(FILES) Iran's forward #20 Sardar Azmoun shoots the ball past Japan's defender #22 Takehiro Tomiyasu during the Qatar 2023 AFC Asian Cup quarter-final football match between Iran and Japan at Education City Stadium in al-Rayyan, west of Doha, on February 3, 2024. Azmoun, the third-highest scorer in the history of the Iranian national team, is not among the players selected for the World Cup, according to a list published June 1, 2026, by the country's football federation. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP via Getty Images)