For Immediate Release
Tehran, Iran – The Media Department of the National Team has announced that Team Melli head coach Amir Ghalenoei has called up 29 players for a training camp ahead of an international football tournament in Basra, Iraq. The tournament is scheduled to take place from November 13 to 17 (Aban 22–26) and will feature the national teams of Iran, Iraq, Palestine, and Lebanon.
Iran is set to face Palestine on November 14 (Aban 23) and Iraq on November 17 (Aban 26).
The following players have been invited to the camp:
Goalkeepers:
- Seyed Payam Niazmand (Persepolis, 31)
- Habib Farabbasi (Esteghlal, 29)
- Mohammad Khalifeh (Aluminium Arak, 22)
- Adib Zarei (Shams Azar Qazvin, 23)
Defenders:
- Ali Nemati (Lusail, 30)
- Mohammad Mehdi Zare (Persepolis, 23)
- Aref Aghasi (Esteghlal, 29)
- Saman Fallah (Esteghlal, 25)
- Amin Hazbavi (Sepahan, 25)
- Abolfazl Razzaghpour (Foolad Khuzestan, 29)
- Hossein Goudarzi (Esteghlal, 25)
- Aria Yousefi (Sepahan, 24)
- Saleh Hardani (Esteghlal, 27)
Midfielders:
- Jafar Salmani (Al-Talaba, 29)
- Amirmohammad Razzaghinia (Esteghlal, 20)
- Omid Noorafkan (Sepahan, 29)
- Mohammadjavad Hosseinnejad (Dinamo Makhachkala, 23)
- Saeid Ezatolahi (Shabab Al-Ahli, 30)
- Esmaeil Gholizadeh (Esteghlal, 20)
- Afshin Sadeghi (Nassaji Mazandaran, 21)
- Amirhossein Farsi (Kheybar Khorramabad, 19)
- Mohammad Mohebi (HNK Rijeka, 27)
- Mohammad Ghorbani (Al-Wahda, 25)
Forwards:
- Mehdi Limouchi (Sepahan, 26)
- AmirHossein Hosseinzadeh (Tractor, 26)
- Mehdi Mohebi (Persepolis, 26)
- Sardar Azmoun (Shabab Al-Ahli, 29)
- Dennis Dargahi (Standard Liège, 29)
- Kasra Taheri (Sepahan, 20)
Beiranvand Ruled Out Through Injury Precaution
According to the coaching staff, Alireza Beiranvand will remain under the supervision of the medical team due to the risk of injury, as advised by the medical staff.
Youth Development the Focus of Current FIFA Window
The coaching staff's approach during this FIFA window is to provide more opportunities for younger players and to evaluate their capabilities during the international tournament in Iraq. This approach was originally intended to begin during the previous training camp; however, due to coordination between the senior national team's coaching staff and the U-23 (Omid) team—as well as the participation of young players in the Asian Games in Nagoya—its implementation was deferred to the current camp.
Consequently, the coaching staff has decided that several experienced national team players will not participate in this camp, thereby creating more opportunities for younger players to be present and evaluated. It should be noted that this decision was made strictly within the context of the current camp's technical plan and does not imply any change in the status or role of the experienced players regarding the senior national team's future plans.
Coordination with U-23 Team
Furthermore, following coordination between the head coaches of the senior and U-23 national teams, it has been determined that certain players will join the senior national team camp, while others will join the U-23 team camp. Accordingly, Abolfazl Kouhi, Pouria Shahrabadi, Mobin Dehghan, Yousef Mazraeh, and Masoud Mohebbi will be with the U-23 national team for the upcoming camp. These players remain under the observation and evaluation of the senior national team's coaching staff, and their performance will be taken into account for potential inclusion in future senior national team camps.
Media Coverage
Images and news regarding the players' participation in the national team camp will be published via the Football Federation's official media channels and made available to the press.
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