Both matches will be held in Tehran's Azadi stadium. Iran has to at least finish second in their Asian Cup qualification group, which also includes Thailand and Jordan, to qualify for the 2011 finals in Qatar. Iran will play their second qualifier in Thailand exactly two weeks after hosting Singapore.
Noteable is the absence of Mehdi Mahdavikia and Ferydoon Zandi. Probably Mahdavikia was granted to stay with his club Eintracht Frankfurt, where he seems to be close to earning a spot in the starting lineup after strong performances shortly before the winter break. Zandi just recently returned to action after an injury.
Fulham's Andranik Teymourian still has not fully recovered from a knee injury he suffered in autumn.
The other three European based players will not be availabe for the friendly match against China on January 9, but for the Singapore game on January 14 which is an official FIFA matchday.
The only invited UAE based player, Mehrzad Madanchi of Al Nasr, will also be present for the China match.
Below comes the roster.
Goalkeepers: Mehdi Rahmati, Vahid Talebloo, Rahman Ahmadi
Defenders: Jalal Hosseini, Hadi Aghili, Mohsen Bengar, Pirouz Ghorbani, Hossein Kaebi, Majid Gholamnejad, Sattar Zare, Hassan Ashjari
Midfielders: Javad Nekounam, Maziar Zare, Kianoush Rahmati, Karim Bagheri, Mohammad Nouri, Meysam Baou, Masoud Shojaei, Khosro Heydari, Mohammadreza Khalatbari, Ehsan Hajsafi, Mehrzad Madanchi
Strikers: Vahid Hashemian, Gholamreza Rezaei, Mehdi Seyed Salahi, Arash Borhani