Iran Name Squad For LG Cup

GOAL - In preparation for the upcoming LG Cup tournament in Tehran, Coach Branko Ivankovic and his staff announced the list of 23 players who are to participate in the Iranian national team’s training camp starting Monday, November 7.
The tournament will feature Paraguay, Togo and Macedonia, last-minute replacements for Romania, who withdraw last week.

The list includes Iran’s five Bundesliga representatives and defender Rahman Rezaei of Italian Serie A side, Messina.

The only two minor surprises are striker Reza Enayati of Esteghlal and defender Mohammad Nosrati of Pas.

Despite being the Iranian league’s leading scorer over the last few years, Enayati had been overlooked in the past.

Nosrati on the other hand has been a regular starter under Ivankovic; however, his weak performances with club and country had raised some questions regarding his status with the national team.

Goalkeeprs: Ebrahim Mirzapour, Mehdi Vaezi, Vahid Taleblou

Defenders: Rahman Rezaei, Yahya Golmohammadi, Mohamad Nosrati, Hamid Alizadeh, Hossein Kaebi, Mehdi Amirabadi, Sattar Zare

Midfielders: Javad Nekounam, Seyyed Mohammad Alavi, Anderanik Teymourian, Mehdi Rajabzadeh, Ali Karimi, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Moharam Navidkia, Freydoon Zandi, Mehrzad Madanchi

Strikers: Ali Daei, Arash Borhani, Vahid Hashemian, Reza Enayati

Furthermore, Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht, Mohsen Bengar, Masoud Shojaei, and Javad Kazemian have been placed on call in case any of the above 23 is unable to attend.

Afshin Afshar