June 1 : Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei named a 26-man squad for the World Cup on Monday, relying on veterans Mehdi Taremi and Alireza Jahanbakhsh, while leaving out Sardar Azmoun. Azmoun, who has scored 57 goals in 91 internationals, was left out of the preliminary squad, and did not make the final squad, despite Iran's Vice President, Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh, calling for him to return. Azmoun, who plays for Shabab Al-Ahli in the United Arab Emirates, was also ​omitted from the Iran squad in March,