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Azmoun excluded from 2026 World Cup; branded a traitor in Iran
·1 June 2026·106d ago

Azmoun excluded from 2026 World Cup; branded a traitor in Iran

Source: Forza Roma

Sardar Azmoun will not play in the 2026 World Cup, which begins in 10 days in the USA, Canada and Mexico, after Iran's national team left him out of their squad. The former Roma striker, now at Shabab Al-Ahli, is Iran's third all-time leading goalscorer but has been deemed a 'traitor' in his home country since March after photographs emerged of him with senior United Arab Emirates officials.

Azmoun had posted and later deleted images on Instagram in mid-March alongside Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's prime minister and president respectively. Iran considers the Emirates an adversary and a US ally; the country attacked Dubai directly after the outbreak of war. Though Azmoun had previously voiced dissent against the Iranian regime on social media, he had not faced consequences on the pitch until now. Despite scoring six goals and providing three assists across 11 Asian qualifying matches, he will miss the tournament.

This represents a significant shift: his earlier criticism of Iran's political system had not previously cost him his international place.

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Testo Originale / Source Text

L'ex attaccante della Roma, terzo miglior marcatore nella storia della nazionale iraniana, non compare nell'elenco dei convocati al Mondiale 2026 Redazione 1 giugno - 21:20 Sardar Azmoun non parteciperà al Mondiale 2026, al via tra 10 giorni negli USA, in Canada e Messico, con il 'suo' Iran. L'ex…

Read the full article in Italian at Forza Roma.

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