Iran name 23-man squad for World Cup

Iran's national team have been coached for the past seven years by Portugal's Carlos Queiroz

Iran have announced their final 23-man line-up for the 2018 World Cup as they arrive in Russia with arguably their most accomplished squad ever and the wind in their sails after an unbeaten run through qualifiers.
Iran have some strong choices up front, including Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who became the first Iranian to top the scoring table of a major European league with 21 goals for Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.
There are also big hopes for 23-year-old striker Sardar Azmoun, who has racked up 23 goals for Iran since making his debut in 2014.
The only change to the line-up when it was finalised on Monday was the decision to drop 22-year-old winger Ali Gholizadeh, who has just signed with Belgium's Charleroi. Iran have an unprecedented number of players from international leagues this year, with 12 of the squad currently playing with European clubs.
Among them are Masoud Shojaei, 33, and Ehsan Haji Safi, 28. Iran's national team have been coached for the past seven years by Portugal's Carlos Queiroz, a former enforcer for Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and one-season boss at Real Madrid.
Queiroz has led Iran to their first back-to-back appearances at the World Cup, but will be hoping to improve on their winless appearance in Brazil.
But they face a tough group in the World Cup, with Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
Iran World Cup squad
Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand (Persepolis), Rashid Mazaheri (Zob Ahan), Amir Abedzadeh (Maritimo/POR)
Defenders: Majid Hosseini (Esteghlal), Milad Mohammadi (Akhmat Grozny/RUS), Mohammad Khanzadeh (Padideh), Morteza Pouraliganji (Alsaad/QAT), Pejman Montazeri (Esteghlal), Ramin Rezaeian (Ostende/BEL), Roozbeh Cheshmi (Esteghlal)
Midfielders: Saeid Ezatolahi (Amkar Perm/RUS), Ehsan Haji Safi (Olympiacos/GRE), Omid Ebrahimi (Esteghlal), Masoud Shojaei (AEK Athens/GRE), Ashkan Dejagah (Nottingham Forest/ENG)
Forwards: Alireza Jahanbakhsh (AZ Alkmaar/NED), Mahdi Taremi (Al-Gharafa/QAT), Saman Ghoddos (Ostersunds/SWE), Vahid Amiri (Persepolis), Mahdi Torabi (Saipa), Sardar Azmoun (Rubin Kazan/RUS), Karim Ansarifard (Olympiacos/GRE), Reza Ghoochannejhad (Heerenveen/NED).