Ghalenoei names preliminary Iran squad with several notable exclusions

FIFA – Tehran, Head coach Amir Ghalenoei has selected an initial 30-strong IR Iran squad for the FIFA World Cup, with forward Sardar Azmoun a notable omission.

Just over a month out from their FIFA World Cup 2026™ opener with New Zealand, head coach Amir Ghalenoei has named an extended IR Iran squad as the nation prepares to head to a fourth consecutive finals.

The 30-strong selection will travel next week to Türkiye, where they will face Gambia in a pre-tournament international in Antalya on 29 May before shifting to their base camp in Arizona.

Iran’s Extended World Cup squad

Goalkeepers
Alireza Beiranvand,
Seyed Hossein Hosseini
Mohammad Khalifeh
Payam Niazmand

Defenders
Danial Eiri
Ehsan Hajsafi
Saleh Hardani
Hossein Kanaani
Shoja Khalilzadeh
Milad Mohammadi
Ali Nemati Omid Noorafkan
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
Hadi Habibinejad
Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh
Amirhossein Mahmoudi
Kasra Taheri
Mehdi Taremi

All squads are provisional until the final list of 26 players is announced by FIFA, following their submission by participating teams, on 2 June.
Taremi in, Azmoun out

Ghalenoei’s extended squad is heavy on experience, with star forward Mehdi Taremi one of almost a dozen players to have accrued half a century of caps or more.

There was, though, no place for the nation’s third-highest scorer Sardar Azmoun, Belgian-based winger Allahyar Sayyadmanesh or young midfielder Mohammad Javad Hosseinnejad.

The vastly experienced coach told the FFIRI website that selecting the extended group was an incredibly challenging task.

“Selecting 30 players for this final training camp ahead of the World Cup was the most difficult technical decision of my coaching career,” he said.

After that Group G opener, Team Melli remain in Los Angeles to face Belgium before the group closer in Seattle against Egypt on 26 June.