Iran replace Zare with Navidikia

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.