Everything You Need To Know About Iran Before The World Cup 2026

Everything You Need To Know About Iran Before The World Cup 2026

Perhaps the side with the most political tension heading to North America this summer is that of the Iranian national team, who will not even be permitted to stay in the United States ahead of their games and will have to commute from Mexico on gameday.

Iran have become a commonly seen side at the World Cup in recent years having featured in the last 4 editions of the tournament dating back to Brazil 2014, they have never made it out of the group stages however they will be looking to make a statement this time out.

Their current side is not one that is littered with names the average fan will recognise, however this does not mean there is not an array of talent in the squad, they dominated in their qualifiers and have the motivation to do what they have never done before.

Iran’s World Cup squad has been notified they must enter and leave US soil on the same day of their matches played in America, says Tehran’s ambassador to Mexico.

🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/lBTjnhOsT3 pic.twitter.com/468z5uhBBQ

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) June 6, 2026

Who Is Heading to North America?

With some restrictions over who can play and some players like Azmoun disagreeing with the Iranian Football Federation the squad heading to the World Cup is missing a few minor players, however head coach Amir Ghalenoei will be confident he can extract what he needs from one of Asia's best sides.

The Iranian World Cup Squad is as follows:

Goalkeepers

• Alireza Beiranvand (Tractor)
• Payam Niazmand (Persepolis)
• Hossein Hosseini (Sepahan)

Defenders

• Saleh Hardani (Esteghlal)
• Ehsan Hajisafi (Sepahan)
• Shoja Khalilzadeh (Tractor)
• Milad Mohammadi (Persepolis)
• Hossein Kanani (Persepolis)
• Arya Yousefi (Sepahan)
• Ali Nemati (Foolad Khuzestan)
• Ramin Rezaeian (Esteghlal)
• Danial Iri (Malavan)

Midfielders

• Saeid Ezatolahi (Shabab Al-Alhi Dubai FC)
• Alireza Jahanbakhsh (FCV Dender EH)
• Mohammad Mohebbi (FC Rostov)
• Saman Ghoddos (Al-Ittihad Kalba)
• Roozbeh Cheshmi (Esteghlal)
• Medhi Torabi (Tractor)
• Mohammad Ghorbani (Al-Wahda)
• Amirmohammad Razaghinia (Esteghlal)

Forwards

• Medhi Taremi (Olympiacos)
• Medhi Ghayedi (Al-Nasr SC)
• Ali Alipour (Persepolis)
• Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh (Tractor)
• Shahriyar Moghanloo (Al-Ittihad Kalba)
• Dennis Dargahi (Standard Liege)

🚨✅OFFICIAL: Iran World Cup final squad announced 🇮🇷

Iran will play at the 2026 World Cup, says FIFA president Gianni Infantino. pic.twitter.com/D4Yu2vQlpK

— Juju Bloke (@Jujubloke) May 15, 2026

Key Player To Watch

Mehdi Taremi

He may not be able to beat the Iranian all time goal scorer record, courtesy of Ali Daei, but Mehdi Taremi has been one of the top goal scorers in Europe throughout his career on the continent and is widely the most recognised Iranian footballer of all time.

He is most known for his time at Portuguese giants FC Porto in which he won 1x Portuguese Title, 3x Portuguese Cups, 1x Portuguese League Cup, 2x Portuguese Super Cups and 2x Liga Nos/Portugal Golden Boots.

Taremi may not be at the peak of his powers at this stage of his career but he is well acquainted with being the talisman of the national team and very used to putting the ball in the back of the net.

Iran national team forward Mehdi Taremi said that steps the U.S. government has taken regarding the denial of visas and preventing a Somali referee from entering the country are hurting the country's image. https://t.co/Tz4trkOyXK pic.twitter.com/wk6WcNcJUN

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 10, 2026

New Kid On The Block

Dennis Dargahi

When we say Dennis Dargahi is the new kid on the block, that is not to say he is a young emerging talent, in fact he is 29-years-old and has been playing in the Belgian Pro League for a long time.

What makes him the new kid is that he has only started representing the Iranian national team since March of this year, you may also know him by his more common name which is Dennis Eckert.

He has been one of the most consistent players in the Belgian Pro League for a few years now and will be looking to establish himself as the upcoming talisman for Iran in North America.

To answer your questions:

Dennis personally sent us at Gol Bezan a picture of his Iranian passport.

He is using his Iranian name in his passport: Dennis Dargahi.

He’s only played one friendly for Germany U19 and the FIFA change of association platform will be updated in a few… https://t.co/NEGRJQdUL6

— Erfan Hoseiny (@Eri1806) May 13, 2026

How and Where to Watch Iran's Group Stage Games

• Tuesday 16th June 02:00 BST: IR Iran vs New Zealand | SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California | BBC and BBC Iplayer
• Sunday 21st June 20:00 BST: Belgium vs IR Iran | SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California | ITV 1 and ITV X
• Saturday 27th June 04:00 BST: Egypt vs IR Iran | Lumen Field, Seattle | BBC and BBC Iplayer

Iran and Group G

In comparison to previous years Iran have been given a fairly favourable group draw, they will face off against Egypt, Belgium and New Zealand as they battle to make it into the knockout stages.

New Zealand should be the side they can get a victory over, on paper at least, but Egypt is also a relatively even tie for the Iranians and one that could secure escape from the groups.

Belgium are the only real opponents we anticipate will be a step too far however crazier things have happened at the World Cup and it's hardly like Belgium are known for living up to international expectations.

Opposition aside though Iran will face the additional challenge of needing to commute in and out of the United States for every match as the host nation has not granted them permission to stay in the country during the tournament.

From @TheAthleticFC: When the Iran team landed in Mexico for the World Cup, players wore pins that read "#168."

The design commemorates the number of children killed at a school on the first day of the U.S.-Iran conflict. https://t.co/PGL50Lkw5y pic.twitter.com/RBCbzsTDkg

— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 9, 2026