Tag: Alireza Jahanbakhsh

15/02/2015

New Omid Team list announced

The Football federation announced the name of the new Omid Team that will set up camp in Kish Island as part of the long-term program. The team will be participating on several tournaments with the ultimate goal of qualifying to the Rio Olympic games 2016. The team is under the management of Mohammad Mayeli-Kohan and coached by Mohammad Khakpour. The federation is actively trying to include some of the Legionnaire players like Sardar Azmoun and Alireza Jahanbakhsh, however , it is unlikely that the clubs will be releasing them anytime soon.

The Squad list

Naft Tehran

Arsalan Motahari, Arash Rezavand & Ali Mohsenzadeh

Saipa Alborz

Mehdi Torabi, Bahman Salary & MohammadReza Akhbari

Sepahan Esfahan

Ali Karimi, Hossein Fazeli & Mohammad Hossein Moradmand

Esteghlal

Behnam Barzay & Majid Hosseini

Foolad Khuzestan

Yusuf Vakya & Bahman Jahan Tigh

Persepolis

Milad Kamandani & Ahmad Nourollahi

Rah Ahan

Amir Abedzadeh & Milad Mohammadi

Sanat Naft Abadan

Mohammad Zubair Niknafs & Ali Abdollahzadeh

Zob Ahan Ehsan Pahlavan & Saeb Mohebbi Aluminum Hormozgan

Iman Salimi

Fajr Sepasi

Farshid Ismaili

Gostarish Foolad

AliReza Naghizadh

Malavan Anzali

Hossein Kanani Zadegan

Naft Masjidl Solaiman

Goudarz Davoudi

Padideh Mashad

MohammadAli Framarzi

Peykan

Vahid Haideriyah

Saba Qom

Rozbeh Chashmi

Tractorsazi Tabriz

Shahin Saghebi

26/12/201426/12/2014

Final list of Asian Cup squad announced

Football federation has announced the squad list of 21 players , who will be taking part in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 in Australia. 2 players will be added to the list in the coming days.

Shirt Number	Player Name
3	HAJSAFY, Ehsan 25-Feb-90 25 years Sepahan Defender 60 Caps 3 Goals
4	HOSSEINI, Jalal 03-Feb-82 33 Years Al Ahli (QAT) Defender 86 Caps 6 goals
6	NEKOUNAM, Javad 06-Sep-80 35 Years Osasuna (ESP) Midfield 143 Caps 37 Goals
14	TEYMOURIAN, Andranik 06-Mar-83 32 Years Esteghlal Midfield 79 Caps 9 Goals
10	ANSARIFARD, Karim 03-Apr-90 25Years Osasuna (ESP) Forward 42 Caps 9 Goals
7	SHOJAEI, Masoud 09-Jun-84 31 Years Las Palmas (ESP) Midfield 51 Caps 5 Goals
11	GHAFOORI, Vouriya 20.Sep.87 27 years Sepahan Esfahan Defender 1 Cap
21	DEJAGAH, Ashkan 05-Jul-86 27 years Al Arabi (QAT) Midfield 14 Caps 4 Goals
16	GHOOCHANNEJAD, Reza 20-Sep-87 26 years Al Kuwait (KUW) Forward 14 Caps 11 Goals
8	POURALIGANJI, Morteza 19-Apr-92 22 years Naft Tehran Defender 0 Caps 0 Goal
18	JAHANBAKSH, Alireza 08-Oct-93 20 years NEC Nijmegen (NED) Forward 7 Caps 1 Goal
5	KHANZADEH, MohammadReza 20-Jan-92 23 years Persepolis Defender 7 Caps 1 Goal
19	BEIKZADEH, Hashim 22-Jan-84 30 years Esteghlal Defender 16 caps 1 goal
15	REZAEIAN Ramin 21-Mar-90 24 years Rah Ahan Defender 0 caps
1	HAGHIGHI, Alireza 02-May-88 26 years Sporting Covilhã (POR) Goalkeeper 6 caps
2	HEYDARI, Khosro 14-Sep-83 30 Years Esteghlal Defender 49 Caps
22	BIRANVAND, Alireza 23-Sep-91 23 Years Naft Tehran Goalkeeper 0 Caps
	QUEIROZ, Carlos 01-Mar-53 61 Years Head Coach
12	FOROUZAN, Mohsen 03-May-88 26 Years Esteghlal Goalkeeper 0 Caps
20	AZMOUN, Sardar 01-Jan-95 19 Years Rubin Kazan Forward 3 Caps 1 Goal
13	AMIRI, Vahid 02-Apr-88 26 Years Naft Tehran Midfield 0 Caps 0 Goal
23	POOLADI, Mehrdad 20-Feb-87 26 years Al Shahaniya (QAT) Defender 21 caps
17	RAFEI, Soroush 24-Apr-90 24 years Foolad Khuzestan Midfield 0 caps
9	EBRAHIMI, Omid 16-Sep-87 27 years Esteghlal Midfield 6 caps

05/11/2014

JAHANBAKHSH READY TO STRIKE

the-afc.com 03 November 2014 Joe Gorman

Growing up playing on dirt pitches and in the streets outside the Iranian capital Tehran, Alireza Jahanbakhsh idolised Brazilian star Ronaldo. He grew up wanting to be a striker, and at just 21 years of age, Jahanbakhsh is now firmly established in Europe and has made several appearances for the national team under manager Carlos Queiroz. He is without a doubt one of the hottest properties in Iranian football. After several seasons in Iran, the young striker made the move to Dutch club NEC Nijmegen.

According to the president of SC Damash in Iran, Jahanbakhsh’s transfer fee helped the club survive in difficult financial times, and it wasn’t long before he was helping his new club by scoring crucial goals in the battle to avoid relegation. Having being voted one of the top young talents in the Eredivisie, Jahanbakhsh has come on the radar for several English clubs, with Manchester United and Chelsea both rumoured to be interested in his services. In 2014, Jahanbakhsh was one of several exciting young players to be included in the Iran squad for the World Cup, however he didn’t start any of the games, instead coming off the bench for all three matches. Alongside Karim Ansarifard and Reza Ghoochannejhad, another young Iranian who had played in the Netherlands, Team Melli will have some of the most exciting attackers in the Asian Cup. A tall, lanky striker with speed and skill, Jahanbakhsh will be hoping help his nation win their first Asian Cup since 1976.

30/09/201430/09/2014

Portugal camp list announced

FFIRI announced the initial list of 26 players who are nominated to attend the Team Melli training camp in Portugal. The final list will be announced by Thursday.

Team Melli will be flying to Portugal on 4^th October. The camp will be based in the capital Lisbon.

Two games have been arranged during this camp. On Friday 10^th October Estoril will be Team Melli opponents while on Tuesday 22^nd , Team Melli will face Benfica in its second test match.

The list includes Seyed Mehdi Rahmati who was blacklisted by Queiroz, with 7 goalkeepers on the list, which is a first in Team Melli’s squad lists, it remains to be seen if Rahmati is shortlisted for the next phase of Team Melli training. Daniel Davari has shown little interest in joining the squad and prefers to stay home for family reasons.

There is no place for Peyam Sadeghi because of his suspension, however, Hossein Mahini who is officially suspended by the League commission and the Military authority is included in the list !

Mehrdad Pooladi who is out of contract and has no club to train with , is named in the squad. Pooladi’s last competitive match was against Bosnia on 25th June 2014. He has not been playing or training for a league team for 3 months now, but his inclusion in the list is nothing too strange as Mehrdad Pooladi was once named in the squad while he was walking on crutches!

There are two players who are mentioned as being part of the list , but not announced by the FFIRI.

GOALKEEPERS

Rahman AHMADI, Alireza HAGHIGHI,Sousha MAKANI, Alireza BIRANVAND, Daniel DAVARI, Mohsen FROUZAN , Mehdi RAHMATI

DEFENDERS

Mehrdad POOLADI, Hashim BEIGZADEH,Jalal HOSSEINI, Pejman MONTAZERI,Ehsan HAJSAFY, Khosrow HEYDARI, Javad NEKOUNAM, AliReza JAHANBAKHSH, Soja'a KHALILZADEH, Ahmad ALE NEMEH, Steven BEITASHOUR, Mehrdad JAMAATI, Morteza POURALIGANJI, Ahmad ABDULLAZADEH, Hossein AmirHossein MAHINI,SADEGHI,.

MIDFIELD

Yaghoub KARIMI,Andranik TEYMOURIAN, Omid EBRAHIMI, Ashkan DEJAGAH, Reza HAGHIGHI SHANDIZ, Soroush RAFEI , SHOJAEI, Masoud, Ghassim HADDADIFAR, MohamadReza KHALATBARY, Saman NARIMANJAHAN

FORWARDS

Reza GHOOCHANNEJAD, Sardar AZMOUN, Karim ANSARIFARD, Mehdi SHARIFI

02/08/201402/08/2014

38 years wait for football to qualifying for the Olympic Games. Will it happen this time?

When the Colombian referee, Guilermo Velasquez whistled for the end of the match in the Municipal Stadium , Sherbrouke , on 25^th of July 1976, he put to an end what would have been a true shock to the world football system. Iran was playing against the mighty Soviet Union with its full force of senior players, in the quarter finals of the Olympic games. Iran was one goal from reaching the semifinals and perhaps the gold medal match, but for that Colombian whistle. The Soviets where comfortably leading 2-0 until the 80^th minute when a penalty was called for Iran. Ghleechkhani converted to make it 2-1. Following that goal, Team Melli went for an all-out assault. Heshmat Mohajerani urged his men to venture forward and attack, the Iranian players responded well while the Soviets were of the defensive. The equalizer seemed to be coming any minute and with it , the extra time. But , it was not meant to be as the gallant Persian warriors ran out of time. So near and yet so far.

2-1 for the Soviet Union. Iran lost the match but gained immense respect from the football community , after all losing to players in the class of the European player of the year Oleg Blokhin , was no disgrace. Middle East , was an emerging football region and Iran was proudly leading the way. But who would have predicted that it will take Iran 9 Olympic tournament and 38 years (40 years by the time the games start in Rio) to qualify once again for the football tournament ? assuming Iran will do it this time. Olympic Games football changed quite a lot. FIFA and IOC decision to restrict the teams to U-23 players , opened the door for the emerging football nation to compete for glory , and compete they did , Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon , South Korea and Mexico all had won medals and titles in the Olympic games since the rule changes. In all of that, Iran’s name was conspicuously absent. Iran’s football was truly missing since that Canadian summer evening in July 1976. The reason for Iranian failures at this level of football is so plentiful and diverse; it needs a whole book to give it the necessary justification. Suffice to state the obvious and that is the Iranian football community, in general, does not grant this age level and younger players the respect, recognition, care and the attention it needs to qualify at the highest level of World Football. In fact, it is even struggling at continental level at present. In comes one Nelo Vingada. A compatriot and a close friend of Team Melli head coach, Carlos Queiroz to save the day for the Iranians and for the first time in 40 years , give Iranian fans the one thing they truly missed for decades . A smile and a wave by Iranian footballers in the opening ceremony of an Olympic games. Iran had plenty of success in Wrestling, Weightlifting and Martial arts, but football is not normally considered as an award or title wining sport of the country. Vingada is quite gifted at this level of football with a track record that could be the envy of many coaches. On his trophy chest, there is two FIFA U-20 World Youth championship won for his country as an assistant beside no one other than Queiroz himself. Vingada went on to coach Portugal U20 as head coach , Saudi Arabia, Egypt U20 and Jordan amongst the many sides he coached and managed. Now it is the turn of Iran’s Olympic team to get the benefit of the Portuguese coaching experience and success. Vingada, along with his Iranian assistant Human Afazeli , have been working hard for a few months now on preparing the U23 for their first real test , the Asian Games in Incheon. The signs are mixed so far but it has not been a smooth paved surface. There have been many absentees form the original list of players announced by the coaching team due to the players club commitments. The likes of Payam Sadeghian , Mohsen Mosalman , Mehdi Sharifi , Alireza Jahanbakhsh , Sardar Azmoun and quite a few others , who are established players with their clubs now be it in Iran or abroad. Clubs will not release such players for the Olympic squad so easily while they are beginning the new season.

There is no prefect scenario for Vingada, who at the end of the day, has to work with whatever resources that are available to him. But then again, Iran is definitely not the only nation that faces such a dilemma. Others worked out some kind of a system to ensure the parallel availability of the players for their clubs and Olympic team. The onus is on the Iranian football federation to produce an appropriate program that can be helpful for the Olympics squad. The track records, unfortunately, indicates that the federation has been pathetic at programing and management at Olympics football level. Suffice to mention that the last effort for the London Olympics 2012 ended in true humiliation and a whole set of red faces after Iran U-23 were declared loser against Iraq for fielding an ineligible player who had two yellow cards and was suspended, Needless to say that everyone did the usual finger pointing but no investigation to find where the fault was, no gap analysis, no accountability, no one was really identified as the culprit and life went on merrily at the FFIRI as it usually does under the all smiling Kaffashian! To expect a major improvement in programming, support and the mentality to back the U23 system in general , is perhaps asking too much. There might be a slight improvement in some areas, and we hope that a man is assigned with a pencil and paper to record the number of players’ yellow cards, but Vingada should not count on a whole-hearted 100% backing for his work. The usual difficulties will still prevail. If Vingada has strong aspiration, he has to do many things on his own.

24/06/2014

Queiroz is going for the kill. Jahanbakhsh a possible starter for Team Melli.

Salvador, Brazil.

News out of Team Melli camp indicates that Queiroz has temporarily shelved his conservative game-plan, and going for the kill against the Bosnians. It is obvious that there is no other choice for Iran if they are looking forward to qualify. From Group “F’. Argentina also need to beat Nigeria to aid Iran’s case.

With the poorest offensive data out of all the 32 teams and no goal scored, it will be a hard task for Team Melli to change the approach and the defensive plans that Queiroz has drilled into the team for a long time. However, the option remaining is just one. A win and nothing but a win else, Iran meet Bosnia-Herzgovina in the departure lounge of the airport on their way out of the World Cup.

The change that Queiroz is contemplating would probably see the introduction of another offensive player alongside Ghoochannejad and Dejagah and most probably it will be the young Alireza Jahanbakhsh. Masoud Sojaei who started the match against Argentine , did not deliver , registering a low performance data in the FIFA index.

Despite Jahanbakhsh brief minutes against Argentina, the tenacious young NEC player managed one beautiful run to beat the Javier Mascherano on the flank in a show of skill. Jahanbakhsh’s pace, powers combined with athleticism, will positively help the team up front.

Our bet is on Jahanbakhsh to start the match with Ansarifard as a second but a remote possibility to start alongside Gucci.

It will be interesting to see who is on the starting line up but whatever it is , it is not going to be the same as the last two matches. Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador will see a different Team Melli.

21/06/2014

Marc Overmars saved Ghoochannejad's career

Reza Ghoochannejhad Photo: Matty Wijnbergen

Sat 21 Jun 2014, 05:59

telegraaf.nl

Reza plays first violin

by Jeroen Kapteijns

SÃO PAULO - In the heavily guarded training complex of Joaquim Grava belonging to top club Corinthians in São Paulo, where the base of World Cup participant Iran is located, it is a remarkable beginning of the training. While the other squad players, including some like NEC'er Alireza Jahanbakhsh, were doing a bit of fooling around with the ball against each other and a round cheating and stealing the ball or doing whatever tricks they can with the ball, Ghoochannejhad Reza (26) has his own rituals. The great hero of the Iranian football, who is speaking better Dutch than Farsi , works on the edge of the field on his physical condition by doing a series of strength and power exercises

It's funny in a football life. The Iranians had grown up in Leeuwarden and up to twenty months ago was totally unknown in his homeland, which he left with his family at the age of eight to establish a life in Netherlands. In the last World Cup qualifiers, Reza, as he conveniently calls himself, however created an unforgettable impression. The former player of SC Heerenveen, Go Ahead Eagles, FC Emmen and SC Cambuur scored the winning goal against South Korea, a result which took Iran to its the fourth World Cup participation in its history. Meanwhile Charlton Athletic's Ghoochannejhad in sixteen internationals matches he found the target ten times already.

"He is definitely the star of the Iranian team," says Shervin Gilani of the Tehran Times."You can see that he has had a good training in Netherlands. In Iran, everyone expects Reza to score in this tournament. "

Ghoochannejhad is not only of Iranian-Frisian origin with a tongue-twisting name , but an outstanding player as well. He is musically inclined and he was able in the past to play the violin. He also decided as a young footballer to study Law and Political Science at the University. On the field, he is distinguished by a combination of technical skill and a great purpose.

However, it was a close shave or Ghoochannejhad would have never been admired at a World Cup. At age 21 he wanted to say goodbye to professional football. It was Marc Overmars, the current director of football affairs of Ajax, who pulled him aside and tried to persuade him from giving up , at his former club Go Ahead Eagles.

"You can say I saved his career," said Overmars. "Reza had a lengthy rehabilitation from a cruciate ligament injury which complicated his come back and frustrated him. During a loan period at FC Emmen he got on the stand correctly. He argued that there was no future for him in professional football and had applied for transfer to the amateurs, because he wanted to focus completely on his studies. I spoke a lot with him and his parents insisted that he really needed to decide, otherwise his career would be over. It was his last chance. It's very nice to see that he is now at the World Cup. It very nearly was run very differently. "

Now Ghoochannejhad will be playing today with Iran against the Argentine, with star ensemble like Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero. In the scoreless draw against Nigeria, there was the best chance for Ghoochannejhad to score for Iran, but his header was parried by the goalkeeper. So far, the Iranians have always been extras on the World Cup with just one win in ten World Cup matches. With games against Argentina (Today at 18:00) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (Wednesday) at the door there also seems to run out of time.

For this tournament Reza nevertheless seems to be optimistic to play a role. Significant one with Iran "We are no less than Nigeria and Bosnia-Herzegovina. We have a group with a good mix of young talent and experienced players. I think we're going to fight, to get the second place behind Argentina." Ghoochannejhad said, that does not look up to the confrontation with the potential World Cup winner. "The pressure is on Argentina. We have nothing to lose. It is up to us to show the same resilience as we showed against Nigeria."

17/06/201417/06/2014

Team Melli draws blank against Nigeria

Team Melli drew with Nigeria 0-0 in the first match for both teams in Group F. Argentina is currently leading the table with 3 points after winning their opener against Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Carlos Queiroz fielded a strong defensive line up with 6 recognized defenders sticking to his now well recognized strategy of a strong defensive team. The only surprise of the line up was the inclusion of Alireza Haghighi , who is probably the least experienced of the 3 goalkeepers ahead of no 1 choice Rahman Ahmadi. However , Haghighi did not have to make many saves or even work hard except for ne tricky free kick in the first half.

Although Nigeria dominated the first 30 minutes of the first half, the solid and well organized Iranian defense made that domination by the African champions useless. After the half hour a corner kick awarded for Iran, the quick reaction of Nigerian keeper Victor Enyeama who saved the powerful header by Reza Ghoochanejad from close range prevented Iran from going a goal up.

In the second half the Nigerian control was reduced with Team Melli getting more of the ball but the players were guilty with some bad passes and spoiling some reasonable chances. Nekounam and Teymourian were majestic in their roles and their solid performance nullified the threat form the Nigerian midfield, especially Teymourian who neutralized Nigerian's most famous player John Obi Mikel.

The defenders skilfully managed anything the Nigerians threw at them with total domination of aerial balls.

Despite being the lone striker , Ghoochannejad managed to play a solid and decent game and was a constant menace for the Nigerian defense. However Ghoochannejad did not connect well with the lone offensive midfielder , Ashkan Dejagah as they seemed to be operating on different channels and missing each others passes.

Dejagah who was expected to be the key player was a disappointment against Nigeria. Half of his passes went astray and he lacked his trademark running and beating the defenders. He was not helped , perhaps , by the number of midfield players opting to stay behind during offensive moves, leaving the team short of players up front while attacking the Nigerian goal. Dejagah was subsequently substituted in the 78th minute by Alireza Jahanbakhsh.

It was a fair result for Team Melli and Queiroz skillful managed to neutralize the Nigerians threat , with remarkable ease. His selection of player for the defensive duties were immaculate. Iran managed the first point in the competition, and that is good enough of a start. It is going to be uphill from now but with the sold defensive system that Queiroz has created, without being anti-football , Team Melli is still capable to spring a surprise in the two matches ahead.

12/06/201412/06/2014

Queiroz outlines the team facing Nigeria among unprecedented presence of Iranian journalists.

06/11/2014

Entourage of about 40 professionals from the local press arrive in São Paulo to cover the World Cup. Technical, finally, displays likely team

For Rodrigo Faber Sao Paulo

Globoesporte.globo.com

over The Corinthians Training Center which has been a place with a remarkably low presence of journalist from Iran to cover their country's team progress, suddenly experienced a large number of them turning up for training this Wednesday. During this afternoon's activity led by coach Carlos Queiroz, an entourage of about 40 professionals Iranian press men arrived to begin the coverage of the Asian national team during the World Cup. Coincidentally, it was the first time the coach outlined a starting lineup for the opening game against Nigeria, 16th in Curitiba.

Training journalists in Iran (Photo: Rodrigo Faber)

Iranian journalists were out in force in the training of the Asian team in São Paulo (Photo: Rodrigo Faber)

Queiroz positioned players in reduced space and then closed the training session - as is usual with coaches - trying to hide secrets from the preying eyes of the press..The goalkeeper remains the main mystery, since the three (Rahman Ahmadi, Alireza Haghighi and Daniel Davari) were tested in recent friendly matches. In the 2-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday, Haghighi remained the keeper during the whole game.

players in training in Iran (Photo: Rodrigo Faber)

Iran won the starting lineup on Wednesday outline (Photo: Rodrigo Faber)

As the three goalkeepers worked separately, the Portuguese coach attended to the rest of the team in a 4-4-2 formation with: Montazeri, Amirhossein Sadeghi, Jalal Hosseini and Pooladi; Nekounam, Timotian, Haji Safi and Dejagah; Heydari and Goochannejad. The team still train twice in the CT Corinthians before the trip to Curitiba, scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday. The last practice session before the match will be conducted at the Arena da Baixada, the venue of the game.

From the outside, the Iranian journalists were quite animated in their first contact with the team. Aided by the local federation, all traveled together to São Paulo, where they landed in the early hours of Wednesday. They monitor all matches of Iran on the spot. Apart from Nigeria, the Asian team faces Argentina on 21 June in Belo Horizonte, and Bosnia, the 25th, in Salvador.

The Iranian press has a close relationship with the squad. Some players, when sighting known journalists in the CT Corinthians, greeted them from afar. The best bets of local professionals for the World Cup are three players who play in Europe: Ashkan Dejagah, Fulham (England), Reza Ghoochannejad, Charlton (England) and Alireza Jahanbakhsh, NEC (Netherlands) -

Training of Iran was closely followed by coach Carlos Queiroz (Photo: Rodrigo Faber)

08/06/2014

Jahanbaksh named amongst the young players to watch

Young Players to set the 2014 World Cup alight from Group F

Last Updated: June 7, 2014, 06:21pm

Here is a look at one young player from each of the four Group F teams most likely to make an impact for their respective countries at the World Cup

Argentina

Marcos Rojo
Age	24
Club	Sporting Lisbon
Position	Defender
Int. Caps	21
Int. Goals	0

In an experienced Argentina side, Marcos Rojo is one of the younger and probably one of the most important players in the Albiceleste squad. The 24-year-old will be playing in the left-back position for Argentina at the World Cup and has emerged as an integral part for Alejandro Sabella’s side. While his defensive qualities have been put into question at times, Rojo is a great threat going forward and will surely prove to be a useful outlet in the final third of the pitch for the South Americans.

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Sead Kolašinac
Age	20
Club	Schalke
Position	Defender
Int. Caps	4
Int. Goals	0

Sead Kolašinac has enjoyed a breakthrough season with Schalke this year. The young man established himself as an integral part of the German side and impressed many with his mature performance at the back. A versatile player who is primarily used as a left-back, Kolašinac switched allegiance to Bosnia & Herzegovina after representing Germany at youth level and looks set to play a big part in the country’s debut World Cup campaign in Brazil.

Iran

Alireza Jahanbakhsh
Age	20
Club	NEC Nijmegen
Position	Midfielder
Int. Caps	6
Int. Goals	1

Alireza Jahanbakhsh is probably the most exciting young player to emerge from Iran recently. The 20-year old plies his trade in Netherlands for NEC Nijmegen and managed to impress with some fine performances for the Dutch side over the course of the campaign. A tricky winger with a knack of scoring goals, Jahanbakhsh adds a bit of flair to a solid Iran side. While Ashkan Degajah and Javad Nekounam will most probably be preferred to Jahanbakhsh in the starting lineup at the World Cup, one cannot rule out the young man making an impact in the competition whenever afforded the opportunity.

Nigeria

Ogenyi Onazi
Age	20
Club	Lazio
Position	Midfielder
Int. Caps	20
Int. Goals	1

Ogenyi Onazi’s meteoric rise to prominence has been phenomenal. Having picked up by Italian giants from a church-sponsored team in Lagos called My People two years ago, Onazi has gone on to become one of the finest young midfielders plying their trade in Europe. The 20-year old has also established himself as a regular in the Nigerian national team and helped the Super Eagles to the African Cup of Nations triumph in 2013. A tough tackling midfielder, Onazi possesses a brilliant temperament and he will surely be looking to impress at the World Cup by taming the dangerous Argentina and Bosnia attack. Written by: Sarad Shrestha