I’m sure most of us are all aware how things escalated in the Middle East in 2026 and most recently with Saudi and Houthi (backed by Iran) getting into a full out war! Due to security reason's if things don’t calm down in 2 months it’s very likely it will be postponed! The good news is for us is that team meli right now is in shambles and having the tournament a year later could benefit us but that depends on Iran’s situation by then which this could be bad news… Cause the way it’s going the regime isn’t going anywhere which means Mehdi Taj isn’t going anywhere which means Amir Ghalenoei isn’t going anywhere and will select the exact same old players who will be a year even older when the AFC cup comes around ☠️!

Fast forward in the last 10 years (2016-2026)…. Sardar Azmoun was the only Iranian player to play in the Bundesliga! A few of the signings like Mehdi Mahdavikia, Ali Daei, Hashemian, Dejagah were major success! So why did the number of Iranian players in Germany tank in a space of a decade later?

I know the salary offered by the European teams was probably lower than what he wanted but it’s not like he’s getting paid millions in Iran… After that remarkable WC performance, a bit shocking he couldn’t even upgrade to a top Arabic league side in UAE, Saudi etc!

For me hands down Ashkan Dejagah (not even close) (he joined team meli at the age of 25 in 2012) but if we had him for the World Cup 2010 cycle we would have easily qualified… think about having Nekounam, M Shojae, Dejagah all in their prime together dam 🔥 what we missed out on…

Sardar played for Roma 2023-2024 season

Taremi played for Inter 2024-2025 season

Fast forward 2 years later their both playing in the UAE league which they aren’t even stat padding which is sad to see, their both aware their past their prime and took the pay day $$. WE MUST MOVE ON from both after the 2027 Asian cup! WE SHOULD NOT SEE A 33 year old Sardar and 35 year old Taremi leading the lines for the next World Cup cycle!

Did not check all the positions if everything is well covered on the pitch but with these guys we could be stronger!!! Why ? Why we can’t see them ???

If it wasn’t for Ramin.R playing like his life dependent on it back at the World Cup… we would have also lost to New Zealand and Egypt… Amir G , and the entire federation needs a reform (which probably won’t happen) our great star players of the past like Sardar, Taremi etc are so past their prime.. Allahyar and Javad not getting called up anytime soon… our U23 players would probably put a better display than this but not by much as even they are doing poorly lately… it’s not looking good for us on and off the pitch…

Completely embarrassing display again against Russia. Ghalenoi out, terrible tactics, terrible man management, terrible team selection. Why tf is Shahab Zahedi who’s 31 and played on ever game for TM while playing in Malaysia getting called up and play time while the likes of Allahyar (sure there’s drama around him), Hosseinnejad, etc getting called up.

Why is Zare not getting play time to get some experience. Why the fuck am I watching 37 yo Khalilzadeh still out there.

If we go with this coaching staff to the Asia cup we’re going to get absolutely embarrassed.

Allahyar which we all know in this sub, a 25-year-old footballer who plays for the Polish champions, Lech Poznań! While being one of the most promising footballers for Iran right now, he never gets invited to play for the national team simply for supporting the people.

Back in 2022 (his post is still up), he posted a tattoo of the Statue of Liberty with the Mahsa Amini #WomanLifeFreedom . Most recently, in January 2026, at the peak of the protests on January 8th and 9th, when Reza Pahlavi told Iranians to take to the streets, Sayyadmanesh posted a picture on his story of himself lifting his shorts, showing the Iranian flag with the Faravahar symbol in the middle and “Shah-e Shah” written below it. Which we all know what he’s trying to hint!

Some people pointed out that he supports Reza Pahlavi because he liked a few of his posts. He has never publicly supported him doh! (we all know the IR regime doesn’t play games) And they don’t care about our team winning… the only way Allahyar plays for team meli again is if the regime falls or Allahyar apologizes to the regime!

I'm curious as a non-Iranian. Has funding for clubs remained intact? Is their safety ensured? Seems it hasn't been cancelled or anything.

Iran’s U17 beat Germany’s U17 4-0 that year ☠️ And Iran made it all the way to the QF until Spain knocked them out! With the proper investment.. we can go places!

If a fairly unknown goalkeeper in Iran (with all due respect to Nima) can land a European move… I can’t see why so many other better/more known Iranian players can’t land small European clubs! All they need is to accept lower pay and to get out of their comfort zone and it could pay off like Azmoun who started in the freezing Russia playing for Rubin Kazan. To my knowledge ONLY one Iranian jumped from Asia to a gigantic european club and that was Ali Karimi (from UAE to Bayern Munich!)

Here are some thoughts i had while bored and in class-- asked AI to turn my doodles and ideas into something presentable. Think it could be interesting to add some more of our amazing culture onto our otherwise plain kits. Thought I'd share.

The main idea of each was to use a different aspect of Iran as a centerpiece, with a different rug design as the sleeve. It is kind of busy but I do think it is quite nice to look at. (pardon the incorrect number on the Ramin slide!)

Leave football before football leaves you… who would have guessed Ehsan Hajsafi could be the FIRST Iranian player in history to PLAY AT 6 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS. He played the 2010,2014,2018,2022,2026 qualifiers and with Amir G at the realm.. it looks like he will play at least a few games for the 2030 qualifiers..

Just sad… we all know even if we lose vs Russia next week.. this corrupt federation still won’t sack AmirG… The team was awful! Don't know how we go from conceding 0 past Belgium to 3 against Uzbekistan. I know it’s a friendly but both sides had a lot of their regular starters!

Blindly crosses in front of his own goal and gifts a goal to Eldor.

Play the young kids

How does this crazy drop off even happen in the space of a few years..??

Bums.

Everyone from the coaching staff to the players.

I guess Ghalenoi was right to not invite these guys. They can't even handle the pressure of a low stake tournament, let alone a world cup.

Allahyar who is our best player in Europe has once again been left out of team Meli. NOW AmirG staff said to the media that it’s because of Allahyar‘s attitude and behaviour! But as many of us think it’s for political reasons… this could prove it. Allahyar today went on the much loved Adel Ferdoaipour channel (Adel is a famous football host, a bit political cause of his story) Nonetheless Allahyar laughed off the news and said the last thing about me should be my behaviour as he never ONCE had any issues with any coaches over the years. He also says that this coach (Amir G) has been the coach for 4 years and hasn’t even invited me once or twice! He says he respects Amir G choice and wishes the team meli the best!

The last time Allahyar was called up was 2022… Allahyar constantly plays and starts for the team’s he plays when he was at Belgium and right now in Poland… no issues there and how on earth could it be for behavioural issues if Allahyar has never been invited to play under AmirG even once for AmirG claim to make sense… This could be actually over political reasons!
God help us… In a time we’re Sardar and Taremi are washed we really needed a new gem in the team!

I know Javad and Ghayedi aren’t in their best form but they’re both in their 20s and have talent (would be great bench options) and Allahyar should be literally the present and future of team meli! Side note AJ and Saman Ghoddos we’re also left out because of injury and not because Amir G wants to move on from players that are mid 30s...