TEHRAN: Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei named a 26-man squad for the World Cup on Monday, relying on veterans Mehdi Taremi and Alireza Jahanbakhsh, while leaving out Sardar Azmoun.

Azmoun, who has scored 57 goals in 91 internationals, was left out of the preliminary squad, and did not make the final squad, despite Iran’s Vice President, Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh, calling for him to return.

Azmoun, who plays for Shabab Al-Ahli in the United Arab Emirates, was also omitted from the Iran squad in March, with local media reporting he had been expelled from the national team for a perceived act of disloyalty to the government.

Taremi, 33, who plays for Olympiacos, and former Brighton & Hove Albion winger Jahanb­akhsh, will lead the attack in the tournament, which will be held in the US, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.

Iran, who have faced months of uncertainty over travel and security arrangements for the World Cup, will base their squad in the Mexican border city of Tijuana during the finals, after FIFA approved a request to move the training camp from Arizona.

Iran are scheduled to play all three of their group matches in the US. They will take on New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 in Los Angeles, and Egypt five days later in Seattle.

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.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2026