Mehdi Taremi is the star as Iran name FIFA World Cup squad
IR Iran manager Amir Ghalenoei has announced his 26-man squad for FIFA World Cup 2026.
As they head into this summer, having made a late switch of base camp from Arizona down to Tijuana, Iran boss Amir Ghalenoei has named his 26-man FIFA World Cup squad.
Their squad is headlined by former Inter Milan forward Mehdi Taremi, who has remained impressive since moving to Greek giants Olympiacos in the summer of 2025.
They are, though, reliant on Taremi with the international retirement of former Bayer Leverkusen and Roma striker Sardar Azmoun leaving Taremi without much quality back-up, albeit versatile attacker Dennis Eckert, a former Germany U19 international, will be expected to be make an impact having switched his international allegiance.
Taremi is one of 16, fairly staggeringly, players aged 30 or over with 33-year-old shot stopper Alireza Beiranvand once again a key man between the sticks for the Iranians.
Former Olympiacos and AEK Athens full-back Ehsan Hajsafi is a part of a experienced defence that consists of the likes of Milad Mohammadi, Ramin Rezaeian, Hossein Kanaanizadegan and Shojae Khalilzadeh.
Former Brentford man Saman Ghoddos and former Brighton and Hove Albion winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh remain key men for the final third with the experience of Saeid Ezatolahi in the middle of the park.
There are no major surprises, albeit there is no room for Lech Poznan midfielder Ali Gholizadeh and former Hull City attacker Allayhar Sayyadmanesh.
