AFC - With less than two hours to go before
their opening encounter against Mexico, Iran have received the go-ahead from
FIFA to replace injured defender Sattar Zare with Sepahan midfielder
Moharram Navidikia.
A day earlier, coach Branko Ivankovic had said that he would be calling up
Pas player Hadi Shakoori as the replacement. It couldn’t be immediately
ascertained why the tall 24-year-old Navidikia was called up instead.
Member associations are allowed to replace injured or sick players up to
twenty-four hours prior to the team's opening match provided that their
medical condition has been ratified by the FIFA Sports Medical Committee.
Navidikia, who has done a stint with Bundesliga outfit Bochum, was a
surprise exclusion from the original roster of 23. The midfielder has 24
international caps and has scored one goal.
