Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei has named a 26-man squad for the FIFA World Cup, placing his trust in experienced forwards Mehdi Taremi and Alireza Jahanbakhsh, while controversially leaving out Sardar Azmoun.

Azmoun, who has scored 57 goals in 91 international appearances, was omitted from both the preliminary and final squads despite reported calls from Iran’s Vice President, Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh, for his reinstatement.

The Shabab Al Ahli striker in the United Arab Emirates was also excluded from the national team setup in March, with local media reporting that he had been removed over an alleged act of disloyalty to the government.

In contrast, 33-year-old Taremi of Olympiacos and former Brighton winger Jahanbakhsh are expected to spearhead Iran’s attack at the tournament, which will run from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Iran have also faced months of uncertainty surrounding travel and security arrangements for the tournament. However, FIFA has approved their request to base the squad in the Mexican border city of Tijuana, after plans to stay in Arizona were changed.

All of Iran’s group-stage matches will be played in the United States. They open against New Zealand on June 15 in Los Angeles, before facing Belgium on June 21, also in Los Angeles, and Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.

Iran World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand, Seyed Hossein Hosseini, Payam Niazmand

Defenders: Danial Eiri, Ehsan Hajsafi, Saleh Hardani, Hossein Kanaani, Shoja Khalilzadeh, Milad Mohammadi, Ali Nemati, 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, Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, Mehdi Taremi, Shahriar Moghanlou