Iran to defend WAFF title without star striker

AFC - Iran will start the defence of their WAFF Championship title against Jordan in Damascus, Syria, on Friday without highly rated striker Alireza Vahedinikbakht, who has been dropped from the squad for missing training.

Branko Ivankovic, the Iran coach, axed Vahedinikbakht after he skipped training following Iran's 1-0 win over Ukraine in a friendly last week. The striker had been due to have a trial match with Rayo Vallecano in Spain in the same week as the international and was disappointed that Ivankovic made him travel to Kiev.

According to a report on iranmania.com, Vahedinibakht trained with his club side Esteghlal instead of joining his national teammates ahead of their departure for Syria. The player and his club are hoping to revive his transfer to Rayo Vallecano.

His absence will hurt Iran's chances of retaining the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) title but they still start as favourites in the six-team tournament also featuring hosts Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. Iran qualified for the World Cup four years ago, following their debut in the finals in 1978, and their pedigree should see them through.

The majority of the teams in the competition play a limited amount of international matches due to instability in the region. However, Iraq, who played in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, will have been encouraged by their two recent victories over Syria in Baghdad.

Iran, Jordan and Lebanon are in Group A with Iraq, Syria and Palestine in Group B. The top teams in each group will compete in cross-over semi-finals with the final being played on September 7.