2,744 views

Persianfootball.com – TEHRAN, There were barely any surprises, as Iran boss Carlos Queiroz announced his 35-man squad, which will be trimmed to 23 for the World Cup, on Sunday.

Perhaps the only eyebrow-raising decisions were to drop last World Cup’s number one goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi from the squad and the comeback of MLS right-back Steven Beitashour.

Haghighi had joined GIF Sundsvall after a great season with another Swedish team, Eskilstuna, but failed to play a single match there in 2018.

31-year-old Beitashour of Los Angeles FC has been capped six times for Iran so far and was part of the 2014 World Cup squad. However, the defender neither played a single minute in Brazil nor has been called up to the national team since then.

Also in the squad are injured veteran playmakers Ashkan Dejagah and Masoud Shojaei, who both are uncertain to regain fitness on time. Defensive midfielder Saeid Ezatollahi, despite being suspended for the opener against Morocco, made the list as well.

Below comes the 35-man roster.

Goalkeepers:

Alireza Beiranvand – Persepolis

Rashid Mazaheri – Zob Ahan

Amir Abedzadeh – Maritimo, POR

Hossein Hosseini – Esteghlal

Defenders:

Ramin Rezaeian – Oostende, BEL

Vouria Gafouri – Esteghlal

Steven Beitashour – Los Angeles FC, USA

Seyed Jalal Hosseini – Persepolis

Morteza Pouraliganji – Al Sadd, QAT

Pejman Montazeri – Esteghlal

Mohammad-Reza Khanzadeh – Padideh

Rouzbeh Cheshmi – Esteghlal

Majid Hosseini – Esteghlal

Mohammad Ansari – Persepolis

Milad Mohammadi – FC Akhmat, RUS

Saeid Aghaei – Sepahan

Omid Nourafkan – Esteghlal

Midfielders:

Saeid Ezatollahi – Amkar, RUS

Ehsan Hajsafi – Olympiacos, GRE

Omid Ebrahimi – Esteghlal

Ali Karimi – Sepahan

Ahmad Abdollahzadeh – Foolad

Masoud Shojaei – AEK Athens, GRE

Ashkan Dejagah – Nottingham Forest, ENG

Soroush Rafiei – Al Khor, QAT

Wingers:

Alireza Jahanbakhsh – AZ Alkmaar, NED

Mehdi Taremi – Al Gharaffa, QAT

Saman Ghoddos – Oestersunds, SWE

Vahid Amiri – Persepolis

Mehdi Torabi – Saipa

Ali Gholizadeh – Saipa

Strikers:

Sadar Azmoun – Rubin Kazan, RUS

Karim Ansarifard – Olympiacos, GRE

Reza Ghoochannejhad – Heerenveen, NED

Kaveh Rezaei – Charleroi, BEL