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Iran's boss calls up squad for Asian Cup

Iran Materials 22 December 2010 03:40 (UTC +04:00)

The head coach of Iranian football squad Afshin Ghotbi has called up 27 players for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup slated for January 2011 in Qatar, Press TV reported.

Iran is in Group D of the 2011 Asian Cup along with UAE, North Korea and defending champion Iraq, Mehr news agency reported.

He earlier said, "I am fully concentrated at the challenge ahead. I have worked over 20 months to build an exciting team, Iran can be proud of. This team has all the qualities to be the champion of Asia, and I am fully committed to make this dream a reality."

The former South Korea assistant coach signed a contract to lead Japan's Shimizu S-Pulse club as of February 2011 after the Asian Cup.

Goalkeepers are Mehdi Rahmati, Ebrahim Mirzapour, Alireza Haqiqi and Shahab Gordan.

In defensive Ghotbi picked Khosro Heidari, Pejman Montazeri, Hadi Aqili, Mohamamd Nosrati, Jalal Hosseini, Farshid Talebi, Ehsan Hajsafi and Abouzar Rahimi.

Midfielders are Javad Nekounam, Andranik Teymourian, Qasem Haddadifar, Pejman Nouri, Iman Mobali, Mehdi Kiani and Mohammad Nouri.

The 47-year old Ghotbi also selected Hadi Norouzi, Gholam Reza Rezaei, Masoud Shojaei, Karim Ansarifard, Arash Afshin, Mohamamd Gholami, Reza Norouzi and Mohammad Reza Khalatbari.

The White Jerseys will leave Tehran for Doha on December 24.

Team Melli is scheduled to take on Qatar in a preparatory match on December 28 and will hold another game with Qatar's second team a day later. Iran will also face Angola in a warm-up match on January 2.

The last time Iran won the continental showpiece was in 1976 when the country was hosting the event.

The AFC Asian Cup in Qatar runs from January 7-29.

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