Iran name preliminary 30-Man squad for FIFA World Cup 2026

Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei has officially announced a preliminary 30-man squad for the FIFA World Cup 2026 as Team Melli prepare for their fourth consecutive appearance on football’s biggest stage. The squad, which combines experienced stars with emerging young talents, will begin preparations with a training camp in Türkiye before travelling to the United States for the tournament. One of the biggest talking points from the announcement was the omission of veteran striker Sardar Azmoun, Iran’s third-highest goalscorer of all time. The experienced forward was left out alongside Belgian-b

Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei has officially announced a preliminary 30-man squad for the FIFA World Cup 2026 as Team Melli prepare for their fourth consecutive appearance on football’s biggest stage. The squad, which combines experienced stars with emerging young talents, will begin preparations with a training camp in Türkiye before travelling to the United States for the tournament. One of the biggest talking points from the announcement was the omission of veteran striker Sardar Azmoun, Iran’s third-highest goalscorer of all time. The experienced forward was left out alongside Belgian-based winger Allahyar Sayyadmanesh and young midfielder Mohammad Javad Hosseinnejad. Despite Azmoun’s absence, Inter Milan striker Mehdi Taremi leads the squad and is expected to play a major role in Iran’s World Cup campaign. Taremi is among several experienced players included by Ghalenoei, with many members of the squad already having more than 50 international appearances. Speaking after revealing the squad, Ghalenoei admitted the selection process had been extremely difficult. “Selecting 30 players for this final training camp ahead of the World Cup was the most difficult technical decision of my coaching career,” the coach explained. Iran will first travel to Antalya, Türkiye, where they are scheduled to play a warm-up match against Gambia on 29 May. The team will then head to their World Cup base camp in Arizona as preparations intensify ahead of the tournament. Team Melli have been placed in a challenging Group G alongside New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt. Iran will begin their campaign against New Zealand on 15 June at Los Angeles Stadium before facing Belgium on 21 June in another match at the same venue. Their final group-stage match will be against Egypt in Seattle on 26 June. The final official 26-man squad for the FIFA World Cup must be submitted before 2 June. Iran Preliminary 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 Iran will be aiming to make history in 2026 by advancing beyond the World Cup group stage for the first time ever.