Quarters in Mexico instead of the USA
©IMAGO
Despite all political hurdles, Iran has announced its final squad for the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Former German U19 international Dennis Eckert Ayensa from Bonn is also part of coach Amir Ghalenoei’s 26-man squad. The 29-year-old is named Dennis Dargahi on the squad list published by the association, the surname of his Iranian-born father.
The center forward has not yet played an international match for Iran, but he could make his debut in the friendly against Mali on Thursday. The Standard Liège professional has a German father of Persian descent and a Spanish mother. His aunt is renowned Iranian actress Anahita Dargahi.
The ex-Ingolstadt player replaced former Leverkusen player Sardar Azmoun. The 31-year-old from Shabab Al-Ahli Club was left out of the squad for political reasons in March despite his strong performances. The most valuable player in the World Cup squad is attacker Mehdi Ghayedi (27, Al-Nasr) with a market value of 4.5 million euros. The best-known names from Europe are Mehdi Taremi (33, Olympiakos) and Alireza Jahanbakhsh (32, FCV Dender).
Iran has three games scheduled in the US
Iran will play its first game at the World Cup on June 16th in Group G against New Zealand in Inglewood (California). On June 21st there will be a game against Belgium at the same venue and finally in Seattle on June 27th against Egypt.
However, there are still problems with visas to enter the USA. After the Mali test, the team will fly to their World Cup headquarters in Tijuana, Mexico. The visas required to enter Mexico are said to have now been approved. The national team was originally scheduled to stay in Tucson, Arizona, during the finals. The relocation of the World Cup headquarters from the USA to Mexico caused a stir. According to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, “the United States did not want the Iranian national team to stay in the United States.”
Iran has been in a military conflict with the USA since the end of February. The entry of the Iranian national team into the United States caused controversy. Representatives of the Iranian Football Association recently met with FIFA in Istanbul to discuss Iran’s participation in the World Cup. There was no information about this yet.
