Considered the "Messi of Iran", Azmoun and the Iranian team finished the 2018 World Cup in 3rd place in Group B, after Spain and Portugal. He played the full 90 minutes in all three matches, winning against Morocco, losing to Spain and drawing with Portugal despite not scoring.
This is a great pity for Azmoun because he came to Russia after scoring 23 goals in 33 matches. And Iran's failure to qualify for the knockout round has caused the striker currently playing for Rubin Kazan to be insulted. Those insulting words even made his mother seriously ill.
"My mother has just recovered from her illness and I am very happy," Azmoun said. "It's a pity that because of some people who are not good and because of the insults to me and my teammates, my mother got seriously ill. This put me in a position to choose the team and my mother, and I chose my mother."
Azmoun's decision to leave the national team will be a big loss for Iran because he is 5th in the list of players who have scored the most goals for the national team.
