Iranian football federation FFIRI has announced the name of 20 players for the upcoming Asian Games in Incheon. The squad will be coached by the Portuguese Nelo Vingada and shall start camp from Monday while players will be taking breaks to return to their clubs.

There are some prominent names missing from the list , including Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Sardar Azmoun, both of who are playing in European teams and their release seem to be too difficult for the federation to even attempt. However, Payam Sadeghian , suspended for three months, yet again misses a major tournament as he is excluded from the list.

Those missing , will be replaced by some young stars on the rise. Sepahan duo Mehdi Sharifi and Ali Karimi , head the list of names that have already impressed in the league with their clubs with Sharifi already opening his scoring this season against Esteghlal. Mohsen Mosalman, Mohammadreza Khanzadeh and Yaghoub Karimi all players of Team Melli will enhance the quality of the team , while Kaveh Rezaei is expected to shine again with his prolific scoring records in many Team Melli ages levels.

 Although , 23 players are allowed to be named for major football tournaments, it is not clear why the federation has 3 less players. Their official website did not provide any explanation. This will of course mean that the door could open up for 3 additional players.

 Iran , will be one of the contenders for the Asian Games 2014 football Gold Medal along with the favorites South Korea. While the team will be aiming for glory in Incheon , the priority by the federation remains to be the qualification to the Rio Olympics 2014 football tournament.

The squad has been quite active recently with practice matches in Jordan and Armenia. With the team having issues with clubs releasing players , so far the Portuguese coach has been unable to field the same line up for two consecutive matches. This period of training camp is expected to be much more stable and the majority of the players available for him to work with.

List of Asian Games 2014 squad players