Iranian Swedish footballer chose playing for Iran over Sweden for World Cup
Independent Aggregator of Iran-related news/Events, Kodoom.com: For the first time in the history of Iranian football, a professional European footballer of Iranian ancestry has chosen playing in World Cup 2018 for Iran over his birth place, Sweden.
Saman Ghoddos, a Swedish-born Iranian international footballer who plays for Östersunds FK in the Swedish Allsvenskan revealed in August that he has acquired his Iranian passport. He was then called into Sweden's World Cup qualification squad on 27 September for matches against Luxembourg and Netherlands. Today, however, he announced that while forever grateful to Sweden for the invitation, he will join Iran instead in World Cup 2018.
Some of Ghoddos' Iranian fans have asked him, in comments under his shirtless images on a beach, to "Watch for punishment in Iran with these immodest images!" Some others have commented under his picture in a bar with beer "This is Haram (forbidden in Islam)." Others have commented "We are proud of you and want you to play for Iran."
Ghoddos' parents were born in Iranian city of Ahvaz. He speaks English, Swedish, and Persian.
As in World Cup 2014, besides Ghoddos, several other expatriate Iranian footballers, including many from Europe, have been invited by Coach Carlos Queiroz to play for Iran in World Cup 2018
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