<p>Although metacognitive intervention (MI) in listening comprehension has proved effective in certain EFL contexts, there were other studies that proved the opposite. Thus, the present mixed methods study proposed working memory training (WMT) as a remedial treatment to bolster the effectiveness of the MI. To this end, the effect of working memory training embedded in metacognitive intervention on the EFL listening comprehension of Iranian intermediate EFL learners was examined. For the research purposes, 83 Iranian intermediate EFL learners were streamed into four groups: EG1 (<i>n</i> = 19), EG2 (<i>n</i> = 21), EG3 (<i>n</i> = 20), and CG (<i>n</i> = 23). The experimental groups underwent listening strategy instruction through WM-only, MI-only, and WM + MI, while the control group received the conventional listening instruction. Results revealed that both the hybrid and MI-only groups were significantly effective in terms of boosting the EFL listening comprehension of Iranian intermediate EFL learners, with the hybrid group showing the highest, albeit not statistically superior, gains. In addition, results of the semi-structured interview suggested that the MI-only intervention was particularly effective with respect to reinforcing the EFL listening comprehension while the WM-only training was particularly effective in terms of easing down the foreign language listening anxiety. Implications and directions for future research are also provided at the end.</p>