Iran team roster for 2016 AFC U-23 Championship announced

PressTV – TEHRAN, Head coach of the national Iranian under-23 football team has announced the names on the roster of the squad, which is scheduled to attend the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship in Qatar later this month.

On Saturday, Mohammad Khakpour unveiled the names of the selected young athletes, and Mohammadreza Akhbari, Amir Abedzadeh and Ali Mohsenzadeh were picked as goalkeepers.

Mohammad Daneshgar, Mohammad Hossein Kan’anizadegan, Reza Aliyari, Saeb Mohebi, Vahid Heydarieh, Milad Mohammadi, Mohammad Hossein Moradmand, Ali Abdollahzadeh will join the Iranian outfit as defenders.

Rouzbeh Cheshmi will don the captain’s armband. Ali Karimi, Shahin Saghebi, Ehsan Pahlevan, Milad Kamandani, Mehdi Torabi, Farshid Esmaeili, Alireza Naghizadeh and Mahan Rahmani will be playing as midfielder.

Moreover, Khakpour has selected Amir Arsalan Motahari, Mehrdad Mohammadi and Mohsen Karimi to play as forwards in his team during the upcoming continental tournament.

The 2016 AFC U-23 Championship will be held in Qatar on January 12 through January 30. A total of 16 teams will play in the tournament.

Iran’s national under-23 soccer team is pitted against squads from China, Qatar and Syria in Group A.

While Japan, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Thailand play in Group B, Iraq, South Korea, Uzbekistan and Yemen form Group C. Australia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam are drawn in Group D.

The Iranian outfit is scheduled to face the Syrian side in its opening match at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in the Qatari capital city of Doha on January 12.

The top three teams of the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship will qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics men’s soccer tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.