Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei named a 26-man squad for the World Cup on Monday, relying on veterans Mehdi Taremi and Alireza Jahanbakhsh, while leaving out Sardar Azmoun.

The Iran men's national team wore black armbands and posed with school rucksacks as the national anthem played before a match with Nigeria to remember the victims of a strike on a primary school in Iran on the first day of the Middle East war.

The 32-year-old was unable to get a flight to join his Inter team-mates in Los Angeles due to the ongoing confrontation between Iran and Israel.

Iran booked their place in the 2026 World Cup following a 2-2 home draw against Uzbekistan at Tehran's Azadi Stadium on Tuesday.