Iran U23 names squad for Kyrgyzstan tournament
Iran’s under-23 head coach Omid Ravankhah named a 23-man squad for the four-team friendly tournament in Kyrgyzstan in the upcoming international break.
Iran will get the tournament underway against Russia on Wednesday, before facing Kyrgyzstan (Nov. 15) and Bahrain (Nov. 18), respectively.
The event will be part of Iran’s preparation for the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup, which will start on January 6 in Saudi Arabia.
On his debut on Iran’s bench, Ravankhah guided his team to an impressive first-place finish in Group I of the Asian Cup qualifiers in September – thanks to a clean sweep of three victories against Hong Kong (4-0), Guam (6-0), and the United Arab Emirates (3-2) in Abu Dhabi.
Iran has been drawn in Group C of the finals alongside Uzbekistan – last year’s runner-up – 2020 champion South Korea, and Lebanon.
Team Melli will face South Korea in the group opener on January 7, followed by games against Uzbekistan (Jan. 10) and Lebanon (Jan. 13).
The following is Iran’s full squad for the visit to Kyrgyzstan:
Goalkeepers: Mohammad Khalifeh (Iralco), Amir-Mahdi Maqsoudi (Sepahan), Omid Amiri (Nassaji Mazandaran)
Defenders: Mohammad-Mahdi Zare’ (Akhmat Grozny), Danial Eiri (Malavan FC), Masoud Mohebbi (Khaybar FC), Arshia Vosouqifard (Fajr Sepasi), Farzin Mo’amelegari (Shams Azar), Seyyed Mahdi Mahdavi (Iralco), Bahram Goudarzi (Iralco)
Midfielders: Amir-Mohammad Razzaqinia (Esteghlal), Abbas Habibi (Malavan FC), Mohammad-Javad Hosseinnejad (Dynamo Makhachkala), Mahdi Jafari (Malavan), Hamidreza Zarouni (Khaybar), Alireza Safari (Chadormalou), Arya Shafidoust (Sepahan)
Strikers: Saeid Saharkhizan (Esteghlal), Hojjat Ahmadi (Esteghlal Khuzestan), Mohammad-Hossein Sadeqi (Persepolis), Erfan Jamshidi (Paykan), Afshin Sadeqi (Paykan), Arash Mortazavi (Zob Ahan).