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Azmoun left out of Iran's World Cup squad despite vice-presidential plea for recall

Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei has omitted striker Sardar Azmoun — 57 goals in 91 caps — from the 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup, with local media reporting he was expelled for perceived disloyalty to the government. Mehdi Taremi and Alireza Jahanbakhsh lead the attack instead.

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Azmoun left out of Iran's World Cup squad despite vice-presidential plea for recall
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Sardar Azmoun has been left out of Iran’s 26-man World Cup squad despite a public appeal for his inclusion from the country’s Vice President, Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh, with coach Amir Ghalenoei naming his final selection ahead of the tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico this summer.

Azmoun, who has scored 57 goals in 91 international appearances, was absent from both the preliminary and final squads. Local media reports suggest the Shabab Al-Ahli forward was expelled from the national setup for a perceived act of disloyalty to the Iranian government — a situation that also saw him omitted from the squad in March.

Leading Iran’s attack in his absence will be 33-year-old Mehdi Taremi, currently at Olympiacos, alongside former Brighton & Hove Albion winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh. The pair represent the experienced core of a squad that has faced months of uncertainty over travel and security arrangements given Iran’s ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel.

FIFA approved a request to relocate Iran’s training base from Arizona to the Mexican border city of Tijuana, where the squad will be headquartered during the finals. Despite that logistical compromise, all three of Iran’s group-stage matches are scheduled to be played on American soil.

Ghalenoei’s side open their campaign against New Zealand on 15 June in Los Angeles, before facing Belgium in the same city on 21 June. Their final group fixture is against Egypt in Seattle on 26 June.

Iran have never advanced beyond the group stage at a World Cup. At the 2022 tournament in Qatar they were drawn in the same group as England and managed to beat Wales, but still failed to reach the knockout rounds.

Iran’s full 26-man World Cup squad

Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand, Seyed Hossein Hosseini, Payam Niazmand

Defenders: Danial Eiri, Ehsan Hajsafi, Saleh Hardani, Hossein Kanaani, Shoja Khalilzadeh, Milad Mohammadi, Ali Nemati, Ramin Rezaeian

Midfielders: Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Saeid Ezatolahi, Mehdi Ghaedi, Saman Ghoddos, Mohammad Ghorbani, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Mohammad Mohebi, Amir Mohammad Razzaghinia, Mehdi Torabi, Aria Yousefi

Forwards: Ali Alipour, Dennis Dargahi, Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, Mehdi Taremi, Shahriar Moghanlou

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