LivescoreTime's up for Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Steven Alzate
Photo by: Masoud Akbari/Fars News Agency / CC BY 4.0
Two of professional football’s most divisive players have recently been relieved of international duty by their respective home country teams.
Brighton Hove & Albion teammates Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Steven Alzate will not be playing in the upcoming World Cup qualifying matches for Iran and Colombia, with the official line being that they both need to recuperate from recently sustained injuries.
2019 hasn’t been the best year for Jahanbakhsh
Attacker Alireza Jahanbakhsh really hasn’t had the best season so far in 2019, despite reaching an impressive high just last month. With football fans in two continents questioning if he’s actually any good or if he’s just been misused by Seagulls head coach, Graham Potter, the latest news comes as another blow for the once-promising 26-year-old.
Jahanbakhsh, who plays for one of the English Premier League’s most-liked teams, is notably absent from the Iranian squad as Wilmot's 23-man team tackle Cambodia and Bahrain without him. Even though he was pivotal in the Iranian national team’s 2-0 win against Hong Kong in September’s World Cup qualifier - Jahanbakhsh opened the game and skillfully set up Karim Ansarifard’s second goal for Iran - the poor form he’s displayed overall this year has kept him relegated to the sidelines.
There’s been some juicy Premier League action happening this term over in the UK, but Jahanbakhsh simply hasn’t been a part of it; however, he was waiting on the bench during Brighton’s shocking 4-0 loss at Manchester City prior to his international break. Since then, he’s been an (unused) substitute in Brighton’s recent games against Tottenham and Chelsea, but hasn’t played a game since Iran’s victory over Hong Kong.
It should come as no surprise then, that while the official line from Team Melli is that Jahanbakhsh needs to recover from the minor injury he sustained on international duty a few weeks ago, some Seagulls and Iran fans are of the opinion that he’s simply not living up to the potential he displayed during his run in Brighton’s Under-23 squad. And when you consider that he is yet to fully justify his record signing fee of £17 million, it’s easy to understand why some supporters have reached a negative conclusion about his absence.
Photo by: Madhi Zare/Fars News Agency / CC BY 4.0
Group C for Team Melli
Meanwhile, Team Melli are now firmly engaged in a Group C battle for a qualifying place in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, competing against Bahrain, Cambodia and Hong Kong. The winning team in each of the eight groups and the four top runners-up will advance to the Finals for the AFC Asian Cup China 2023, as well as the final round of qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup. Additionally, the next best 24 teams emerging from the second round of the joint tournament qualifiers will be pitted against each other for a place in the 12 remaining openings for the 24-team AFC Asian Cup China 2023.
At the time of going to press, Iran had yet to face Cambodia in a home game on Thursday 10th October and Bahrain in an away game on Tuesday 15th October, but the final team has been set as:
Strikers: Mehdi Taremi, Sardar Azmoun, Karim Ansarifard, Mohammad Mohebbi
Defenders: Ramin Rezaeian, Majid Hosseini, Mohammadhossein Kananizadegan, Siavash Yazdani, Milad Mohammadi, Mohammad Naderi, Morteza Pouraliganji, Morteza Manouri
Midfielders: Masoud Shojaei, Omid Ebrahimi, Ahmad Nourollahi, Ali Karimi, Ashkan Dejagah, Vahid Amiri, Ehsan Haji Safi, Mehrdad Mohammadi
Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand, Rashid Mazaheri, Payam Niazmand
It’s also bad news for Steven Alzate...
Additionally, Jahanbakhsh’s teammate, Steven Alzate, has been pulled from playing in the Colombian national squad while he receives treatment for his own minor injury. The versatile midfielder was originally due to play in Colombia’s under-23 squad during two friendly matches in Lima against Peru, however it has been confirmed that he will instead remain on UK shores to receive treatment for his injury.
Whatever treatment he receives is certain to impact on Alzate’s ability to play upcoming games with Brighton Hove & Albion, and even though the ink on his new Premier League contract is barely dry nobody seems to be overly concerned. Alzate sustained 88 minutes on the pitch during Albion’s 3-0 win over Spurs earlier in October before being called off, and provided the minor injury he sustained during that match is properly healed, Seagulls fans are bound to see a lot more of him.
It’s not all bad news on the international front, however. Gaetan Bong, the left-back who replaced Alzate in the Spurs game this month, has been called up to play for Cameroon during their upcoming friendly international against Tunisia.