Preview : Iran Vs Malaysia

Persopress- The Iranian side will play group minnows Malaysia tomorrow to determine if they can come out of their group 1st place or not. Team Melli has had many rumors, problems, and successes in the past 2 days that many have been uninformed of. Iran has 5 yellow cards that could make a difference in Iran's game, Mahdavikia, Andranik, Nekounam, Rezaei and Madanchi all have been handed yellow cards and have to be cautious not to get another card against Malaysia. Team Melli fans were thinking that Ghalenoi would probably use most the subs as we do not want anyone to get injured or benched because of a red card in the quarters but it is not so. Iran will come out with full force to destroy Malaysia so we are insured a 1st place spot in our group. Becoming 1st place does not only guarantee a game with a possible Indonesia or Bahrain, and even in the Semis we will play the winner of Iraq and Vietnam, but also guarantees staying in Malaysia for the quarterfinals. Traveling would be very difficult for Iran as they have gotten used to the weather and hotel in Kuala Lampur. On the other hand if we become second we would play Saudi Arabia and if we win that game we would have player the winner of the Australia Japan game whihc would make things a lot harder for Team Melli putting besides that point that we would have to travel to different places for each game. It would be to Iran's benefit that Uzbekistan wins or ties China in case Iran is not able to score more than 5 goals against Malaysia to insure the 1st place spot.

There have been many rumors about Ali Karimi, about how mad he got since he had been subbed out at the half. The truth is he was mad and after the game he was the first one on the bus and the first one in the his hotel room not even staying with the players in the hotel lobby. Possible rumors that Karimi was even willing to come back to Tehran because of how he was treated was in the news. The whole team realized that Karimi was in a bad state and Ghalenoi decided to call on Jalali and Fazeli two close people to Karimi to talk to him about what had happened and try to calm him down. After this talk Karimi felt somewhat better and was now talking and playing with the team rather than listening to his Ipod. The game against Malaysia will be huge for Karimi as Karimi's game is built upon confidence in himself and if he can prove himself in the Malaysia game we can be sure that he will do great against the rest of our opponents.

In a press conference today Karimi was asked why he does not do dribbling and individual talent as much as before and he replied he wanted to be team player but he is willing to show his individual skills only when he has the opportunity, Ghalenoi also stated that Iran likes to play a team game but should allow individual skills to shine in our game against Malaysia.

Nosrati has been identified as an option for him to play against Malaysia as he has been injured for the Asian Cup but slowly he has come back and has trained with Team Melli but in case he is not capable of playing, Sadeghi is also available as news has came in that the rumors of him being kicked of the team was not true and he did practice with the team today. There won't be much pressure on Iran's defense as Malaysia's coach has announced they are going to play a very defensive game. “We have to expect that the Iran side will be going all out against us. Our approach will therefore have to be a defensive one tomorrow." Coach Norizan's plan is to allow the least goals so that they could leave the Asian Cup with a small amount of respect. “Everyone is expecting Iran to win, so we have to be realistic. They need a big win and so therefore we have to try and stop them doing that by limiting the number of goals they score.”
These ideas will only help Iran as we saw in the China match Iran scored two goals in the second half when China suddenly started playing a defensive game after they were up two.

So many options come for Ghalenoi that it will be hard to decide which player he can put in against Malaysia but one player that has given Ghalenoi a chance to take another look at is Mobali. After he was subbed in for Karimi in the China game he play very well. Efficient passing, nice crosses, and an amazing shot only to be deflected by the goalies hands gives Mobali the upper hand over some players in playing at tomorrow's game. Mobali does not have to be put in the game instead of Karimi since Ghalenoi will most probably play a 4 man midfield giving him the option to put Karimi and Mobali in at the same time.

Hashemian, Nekounam, Mahdavikia, and an impressive Zandi will probably play while there may be some doubts for Teymourian even though he is not suspended. Rezaie and Hosseini are as our defensive are a must as they are the top defensive players we have. We are uncertain if Kaebi will play but chances are very slim for start but he may be subbed. Kazemian's play against China was not so impressive and he may not be even played for the whole match as Iran will probably not need a speed boost in this match. Enayati on the other hand, noted by many fans as Ghalenoi's favorite from Esteghlal will probably play as a left forward again even though he not showed anything significant in any of our matches. He may though be effective in the match against Malaysia as he has known to be able to finish very well against weak teams, but if not then we hope that Ghalenoi will bench him for the rest of the Asian Cup unless Hashemian gets injured in which then Enayati can play his actual position for Team Melli. As for formations rumors have been in that Iran will play a possible 3-4-3 formation seeking a full attack against Malaysia. This will hopefully give the chance for Mahdavikia to shine as he has not been playing his best in a defensive role in which Ghalenoi has put him in.

Team Melli is due to play at 20.35 Local time on July18, 2007. The time converts are as listed:

Different Time Zones:
20.35 Local Time
16.05 Tehran Time
16.35 Dubai Time
14.35 CET (Berlin, Amsterdam)
13.35 London Time
08.35 AM Eastern Time
07.35 AM Central Time
05.35 AM Pacific Time
22.35 Melbourne Time