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Iran

Group D | World ranking: 23

Qualification: Finished second behind Japan in the final round of Asian qualifying
Coach: Branko Ivankovic
Key Players: Mehdi Mahdavikia (midfielder), Ali Karimi (midfielder), Ali Daei (forward)
Past Record: Third appearance in finals

Group D Matches:
June 11: Mexico (Nuremberg)
June 17: Portugal (Frankfurt)
June 21: Angola (Leipzig)

Iran are very strong at home in Tehran and have a talented young squad, but the question remains whether they can translate their impressive form against Asian sides into results against stronger opposition in Germany. They should at least feel at home -- many of their key players are current or past Bundesliga players, including Bayern Munich's Asian player of the year Ali Karimi, Hamburg's Mehdi Mahdavikia and veteran striker Ali Daei. Both Mahdavikia and Daei also bring experience of Iran's last appearance at the World Cup in 1998 when they scored a memorable victory over the U.S.

Squad

Goalkeepers:
1. Ebrahim Mirzapour (Foolad Ahvaz)
12. Hassan Roudbarian (Pas)
22. Vahid Talebloo (Esteghlal)

Defenders:
3. Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh (Saba Battery)
4. Yahya Golmohammadi (Saba Battery)
5. Rahman Rezaei (Messina)
13. Hossein F Kaabi (Foolad Ahvaz)
18. Sattar Zare (Bargh Shiraz)
19. Amir Hossein Sadeqi - (Esteghlal Ahvaz)
20. Mohammad Nosrati - (Pas)

Midfielders:
2. Mehdi Mahdavikia - (Hamburger SV)
6. Javad Nekounam - (Al Sharjah)
7. Ferydoon Zandi - (Kaiserslautern)
8. Ali Karimi - (Bayern Munich)
14. Anderanik Teymourian - (AbooMoslem)
21. Mehrzad Madanchi - (Perspolis)
23. Masoud Shojaei - (Saipa Karadj)

Forwards:
9. Vahid Hashemian - (Hanover 96)
10. Ali Daei - (Saba Battery)
11. Rasoul Khatibi - (Pas)
15. Arash Bohrani- (Pas)
16. Reza Enayati - (Esteghlal)
17. Javad Kazemeian - (Perspolis)

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