Tehran, Iran – Amir Ghalenoei, the coach of the Iranian national team, announced the preliminary squad for his team in preparation for participating in the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The next edition of the World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 13, 2026, with 48 teams participating for the first time in the tournament’s history.
The list included star Mehdi Taremi, while Sardar Azmoun was absent in the most notable surprise of the Iranian coach’s selections.
The list included 30 players, which will be reduced to 26 players before the deadline set by FIFA, scheduled for June 2.
The Iranian national team is expected to hold a training camp in Türkiye, which will include a friendly match against the Gambian national team on May 29, before traveling to the United States in preparation for the start of the tournament.
The Iranian national team roster is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand – Seyed Hossein Hosseini – Mohammad Khalifa – Payam Niazmand
Defense: Daniel Erie – Ehsan Hajsafi – Saleh Hardani – Hossein Kanaani – Shoja Khalilzadeh – Milad Mohammadi – Ali Nemati – Omid Nourafkan – Ramin Rezaeian
Midfield: Rouzbeh Cheshmi – Saeed Ezatollahi – Mehdi Ghaedi – Saman Ghoddos – Mohammad Ghorbani – Alireza Jahanbakhsh – Mohammad Mohebi – Amir Mohammad Razaq – Mehdi Torabi – Arya Yousefi
Attackers: Ali Alipour – Denis Darkahi – Hadi Habibnejad – Amir Hosseinzadeh – Amir Hossein Mahmoudi – Kasri Taheri – Mehdi Taremi
Iran will begin their campaign in the tournament with a match against New Zealand, followed by a match against Belgium, and will conclude the group stage with a match against Egypt.
