators. The system allowed this in a few exceptional cases, including a match against Cambodia in 2019. But in March 2022, 2,000 women who had a ticket to a match against Lebanon were not allowed to attend.
a test
If you have decided to boycott… Picking rose petals, the tomb of the Persian poet Hafez or the extraordinary archaeological site in Persepolis, Iran is not short of treasures, but it is not recommended to go there in these troubled times. Iranian cinema is from a distance one of the most vibrant and interesting, and you can watch or re-watch the films of director Abbas Kiarostami, the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1997 with Cherry tasteor Asghar Farhadi’s film, the two-time winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
