Rewritten Title: Iran’s National Football Team Announces New Roster, Signaling Strategic Shift
In a decisive move ahead of the upcoming FIFA window, National Team Head Coach Amir Ghalenoei has unveiled a significantly altered 26-player roster, marking a notable shift in strategy as the team prepares for its future challenges.
A Change in Course
The announcement, made public through the Football Federation’s official website, comes after the conclusion of the domestic league. This new list represents a departure from the coach’s previous assurances that the experimental phase for the national team was over. Contrary to his earlier statements about finalizing a stable squad for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the latest selections indicate a continued process of evaluation and adjustment.
Balancing National Team Priorities
A portion of the roster changes was anticipated, stemming from a pre-arranged agreement with the U-23 team’s coach, Omid Rahnavard. As part of this coordination, several prominent young players under the age of 23, including Mohammad Khalifeh, Mohammad Mehdi Zare, and Mohammad Javad Hosseinnezhad, have been allocated to the U-23 squad’s camp and are therefore absent from the senior team list.
Technical Decisions Shape the Squad
Coach Ghalenoei has also made several selections based on technical assessments and current player form. The most prominent name omitted from the list is Ramin Rezaeian, a star player whose recent position on the bench for his club team, Esteghlal, has influenced the national team’s decision. Other players like Hossein Abraghinejad, Mohammad Khodabandelou, and Allahyar Sayyadmanesh were also excluded for technical reasons, unrelated to injury or other special circumstances.
Notable Absences Raise Eyebrows
The coach’s decisions included some particularly surprising omissions. Team captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who has recently transferred to a new club in the Belgian Jupiter League, was not called up. The official reasoning provided is to allow him more time to integrate with his new teammates. Furthermore, young striker Kasra Taheri, who was part of the previous squad and sustained an injury during the match against Tanzania, remains unavailable. In total, nine players from the previous roster have been replaced.
New Faces Enter the Fold
To complete the new lineup, Ghalenoei has called upon players such as Hossein Hosseini, Mohammad Hossein Kanaani, Majid Hosseini, Milad Mohammadi, Danial Esmailifar, Alireza Koushki, Mehdi Tikdari, Hadi Habibinejad, and Mohammad Omari. The inclusion of Habibinejad and Omari is seen as particularly unexpected, underscoring that the process of refining the ideal squad continues as the team prepares for its upcoming matches against Cape Verde and either Egypt or Uzbekistan in the November FIFA window.