Iran striker Sardar Azmoun, the third-highest goalscorer in the countrys history, has been left out of their World Cup squad.Azmouns omission comes amid reports of disloyalty to the Iranian government.The 31-year-old, who plays his club football in the United Arab Emirates, is said to have angered the regime by posting a photo of himself with UAE ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Instagram in March.Azmoun was left out of Irans preliminary squad for the tournament and, despite pleas from the countrys vice president, Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh, calling for his inclusion, he will not feature in North America.The former Bayer Leverkusen, Roma and Zenit forward has 57 goals in 91 caps for Iran, who are still scheduled to play all of their games in the United States despite the ongoing conflict between the two nations.Irans participation at the finals has been the subject of doubt since the beginning of the war on February 28, when the US and Israel launched joint airstrikes on the Gulf nation. In response, Iran attacked a range of US bases around the Gulf, including in the UAE.The US and Iran remain locked in talks to end the conflict, though there have been recent escalations around the Strait of Hormuz, which remains blocked.In a Truth Social post in March, US president Donald Trump wrote: The Iran national soccer team is welcome to the World Cup, but I really dont believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.Iran have subsequently moved their World Cup base to Mexico.Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum said: We have no reason to deny them the possibility of staying in Mexico.The United States does not want the Iranian team to stay overnight, but they are going to play three matches there.So they asked us: Can they stay overnight in Mexico? And we said: Yes, no problem. We have no problem.Sheinbaum confirmed in March that FIFA had rejected a request for Irans games to be moved to Mexico.Iran are scheduled to face New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15 in their opening Group G game. They will then face Belgium at the same venue before taking on Egypt in Seattle.Iran squad in fullGoalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand (Tractor), Seyed Hossein Hosseini (Sepahan), Payam Niazmand (Persepolis)Defenders: Danial Eiri (Zob Ahan Esfahan), Ehsan Hajsafi (Sepahan), Saleh Hardani (Esteghlal), Hossein Kanaani (Persepolis), Shoja Khalilzadeh (Tractor), Milad Mohammadi (Persepolis), Ali Nemati (Foolad), Ramin Rezaeian (Foolad)Midfielders: Rouzbeh Cheshmi (Esteghlal), Saeid Ezatolahi (Shabab Al Ahli), Mehdi Ghaedi (Al-Nasr), Saman Ghoddos (Kalba), Mohammad Ghorbani (Al Wahda), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Dender), Mohammad Mohebi (Rostov), Amir Mohammad Razzaghinia (Esteghlal), Mehdi Torabi (Tractor), Aria Yousefi (Sepahan)Forwards: Ali Alipour (Persepolis), Dennis Dargahi (Standard Liege), Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh (Tractor), Mehdi Taremi (Olympiacos), Shahriar Moghanlou (Kalba). Topics 2026 FIFA World Cup Iran National Football Team Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read How long is Lamine Yamal out? Latest news, injury update and Barcelona and Spain wingers reaction to hamstring problem before 2026 FIFA World Cup Ben Miller 1st June, 2026 World Cup 2026 Group B: Preview, prediction, players to watch, fixtures and TV details Mitch Fretton 1st June, 2026 World Cup 2026 Group A: Preview, prediction, players to watch, fixtures and TV details Jon Fisher 1st June, 2026 Scotland to assess Gilmour knee injury after win over Curacao Nicholas McGee 30th May, 2026 Scotland 4-1 Curacao: Report, result and goals as Clarkes men punish World Cup history makers Nicholas McGee 30th May, 2026 Germany v Finland: Line-ups, stats and preview for World Cup warm-up Nicholas McGee 30th May, 2026
