Iran predicted lineup vs England - World Cup
Iran face England in their opening match of the 2022 World Cup with a familiar face to those on English shores at the helm.
Between an unsuccessful single season at Real Madrid in 2003/04, Carlos Queiroz was assistant manager to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United for 297 games. Now in the hot seat himself, Queiroz had previously overseen 100 matches during his first spell in charge of Iran before returning in September after Dragan Skocic secured World Cup qualification.
“When the family call you home,” Queiroz wrote on Twitter after his appointment, “all you do is simply just show up.”
Here's the lineup Queiroz may select from his close-knit squad.
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Iran predicted lineup vs England (4-1-4-1)
GK: Alireza Beiranvand - In 2016, Beiranvand set the world record for the longest distance a football has been thrown during a match, tossing the orb a gargantuan 61 metres (200 feet) towards South Korea's goal.
RB: Sadegh Moharrami - Part of the Dinamo Zagreb side which defeated Chelsea in their opening Champions League group stage match this September.
CB: Hossein Kanani - A player very familiar with his surroundings for the upcoming weeks, only four players in the Qatari Stars League have scored more goals than Al-Ahli's Kanani (four) this season.
CB: Shoja Khalilzadeh - Having played alongside Kanani with Persepolis, Al-Ahli and the Iran national team, Queiroz can call upon a centre-back duo familiar with each other.
LB: Ehsan Hajsafi - Iran's captain is the only squad member with more than 100 international caps.
CM: Saeid Ezatolahi - A former youth team player at Atletico Madrid now turns out in Denmark's second tier but is a key member of Team Melli.
RM: Alireza Jahanbakhsh - The former Brighton forward won Premier League Goal of the Month in January 2020 with an acrobatic bicycle kick that earned the Seagulls a point against Chelsea. England's Mason Mount was part of the opposition that day.
CM: Ahmad Nourollahi - Despite strong rumours of a return to Iranian giants Persepolis this summer, Nourollahi remained at UAE club Shabab Dubai, affording him a short trip to neighbouring Qatar.
CM: Vahid Amiri - At 34, Amiri is the oldest member of Iran's squad, which oddly includes four goalkeepers and just 25 players, rather than the allotted 26.
LM: Mehdi Taremi - “I regret that this boy did not go to European football much earlier. It’s all my fault,” Taremi’s father recently admitted. Since joining Porto in 2020, Taremi has been the team's top scorer each season.
ST: Karim Ansarifard - The veteran forward scored against Manchester United while leading the line for Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League in October.