Iran’s Top Striker Is Left Out of the World Cup Squad After Clash With the Regime

Sardar Azmoun, widely regarded as Iran’s most gifted footballer, has been left off the country’s World Cup roster for reasons unrelated to injury or visas. At 31, this would have been his third and final World Cup, and he ranks third on Iran’s all-time scoring list behind Ali Daei and Mehdi Taremi.

Azmoun built his reputation at Zenit St. Petersburg, where he won four league titles and was named Russian league player of the year in 2021. He was once Iran’s most expensive player, before Alireza Jahanbakhsh’s €22.5 million move from AZ Alkmaar to Brighton in 2021. Since leaving Zenit four years ago, he has also had spells at Bayer Leverkusen and Roma, and now plays for Shabab Al-Ahli in Dubai.

The key issue is political. In January, Azmoun posted a photo of himself shaking hands with Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accused him of collaborating with Iran’s enemies. The Guards also said he stayed silent while the “American and Zionist regime” attacked his homeland. He was then omitted from March friendlies against Nigeria and Costa Rica in Antalya, and again from the preliminary World Cup squad announced last month by coach Amir Ghalenoei. Iran’s state news agency IRNA said he was injured, but Azmoun’s online messages suggested emotional hurt rather than physical problems.

Azmoun said he had always played for Iran “with pride” and that he loves “the good and worthy people” of his country. In 2022, after Mahsa Amini died in police custody, he openly supported Iranian women and wrote that if the cost was being dropped from the national team, “No problem.” His last appearance for Iran came in March last year, when he scored what may be his final international goal, his 57th in 91 caps, against the United Arab Emirates. Asked about the omission ahead of the New Zealand match, Ghalenoei said Azmoun is “an excellent player” and added that, like Neymar for Brazil, he could not be expected to play every game.