Ivankovic confirms Iran squad
Iran coach Branko Ivankovic has confirmed his 23-man squad for this summer's World Cup in Germany.
The Croatian has include five European-based players, including former Asian player of the Year Ali Karimi, who currently plies his traded at Bayern Munich.
As well as Karimi, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Ferydoon Zandi and Vahid Hashemian will all be on familiar soil after spending the past season playing in the Bundesliga.
Ivankovic believes the squad he has chosen has the ability to upset the odds in Germany and having been drawn in Group D alongside Mexico, Portugal and Angola, the Iran coach is aiming to reach the knockout phase of the tournament.
"I have a lot of ambitions in mind, in fact my dreams have no limitations," said Ivankovic.
"I want to win titles with Iran and we will be focusing all our effort on reaching the knockout stages.
"I'm completely aware of the tough job we have in Germany, but I have enough reliable players to count on."
One of the surprise inclusions in Ivankovic's squad is Saipa midfielder Masoud Shojaei, a player the Croat believes will set the World Cup alight.
"I can say that we have a player in our team who will catch the eye in Germany and catch our rivals off guard because he is a bit of an unknown. His name is Masoud Shojaei," he added.
"Masoud will certainly surprise a lot of people at the World Cup and he is another talented player to emerge from Iran's never-ending resource of football stars."
The Iranians will begin their World Cup challenge on June 11 against Mexico.
Iran World Cup squad:
Goalkeepers: Ebrahim Mirzapour (Foolad), Vahid Taleblou (Esteghlal), Hassan Roodbarian (Pas)
Defenders: Hossein Kabi (Foolad), Sohrab Baktiarizadeh (Saba Battery), Yahya Golmohammadi (Saba Battery), Mohammad Nosrati (Pas), Sattar Zare (Barq), Rahman Rezaei (Messina, Italy)
Midfielders: Masoud Shojaei (Saipa), Hadi Shakouri (Pas), Andrianik Teymourian (Abou Moslem), Javad Nekounam (Al Wahda, UAE), Mehrzad Madanchi (Persepolis), Javad Kazemian (Persepolis), Mehdi Mahdavikia (Hamburger SV, Germany), Ferydoon Zandi (FC Kaiserslautern, Germany), Ali Karimi (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Strikers: Reza Enayati (Esteghlal), Arash Borhani (Pas), Rasoul Khatibi (Sepahan), Vahid Hashemian (Hannover 96, Germany), Ali Daei (Saba Battery)
