Sardar Azmoun will not be at the 2026 World Cup. Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei left the forward out of the final squad, with reports pointing to a political falling-out as the reason for his exclusion, the BBC reported.
Azmoun, who plays for Shabab Al-Ahli in Dubai, is reported to have upset Iran’s government in March by posting a photograph of himself with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The timing was sensitive: the post came during the ongoing conflict between Iran and both the US and Israel, a period in which Iranian strikes also targeted facilities in the UAE.
The 29-year-old had already been absent from Iran’s preliminary squad. He finishes with 57 goals in 91 international appearances, a record that makes him the country’s third-highest goalscorer of all time.
Mehdi Taremi and Alireza Jahanbakhsh were named in the squad. Taremi, 33, is at Olympiakos, while Jahanbakhsh, formerly of Brighton, now plays for Dender in Belgium’s Pro League.
Iran’s participation at the tournament had itself been in doubt. The team has relocated its World Cup base to Mexico after Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum said the US was unwilling to host them.
Iran are scheduled to face New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, both in Los Angeles, and Egypt in Seattle on June 26. The tournament opens on June 11 across the US, Canada, and Mexico.
