Mehdi Ghayedi
Squad number 10 · Al Nasr
Their 2026 World Cup
Mehdi Ghayedi travelled to the 2026 World Cup with Iran, wearing number 10, without ever getting on the pitch. His side played 3 matches (3 draws) and bowed out in the group stage (Group G), beaten by Egypt 1-1.
Attack went to M. Taremi (3 matches, 260′) and S. Moghanlou (3 matches, 87′).
Another 9 players in the Iran squad ended up the same way, without a single minute. The full run is on the Iran team page.
Biography
Mehdi Ghayedi (Persian: مهدی قایدی; born 5 December 1998) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a winger or second striker for UAE Pro League club Al-Nasr and the Iran national team.
Iranjavan Bushehr Ghayedi was born in Bushehr and began his career at the youth level with local side Iranjavan Bushehr. After his promotion to the senior squad, he was named the 2016–17 Azadegan League Young Player of the Season for scoring 10 league goals.
On 8 June 2017, Ghayedi signed a three-year contract with Esteghlal. Upon signing, he was given the number 16. At the start of the 2017–18 season, the FFIRI barred Ghayedi from playing for Esteghlal, along with club teammates Majid Hosseini and Omid Noorafkan, as the three were expected to join the Iran under-23 training camp. However, the order was cancelled on 29 July 2017, with Ghayedi missing only the first week of the new season. He made his debut for Esteghlal as a substitute on 4 August 2017 in a 0–0 draw against Esteghlal Khuzestan, becoming the youngest league player to ever play for the club.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) · text adapted from the article.
See all the tournament stats on the World Cup data hub.
Photo: Amir Ostovari · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)