Iran’s head coach could be a local pick for soccer World Cup

By JOHN DUERDEN
Associated Press

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei congratulated the national team on reaching the Volleyball Nations League finals on the weekend with a social media post that was titled: “Happy success with an Iranian coach.” A day later the Iranian football federation dismissed Dragan Skocic, the Croatian coach who has guided the national soccer team since early 2020. Those events may not be connected but the leading candidates to replace Skocic are Iranian. Iran kicks off its World Cup campaign on Nov. 21 with a Group B game against England and plays the United States eight days later. That leaves only four months for the new coach to prepare Iran’s squad for soccer’s marquee tournament.