TEHRAN – Iran coach Hamid Estili has named his 23-man squad for the AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020.

Rising star Younes Delfi has been dropped from the list after Belgian side Charleroi don’t let him to leave the team.

Squad:
Goalkeepers: Meraj Esmaeili (Zob Ahan), Habib Abbasifar (Naft Masjed Soleyman), Mehdi Nourollahi (Saipa)

Defenders: Mehran Derakhshan Mehr (Zob Ahan), Omid Noorafkan (Sepahan), Aref Aghasi (Foolad), Shahin Taherkhani (Esteghlal), Mojtaba Najjarian (Foolad), Hossein Saki (Sanat naft), Matin Karimzadeh (Pars Jonoubi)

Midfielders: Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh (Saipa), Jafar Salmani (Sanat Naft), Sina Zamehran (Shahr Khodro), Mohammad Khodabandehloo (Paykan), Mehdi Mehdikhani (Varaždin), Reza Dehghani (Nassaji)

Forwards: Mohammad Mohebbi (Sepahan), Mehdi Ghaedi (Esteghlal), Reza Jabireh (Sanat Naft), Ali Shojaei (Nassaji), Amir Roostaei (Persepolis), Reza Shekari (Tractor), Allahyar Sayyadmanesh (İstanbulspor)

Iran will kick off their 2020 campaign against holders Uzbekistan in Songkhla on January 9, with matches against South Korea and China PR to follow in an intriguing Group C.

The competition will be held in Thailand from Jan. 8 to 26.

The top three teams qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in July, although should Japan emerge as one of them, the fourth-placed side will advance.

Iran have not been in the Olympics since the 1976 games in Munich.