Sharif, Amiri among 30-man Afghanistan squad for World Cup Qualifiers

Both players excelled for Gokulam Kerala and Real Kashmir respectively in I-League 2020-21.

Afghanistan have announced their 30-member squad for the forthcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers in Qatar. I-League champions Gokulam Kerala's Sharif Mukhammad and Real Kashmir's Zohib Islam Amiri are a part of the Afghan team that will take on Bangladesh, Oman and India in June.

The team also started their training sessions in the UAE on May 20. The sessions began with 13 players on Thursday and the rest of the squad joined them on Friday.

It has also been decided that Afghanistan will play two International Friendlies before the World Cup Qualifiers. They will take on Indonesia in the first friendly on May 25, followed by a game against Singapore four days later.

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The complete Afghan squad is as follows:

1. Ovays Azizi
2. Faizal Hamidi
3. Hamidullah Wakili
4. Milad Intezar
5. David Najem
6. Zohib Islam Amiri
7. Abdul Najim Haidary
8. Hassan Amin
9. Zelfagar Nazary
10. Hussain Alizada
11. Sharif Mukhammad
12. Abassin Alikhil
13. Omid Popalzay
14. Mohammad Naeem Rahimi
15. Samir Samandari
16. Farshid Haydari
17. Amiruddin Sharifi
18. Mustafa Zazai
19. Fardin Hakimi
20. Fareed Sadat
21. Ahmad Oman Haydary
22. Noor Husin
23. Maziyar Kouhyar
24. Farshad Noor
25. Fayzal Shayesteh
26. Adam Najem
27. Noraollah Amiri
28. Hossein Zamani
29. Zubayr Amiri
30. Jabar Sharza

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Gokulam Kerala midfielder Sharif Mukhammad spoke to Khel Now following the squad announcement. He revealed that he was happy at his inclusion and that he was looking to do well for his country after a solid domestic season with the Malabarians.

"I enjoyed a good season with GKFC and now I want to do the same with my national team," the 31-year-old said. He is a regular in the Afghan side and also played against India when they last faced each other in November 2019.

Another player in the team who is quite familiar with Indian football is Zohib Amiri. The 34-year-old was a part of the Malabarians when he last faced the Blue Tigers, but since then he has moved on and joined Real Kashmir.

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