Update: Iran announce preliminary Asian Cup squad

* This article was updated according to the latest confirmed information from the Iranian football federation (IFF).

Persianfootball.com – TEHRAN, Iran boss Carlos Queiroz named a 21-man-squad for the AFC Asian Cup in Australia next month, with two slots being held open.

There is still some confusion about Pejman Montazeri’s situation, as he will most likely miss out on most of the tournament, but could theoretically still make it for the knockout stage. It’s not unlikely that likewise to Hashem Beikzadeh’s situation ahead of World Cup, Queiroz will wait until the very last moment before deciding on whether to include the defender or not, although latest reports suggest the Umm Salal defender’s injury, which he sustained in the final league match before the Asian Cup, is definitely ruling the 31-year-old out.

Also right-back Khosro Heydari is injured, but since he is likely to recover before the last group match, he is, at least temporarily, included.

In comparison to the World Cup squad, Rahman Ahmadi, Daniel Davari, Ahmad Alenemeh, Hossein Mahini, Mehrdad Pouladi, Steven Beitashour, Reza Haghighi, Ghasem Hadadifar and Bakhtiar Rahmani were dropped. While Rahmani is injured, Mahini and Pouladi were suspended due to irregularities in regards to military service.

On the other hand, Mohsen Forouzan, Alireza Beiranvand, Vouria Ghafouri, Ramin Rezaeian, Morteza Pouraliganji, Omid Ebrahimi, Vahid Amiri and Sardar Azmoun were added to the squad.

The final squad has to be submitted to AFC by December 30.

Iran will meet Bahrain (January 11), Qatar (January 15) and the UAE (January 19) in group C of the Asian Cup.

Below comes the full list for the Asian Cup.

Goalkeepers:
Alireza Haghighi (Penafiel, POR)
Mohsen Forouzan (Esteghlal)
Alireza Beiranvand (Naft Tehran)

Defenders:
Khosro Heydari (Esteghlal)
Vouria Ghafouri (Sepahan)
Ramin Rezaeian (Rah Ahan)
Jalal Hosseini (Al Ahli, QAT)
Amir-Hossein Sadeghi (Esteghlal)
Morteza Pouraliganji (Naft Tehran)
Ehsan Hajsafi (Sepahan)
Hashem Beikzadeh (Esteghlal)

Midfielders:
Javad Nekounam (Osasuna, ESP)
Andranik Teymourian (Esteghlal)
Omid Ebrahimi (Esteghlal)
Vahid Amiri (Naft Tehran)

Strikers:
Alireza Jahanbakhsh (NEC Nijmegen, HOL)
Ashkan Dejagah (Al Arabi, QAT)
Sardar Azmoun (Rubin Kazan, RUS)
Reza Ghoochannejhad (Kuwait SC, KUW)
Karim Ansarifard (Osasuna, ESP)
Masoud Shojaei (Al Shahaniya, QAT)