Iran will begin its 2026 World Cup campaign without Sardar Azmoun after head coach Amir Ghalenoei left the forward off the final roster as the team arrived in the United States on Sunday, June 14 ahead of a June 15 opener against New Zealand.
Azmoun’s absence removes one of Iran’s most experienced attackers: he has scored 57 international goals, third all-time among Iranian men, and only 10 players in the country’s history have played more international games than he has. He had already been omitted from two March friendlies against Nigeria and Costa Rica and was not included in Ghalenoei’s preliminary squad announced in May.
The omission follows reports in March that Iranian media viewed an Instagram post Azmoun shared in January — a photograph in which he was shown shaking hands with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum — as a perceived act of disloyalty; Azmoun later deleted the post. Those reports said the episode led to his effective removal from the national team.
Azmoun, who has played for Dubai-based Shabab Al Ahli since signing a three-year contract in 2024, told an online World Cup show on Varzesh3 that he was "very sad" about not making the squad and that he knew he could have helped. He added that he has many things to say but would not speak further for now, and reiterated that he had always played for his national team with pride.
The friction is plain: Azmoun insists on his commitment to Iran’s team and its supporters, while reports linking his omission to a politically sensitive social-media exchange remain unresolved. His exclusion removes a proven goalscorer from a squad that will be tested immediately — Iran’s first match is Monday, June 15 — and it leaves the coaching staff without one of the country’s most reliable finishers.
What happens next is straightforward and urgent. Iran will take the field against New Zealand on Monday, June 15 with the roster Ghalenoei named; the team’s arrival in the U.S. on June 14 confirmed there will be no late reinsertion. The central unanswered question is whether the federation or Azmoun will provide a fuller explanation of whether the decision was driven by injury, discipline, politics, or another factor — and whether that explanation will come before Iran’s next match.
