Iran national football team striker Sardar Azmoun (Shabab Al Ahli) has been left off the final roster for the 2026 FIFA North American World Cup.
According to Reuters and other outlets on Monday, Iran national team head coach Amir Ghalenoei announced the 26-man final squad for the North American World Cup.
The roster includes nine overseas-based players, among them veteran striker Mehdi Taremi and midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh, but excludes Azmoun, who anchored Iran's frontline alongside Taremi at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Azmoun, who plays for Shabab Al Ahli in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) professional football league, is an ace striker with 57 goals in 91 appearances for the Iran national team.
However, his national team career hit a red flag when he was excluded from the squad call-up in March. The trigger was a photo he posted on his social media account taken with UAE Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The Iranian government, which was waging a war against the United States and Israel at the time, was reportedly furious over the photo. The UAE is known to have participated in attacks against Iran multiple times during the conflict.
Local media reported at the time that Azmoun was removed from the national team for engaging in conduct deemed to reflect insufficient loyalty to the Iranian government.
By contrast, Saeid Ezatolahi, Azmoun's teammate at Shabab Al Ahli, was selected for the final roster. Five of the nine overseas-based players belong to UAE league clubs.
Of the 26 players on the final roster, 17 play in Iran's domestic league. They have not played for their clubs since late February due to the impact of the war.
At the North American World Cup, which opens on June 11, Iran has set up its base camp in Mexico. Iran will face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles on June 15 and June 21, respectively. The team will play its third match against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
