Dropped Sardar Azmoun asserts his love for Iran, backs World Cup squad

Forward wishes ‘success and pride’ to the Iranian team after being excluded from the squad for the 2026 tournament.Dropped Iran striker Sardar Azmoun ‌has posted a heartfelt message on social media proclaiming his love for his country and ⁠wishing the World Cup ⁠squad well at the tournament without him.“I want to speak from the bottom of my heart about some things that many people may not know, or about certain misunderstandings that may have led some to judge me too quickly,” the 31-year-old wrote.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US waives visa bonds of up to $15,000 for FIFA World Cup ticket holderslist 2 of 4Iran’s US-bound World Cup squad given public sendoff in Tehranlist 3 of 4World Cup 2026 base camps: Where will the 48 teams stay and train?list 4 of 4New York City hotels avert labour strike threat before FIFA World Cupend of listAzmoun, who is his country’s second-leading scorer of all time, was left out of coach Amir Ghalenoei’s preliminary squad for the tournament, released ⁠on Saturday.State news agency IRNA said Azmoun was injured, but media reports in March said he had been expelled from the national team after posting a picture on social media of a ⁠meeting with Dubai ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.Azmoun has scored 57 goals in his 91 appearances for his country and was part of Iran’s squad in its last two appearances at the World Cup.Accusations of disloyalty in the Iranian media in March clearly rankled ‌Azmoun, and he addressed them in Wednesday’s post.“I have always played for my national team with pride. When we won, I was proud of myself and my teammates. When we didn’t, I was more upset than anyone else in the world, just like them.“I love ⁠football, and I love the good and deserving people of my country, ⁠Iran. People whose kindness and unwavering support have always given me energy.”Azmoun, who is part of Iran’s Turkmen ethnic minority, said as a teenager he had received a “very large financial offer” to represent another country.