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**a_m** · 10-26-2025, 10:13 PM

At this moment in time no team ranked in the top 20 will come to Iran to play a friendly game,

also Iran is kinda not going to be able to go to the USA to play any friendly games either until the World Cup starts ,,,

but it doesn’t mean teams in the top 20 are not interested in playing Iran ….

in the current window , we played against Russia and Tanzania ,,,

Oct 14 we played against Tanzania ,,

we had the opportunity to play against Argentina on Oct 14th but AG turned it DOWN …

so Argentina played against

Puerto Rico 0 Argentina 6

and they won easily …

Chile also wanted to play Us , but we turned in down as well …..

they only ppl you have to blame for this is the coaching staff

look at the futsal team they play in tournaments all around the world against the biggest teams cause the coaching staff is willing to accept these friendly games .. win or lose

to be realistic one expects Iran to beat Argentina anyway so a game against them will be more a challenge and learn experience for US then them …

we gain nothing from playing Tanzania nothing

**Nokhodi** · 10-27-2025, 06:36 AM

Originally posted by a_m View Post

At this moment in time no team ranked in the top 20 will come to Iran to play a friendly game,

also Iran is kinda not going to be able to go to the USA to play any friendly games either until the World Cup starts ,,,

but it doesn’t mean teams in the top 20 are not interested in playing Iran ….

in the current window , we played against Russia and Tanzania ,,,

Oct 14 we played against Tanzania ,,

we had the opportunity to play against Argentina on Oct 14th but AG turned it DOWN …

so Argentina played against

Puerto Rico 0 Argentina 6

and they won easily …

Chile also wanted to play Us , but we turned in down as well …..

they only ppl you have to blame for this is the coaching staff

look at the futsal team they play in tournaments all around the world against the biggest teams cause the coaching staff is willing to accept these friendly games .. win or lose

to be realistic one expects Iran to beat Argentina anyway so a game against them will be more a challenge and learn experience for US then them …

we gain nothing from playing Tanzania nothing

Playing against Argentina is a big waste of money.
They demand $6million per game, and even more if you want Messi to play!
They don't even take the games seriously.
We're better off playing teams in the 20-40 range.

**Keano** · 10-27-2025, 10:05 AM

Originally posted by a_m View Post

At this moment in time no team ranked in the top 20 will come to Iran to play a friendly game,

also Iran is kinda not going to be able to go to the USA to play any friendly games either until the World Cup starts ,,,

but it doesn’t mean teams in the top 20 are not interested in playing Iran ….

in the current window , we played against Russia and Tanzania ,,,

Oct 14 we played against Tanzania ,,

we had the opportunity to play against Argentina on Oct 14th but AG turned it DOWN …

so Argentina played against

Puerto Rico 0 Argentina 6

and they won easily …

Chile also wanted to play Us , but we turned in down as well …..

they only ppl you have to blame for this is the coaching staff

look at the futsal team they play in tournaments all around the world against the biggest teams cause the coaching staff is willing to accept these friendly games .. win or lose

to be realistic one expects Iran to beat Argentina anyway so a game against them will be more a challenge and learn experience for US then them …

we gain nothing from playing Tanzania nothing

GN wants to play either powerhouses or real weak teams. He hates playing team that are somewhat on the same level as TM, because he knows he can win against the weak teams, and losing against powerhouses like Argentina will not bear lots of resentments, as the loss is somewhat expected. But he knows if he loses to teams like Chile, Korea, Japan, all hell will break loose.

**Rooyintan** · 10-27-2025, 06:35 PM

Originally posted by a_m View Post

At this moment in time no team ranked in the top 20 will come to Iran to play a friendly game,

we had the opportunity to play against Argentina on Oct 14th but AG turned it DOWN …

Chile also wanted to play Us , but we turned in down as well …..

they only ppl you have to blame for this is the coaching staff

we gain nothing from playing Tanzania nothing

Well, the list of matches I had posted in this thread clearly showed that only two Top 20 teams faced Team Melli in Iran, they were Germany(13) and Paraguay(16). Those were the times, when at least in Football, there was just a little Global anti-Iran sentiment.

At times, Team Melli was in Top 20 and ended up hosting teams with very low ranking with some below 100! Nowadays, teams below 100 such as Kuwait, Tanzania refuse to come to Iran.

Argentina match was turned down because they asked for 6 million dollars.

Chile was not turned down by Team Melli's coaching staff. It was turned down by Chile's Football Federation citing safety concerns since they got worried because of June 2025 Iran-Israel War which could resume anytime.

I understand that fans are frustrated with Team Melli playing low ranked teams such as Tanzania, Afghanistan, India, Tajikistan. But honestly ranking does not really reflect the true strength of teams. I truly believe Tajikistan who reached quarter finals of 2023 Asian Cup, its real strength is ranking in 70s not 100s, while 80s for Tanzania. Team Melli's real strength is 50s ranking not 20s.

The organizers of CAFA made a huge mistake of having the tournament the year before the World Cup and with 2 years interval. The tournament to be useful should be held every 4 years and not before the World Cup. Last time before Asia Cup was fine, but Iranian fans, former players and media just seem to be irrational they complained then as well. CAFA needs World-known sponsors. LG Cup really benefited many teams, such a pity that LG no longer sponsors football tournaments. The invitees should be non-AFC members. CAFA tournament is ideal for bench players, young players and new players. It is the coaching staff fault who are reluctant to field such players, the match with Afghanistan they did but other matches they tried to rely on Taremi, Jahanbakhsh, Ghoddos, etc.

Matches against Tanzania, Nicaragua, etc is worthwhile for bench players, young players and new players but it does not make sense to field Team Melli's best available players for such matches.

From Europe, if FFIRI fails to organize matches with likes of Croatia, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium.

The ideal alternatives would be Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Slovakia, Albania, Kosovo, Turkiye, Hungary, Poland who are in good positions in their World Cup qualification groups and FIFA ranking should be ignored. However, the problem would be the playoff stage which would make those teams unavailable.

Then the best options would be 3 placed teams in groups likes of Serbia, Georgia, Romania, Slovenia, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, etc or find available South American or Central American teams.

Team Melli has never faced Colombia, I don't understand why it never happend? Is it Colombia who is reluctant to play Team Melli or is it Iran who is reluctant to face Colombia?

**Rooyintan** · 10-28-2025, 04:16 PM

Observations regarding match opponents who played Team Melli in friendlies and friendly tournaments in Iran

Best rankings

1. Germany(13) - 2004
2. Paraguay(16) - 2002 LG
3. Costa Rica(25) - 2006
4. Egypt(32) - 2000 LG
5. Jamaica(33) - 1998 LG
6. Russia(37) - 2023
7. Kuwait(43) - 1998
8. Iraq(45) - 2004 WAFF
9. Slovakia(47) - 2002
10. Togo(49) - 2005 Tehran International Tournament

Worst rankings

1. Mauritania(202) - 2012
2. Palestine(172) - 2008 WAFF
3. Palestine(162) - 2011
4. Nicaragua(142) - 2022
5. Turkmenistan(141) - 1996
6. Madagascar(138) - 2011 and Azerbaijan(138) - 2008
7. Tajikistan(136) - 2012
8. Iraq(122) - 2017
9. Togo(121) - 2017
10. Azerbaijan(117) - 2002

Most matches

5 - Syria (2004 x 2, 2008, 2019, 2021)

3 - Azerbaijan (2002, 2005, 2008), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2001, 2005, 2006), Iraq(2003, 2004, 2017), Kenya(1997, 2009, 2023), Macedonia (2000, 2005, 2009)

2 - China(2001, 2009), Costa Rica(2006, 2008), Jamaica(1998, 2007), Palestine (2008, 2011), Qatar(1996, 2008), Togo(2005, 2018)

**IRAN_TILL_I_DIE** · 10-31-2025, 09:14 AM

It doesnt look like youth will be given a chance so after the WC we need a long list of retirees:
All of these players are 30+

Khalilzadeh
Milmo
Ghoddos
Jahanbakhsh
Nemati
Beirnvand
Rezaeian
Taremi
Kanaani
Moghanlou
Cheshmi
Alipour
Pouraliganji
Azmoun

Then we have 4 years to build a new squad for the next WC

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Team Melli matches in friendlies and friendly tournaments hosted including rankings

Team Melli matches in friendlies and friendly tournaments hosted including rankings

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