The first-ever 'national team ace expulsion' → to participate in the World Cup... Iran's 'Again' Big Club Goals Controversy "With Israeli Players..."

*This content was translated by AI.

Despite the unprecedented exclusion of the ace roster, he will play in the World Cup. With Sardar Azmun (31, Shabaab al-Ahli), an Iranian soccer hero and key striker, suddenly expelled from the national team for political reasons, Iran is preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Turkiye.

"The Iranian national team will hold two warm-up matches in preparation for the World Cup," global media 'Reuters News Agency' said on the 26th (Korea Standard Time). "We are currently training in Bellek, Antalya, Turkiye," he said.

According to local news, Iran strictly restricted media access to block outside attention during the training camp. In response, an official from the Iranian Football Association explained, "It is a measure to prevent players from being swayed by external factors such as political controversy ahead of an important game in preparation for the World Cup."

The most shocking news is the exclusion of the list of Azmun, the core of Iran's attack. According to Middle Eastern media such as Al Jazeera, Azmoun was recently kicked out of the national team due to disloyalty to the government after posting a photo of him meeting with Muhammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on personal social networking services (SNS).

Iran is currently engaged in a bitter military conflict, such as exchanging drone attacks with the United States and the UAE, an ally of Israel, after the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His friendly appearance with a state ruler in a hostile relationship at a sensitive time seems to have drawn the ire of the authorities.

Azmoun is an irreplaceable main gun that has scored 57 goals in 91 A matches. He is a world-class star who has played at prestigious European clubs such as Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) and AS Roma (Italy).

Even the atmosphere is getting worse. According to local media, Iranian authorities are increasing the level of pressure by ordering Azmun and other players playing in the UAE League to seize their assets.

The atmosphere at the training ground was calm on the surface, but it was reported that there was a lot of tension. Reuters said, "The players were relaxed, exchanging jokes in the sun. However, no interviews with coaches or players were allowed," he said.

In particular, key striker Mehdi Taremi (Olympiacos), who played in big clubs such as Inter Milan (Italy), is also known to be at the center of the controversy. Taremi recently made headlines by exchanging uniforms with Israeli players in a team match. Earlier, attention was paid to whether Taremi would join the national team because Azumun was expelled from the national team for taking a picture with the UAE prime minister.

Iran's World Cup preparation process is tough. The warm-up matches with Nigeria and Costa Rica, which were originally scheduled to be held in Jordan, will be relocated to Turkiye in the aftermath of the Iranian war. In addition, the Iranian Football Association is reportedly asking FIFA to change the World Cup group stage to Mexico, which is scheduled to be held in the United States, due to safety concerns for players.

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*This content was translated by AI.