Amid intense political tensions over their participation in the upcoming World Cup in the United States, Iran has officially announced its preliminary squad. However, head coach Amir Ghalenoei has raised eyebrows by omitting one of the nation’s most dependable stars, Sardar Azmoun, from the 30-man roster. The exclusion of the lethal forward, who boasts an impressive international record of 57 goals in 91 appearances, has sparked massive controversy across the footballing world. While Ghalenoei offered no specific explanation for leaving the talismanic striker out, Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, claimed that the former Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma player was sidelined purely due to an ongoing injury. Currently playing for United Arab Emirates club Shabab Al-Ahli, Azmoun was also excluded from the national team setup back in March, when local media outlets reported he had been blacklisted for allegedly betraying the government. The root of the controversy stems from a March Instagram post where Azmoun shared a picture of his meeting with Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. This meeting sat poorly with Tehran, as Iran had previously launched missile and drone strikes against the UAE following the deaths of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US and Israeli airstrikes.
While Azmoun is the most notable absentee from the preliminary squad announced on Saturday, veteran forward Mehdi Taremi and former Brighton winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh have both secured their places as the team prepares to travel to Turkey next week for their final World Cup training camp. Iran’s participation in the tournament had been shrouded in deep uncertainty following the US and Israeli strikes in February. Citing wartime security concerns, Iran had formally requested world football’s governing body, FIFA, to relocate their fixtures to Mexico. However, FIFA President Gianni Infantino firmly rejected the request, clarifying that all scheduled matches will proceed in the United States as originally planned. Consequently, Iran will kick off their World Cup campaign on June 15 against New Zealand in Los Angeles, followed by a clash against Belgium in the same city on June 21, before wrapping up their group stage five days later against Egypt in Seattle. The selected 30-man preliminary squad features goalkeepers Alireza Beiranvand, Seyed Hossein Hosseini, Mohammad Khalifeh, and Payam Niazmand. The defensive line comprises Danial Eiri, Ehsan Hajsafi, Saleh Hardani, Hossein Kanaanizadegan, Shojae Khalilzadeh, Milad Mohammadi, Ali Nemati, Omid Nourafkan, and Ramin Rezaeian. Managing the midfield will be Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Saeid Ezatolahi, Mehdi Ghayedi, Saman Ghoddos, Mohammad Ghorbani, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Mohammad Mohebi, Amir Mohammad Razzaghinia, Mehdi Torabi, and Aria Yousofi. In the absence of Azmoun, the attacking responsibilities will fall upon Ali Alipour, Denis Dargahi, Hadi Habibinezhad, Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, Amirhossein Mahmoudi, Kasra Taheri, and Mehdi Taremi.
