World Cup Asian qualifiers:
Iran names squad for double dead rubbers
Iran head coach Amir Qalenoei named the 28-man squad for the upcoming double-header against Qatar and North Korea at the World Cup Asian qualifiers.
Iran sits atop the Group A table with 20 points, three clear of second-placed Uzbekistan and seven above the United Arab Emirates with two games to spare.
A 2-2 home draw against Uzbekistan last time out in March guaranteed a top-two finish in the group for Team Melli and direct qualification for next year’s finals in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Iran will play away to Qatar in Doha’s Jassim bin Hamad Stadium on Thursday, before concluding the qualifiers against bottom-side North Korea at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium next Tuesday.
Fourth in the group with 10 points, Qatar, which will have Spaniard Julen Lopetegui as the new head coach, will be desperate to collect all points on the home turf, which will keep the reigning Asian champion in contention with a third-place finish and a place in the final group phase of the qualifiers.
Qatar is the last team to have beaten Iran in a competitive game – a 3-2 victory in the Asian Cup semifinals in February 2024 – though Al Annabi was hammered 4-1 when the two sides met in the qualifiers in Dubai last October.
Shabab Al Ahli striker Sardar Azmoun is ruled of the upcoming fixtures with an injury, with Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh and Ali Alipour – the top two leading marksmen in the newly-finished Iranian top-flight season – joining Inter striker Mahdi Taremi and Ittihad Kalba’s Shahriar Moghanlou in the Iranian frontline.
Injured winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh will also miss the games, making way for Sepahan’s Mohammad-Mehdi Mohebbi, who will hope to make his senior international debut after bagging nine goals and 10 assists in 37 appearances across all club competitions.
Wizard winger Mahdi Qayedi will also aim to bring his impressive club form to international duty, having contributed with six strikes and double assists in five UAE Pro League outings for Ittihad Kalba.
Right-back Sadeq Moharrami, who is set to join Sepahan as a free agent from Dynamo Zagreb, has received a first call-up by Qalenoei in 16 months, having recovered from a torn ligament injury he suffered against the UAE at the Asian Cup.
The following is the full Iranian squad:
Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand (Tractor), Payam Niazmand (Persepolis), Seyyed Hossein Hosseini (Esteghlal), Mohammad Khalifeh (Iralco)
Defenders: Shoja Khalilzadeh (Tractor), Aref Aqasi (Tractor), Morteza Pouraliganji (Persepolis), Milad Mohammadi (Persepolis), Ali Ne’mati (Foolad Khuzestan), Mohammad-Amin Hazbavi (Sepahan), Saleh Hardani (Esteghlal), Sadeq Moharrami (-), Omid Nourafkan (Sepahan)
Midfielders: Arya Yousefi (Sepahan), Saeed Ezzatollahi (Shabab Al Ahli), Mohammad Karimi (Sepahan), Mohammad Qorbani (Al Wahda), Amirmohammad Razzaqnia (Golgohar Sirjan), Rouzbeh Cheshmi (Esteghlal), Mohammad-Javad Hosseinnejad (Dinamo Makhachkala), Mohammad-Mahdi Mohebbi (Sepahan), Saman Qoddous (Ittihad Kalba), Mahdi Qayedi (Ittihad Kalba), Mahdi Hasehmnejad (Tractor)
Strikers: Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh (Tractor), Mahdi Taremi (Internazionale), Ali Alipour (Persepolis), Shahriar Moghanlou (Ittihad Kalba).