Azmoun omitted as Iran names provisional World Cup squad
Iran head coach Amir Qalenoei has named a provisional 30-man list for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada from June 11.
The Iranian squad will head to Antalya, Turkey, in the coming days for its final training camp ahead of what is set to be the most politically charged campaign in the history of Iranian sport, amid the country’s military conflict with the United States and Israel.
Iran will kick off its Group G campaign against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on June 15, before facing European heavyweight Belgium at the same venue six days later. The team will then travel to Seattle, Washington, to face Egypt in its final group game at Lumen Field on June 26.
Sardar Azmoun is the most high-profile absentee, as the Shabab Al Ahli striker is set to miss out on a third successive World Cup. Iran’s joint-second all-time top scorer with 57 goals in 91 appearances, Azmoun missed the best part of the UAE Pro League season due to two major injury setbacks and has managed only three starts – finding the net twice – since returning to action in late February.
His omission, however, is believed to be driven by off-field issues, following his controversial social media post regarding the war in the early stages of the conflict, which began with U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Tehran on February 28.
Qalenoei insisted that “nothing other than technical criteria” played a part in his team selection.
“Selecting the squad for the final pre-World Cup training camp was one of the toughest decisions of my coaching career. Over the past 48 hours, I had to choose only 30 players, despite the technical merit of all those who have been part of the national team matrix over the past two years and have worked for Iran’s success,” Qalenoei said.
“I chose the 30 players based solely on my technical standards. I just hope that those who did not get the chance to be part of the World Cup roster will still have the opportunity to wear the national team jersey in future events,” added the Iranian coach, who is eager to lead Team Melli to its first-ever knockout spot at the World Cup at the seventh attempt.
Allahyar Sayyadmanesh is also a surprise absentee, after the 24-year-old winger enjoyed an impressive season with KVC Westerlo in the Belgian top flight, bagging seven goals and five assists in 29 outings.
Tractor full-back Danial Esmaeilifar and his club teammate Mahdi Hashemnejad, as well as Dynamo Makhachkala midfielder Mohammad-Javad Hosseinnejad, were also unlucky to be overlooked by Qalenoei despite successful campaigns with their respective clubs.
Dennis Eckert Dargahi, who received his first international call-up in March, has been named in the list. The former German under-19 international contributed seven goals in 35 appearances across domestic competitions for Belgian top-tier club Standard Liège this season.
FIFA support
Meanwhile, a FIFA delegation led by Secretary General Mattias Grafström met with Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) officials in Istanbul on Saturday to offer reassurance and support regarding Team Melli’s World Cup participation.
“FIFA President Gianni Infantino has stressed that Iran will be eagerly welcomed in North America during what promises to be the most inclusive sporting event in history. Speaking to FFIRI chairman Mahdi Taj and his colleagues at the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) headquarters, Grafström reiterated FIFA’s position and outlined organizers’ plans to make Iran’s World Cup experience as seamless, productive and enjoyable as possible,” the governing body’s official website wrote of Saturday’s meeting.
“We’ve had an excellent meeting – a constructive meeting together with the Iran FA. We’re working closely together and looking very much forward to welcoming them to the FIFA World Cup 2026,” Grafström said. “We had the opportunity to discuss some of the operational matters, like we do with every member association. I’m very happy that we were able to have this positive exchange, and both the Iran FA and FIFA are very happy with the meeting and looking forward to welcoming Team Melli in the USA, Canada and Mexico.”
Taj, meanwhile, said, “We had a positive and constructive meeting with FIFA. We discussed our concerns and expressed our joint commitment to ensure the smooth participation of Team Melli at the World Cup.”
This was the latest twist in the months-long saga of Team Melli’s World Cup campaign.
Taj, a former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and his two colleagues abruptly left Toronto, abandoning their onward trip to Vancouver for the 76th FIFA Congress in early May, following a clash with Canadian border officials. While media reports suggested that immigration authorities denied the delegation entry into Canada, Taj insisted that it was their own decision to leave the North American country after exhaustive questioning about his ties with the IRGC – which Canada listed as a “terrorist group” in 2024 – and “offensive insults directed at the country’s proud armed forces.”
Despite Grafström’s latest remarks, concerns remain that Iranian players who completed their military service in the IRGC could experience U.S. visa complications. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier in the month that the Team Melli squad would be welcome at the tournament but indicated that some federation members with “ties to the IRGC” may experience difficulties.
The following is the Iranian provisional squad for the World Cup:
Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand (Tractor), Payam Niazmand (Persepolis), Seyyed Hossein Hosseini (Sepahan), Mohammad Khalifeh (Iralco)
Defenders: Shoja Khalilzadeh (Tractor), Ali Ne’mati (Foolad Khuzestan), Hossein Kan’anizadegan (Persepolis), Danial Eiri (Malavan FC), Ramin Rezaeian (Foolad Khuzestan), Saleh Hardani (Esteghlal), Milad Mohammadi (Persepolis), Ehsan Hajsafi (Sepahan)
Midfielders: Saeid Ezzatollahi (Shabab Al Ahli), Rouzbeh Cheshmi (Esteghlal), Mohammad Qorbani (Al Wahda), Amirmohammad Razzaqinia (Esteghlal), Omid Nourafkan (Sepahan), Saman Qoddous (Kalba FC), Hadi Habibinejad (Chadormalou), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Dender EH), Mohammad Mohebbi (Rostov), Aria Yousefi (Sepahan), Mahdi Qayedi (Al Nasr), Mahdi Torabi (Tractor), Amirhossein Mahmoudi (Persepolis)
Strikers: Mahdi Taremi (Olympiacos), Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh (Tractor), Dennis Eckert Dargahi (Standard Liège), Ali Alipour (Persepolis), Kasra Taheri (Paykan).
The list will be trimmed to 26 for the World Cup.