Azmoun out as Iran names squad for Bulgaria, Angola friendlies
Iranian striker Sardar Azmoun will miss the upcoming friendly matches against Bulgaria and Angola as he continues his rehabilitation with his new club AS Roma.
Azmoun joined the Italian top-flight side from Bayer Leverkusen on a season-long loan deal last week but was ruled out of Friday’s 2-1 home defeat against Milan in Serie A due to an injury he suffered during his time with the Bundesliga outfit.
Iran head coach Amir Qalenoei named 24 players for the two games in September’s international break, with Persepolis center-back Hossein Kan’anizadegan also absent in the list for disciplinary reasons in the aftermath of a red card he was shown during the CAFA Nations Cup final victory over Uzbekistan in June.
Injured Kayserispor defender Majid Hosseini will also miss the two games.
Iran will play away to Bulgaria at the Hristo Botev Stadium in Plovdiv on Thursday, five days before hosting Angola in Tehran.
Ranked 77th in the latest FIFA Ranking, Bulgaria is fourth in Group G of the Euro 2024 qualifiers with two points after four rounds of matches and shared the spoils with Serbia in a 1-1 draw at home last time out in June.
Angola, No. 116 in the world, was last in action in July’s COSAFA Cup – featuring Southern African national teams – and failed to progress beyond the group stage.
AEK Athens fullback Milad Mohammadi received a first international call-up since last year’s World Cup, while Sepahan striker Shahriyar Moghanlou and Saman Qoddous, who re-signed for Premier League side Brentford, are also back in the team after missing the CAFA tournament.
Qalenoei, who replaced Portuguese Carlos Queiroz after the World Cup, is tasked with steering his team in January’s AFC Asian Cup in Qatar, where the three-time champion will be chasing a first trophy since 1976.
Iran is drawn alongside the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and Palestine in Group C of the continent’s flagship international event.
The following is the full Iran squad:
Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand (Persepolis), Payam Niazmand (Sepahan), Mohammadreza Akhbari (Golgohar Sirjan)
Defenders: Ehsan Hajsafi (AEK Athens), Milad Mohammadi (AEK Athens), Ramin Rezaeian (Sepahan), Sadeq Moharrami (Dinamo Zagreb), Morteza Pouraliganji (Persepolis), Mohammad Daneshgar (Sepahan), Rouzbeh Cheshmi (Esteghlal), Mohammad-Hossein Moradmand (Esteghlal)
Midfielders: Ali Karimi (Kayserispor), Milad Sarlak (Persepolis), Saeed Ezzatollahi (Vejle BK), Alireza Alizadeh (Golgohar Sirjan), Saman Qoddous (Brentford), Ahmad Nourollahi (Al Wahda), Vahid Amiri (Persepolis), Mohammad Mohebbi (FC Rostov), Mehdi Torabi (Persepolis), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Feyenoord)
Strikers: Mehdi Taremi (Porto), Reza Asadi (Sepahan), Shahriyar Moghanlou (Sepahan).