San Jose Earthquakes defender Steven Beitashour was a surprise addition to Carlos Queiroz’s 27-man roster for the Iranian national team’s Asian Cup qualifier against Thailand, according to a report Friday on PersianFootball.com.
It is the first call-up to Iran for Beitashour, who holds both US and Iranian citizenship, and an appearance in the Oct. 15 game at Azadi Stadium in Tehran would cap-tie him with Team Melli.
Queiroz, who coached the MetroStars for the second half of the 1996 season, took over for Iran in 2011 and rumors surfaced last year that he was interested in Beitashour.
It is unclear whether Beitashour – who was also was called up to the US national team last summer for a friendly against Mexico but did not make an appearance – will accept the invitation.
Iran have already qualified for the World Cup and are the second-highest ranked team in Asia in the latest FIFA rankings.
