Iran national football team

The very first Iran football team that traveled to Baku in 1926.

The Iranian Football Federation was founded in 1920.[8] In 1926 Tehran XI (selected players from Tehran Club, Toofan F.C. and Armenian Sports Club) traveled across the border to Baku, USSR, this was the first away football match for an Iranian team. This Tehran Select team is the predecessor of Iran's national football team.

The first match that Team Melli played was on 23 August 1941, away at Kabul in a 1–0 win against British India while Iran's first FIFA international match was on 25 August 1941, away at Afghanistan.[5] Iran won the Asian Cup three consecutive times (1968, 1972, 1976) to which the team has not been able to add since.

Dunai and Ghelichkhani at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Iran playing in the 1978 World Cup against Scotland in Cordoba, Argentina

In 1978, Iran made its first appearance in the World Cup after defeating Australia in Tehran. Iran lost two of three group stage matches against the Netherlands and Peru.[9] Team Melli managed to surprise some in the footballing community[10] by securing one point in its first ever World Cup appearance against Scotland which saw Iraj Danaeifard cancel out an own goal scored by Andranik Eskandarian for the 1–1 draw.[11]

After the 1979 Revolution, football was somewhat neglected and cast aside. During the 1980s, the Iranian national team did not feature in World Cup competitions due to the Iran–Iraq War (1980–88) and domestic football embraced the inevitable effects of conflict. The national team withdrew from the Asian qualifiers for the 1982 World Cup and refused to participate in the qualifiers for the 1986 World Cup because of having to play on neutral ground. The war and political upheavals left Iran without major club competitions until 1989 when the Qods League was established. A year later, the Qods League was renamed the Azadegan League. Despite failing to qualify for both the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, it was said that during this period, a number of quality players burst onto the Iranian football scene laying the foundation for third place in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup (victories in that tournament included a 3–0 victory against Saudi Arabia and a 6–2 victory against South Korea) and their second stab at World Cup glory in 1998.[12]

In November 1997, Iran qualified for the 1998 World Cup after eliminating Australia in a close playoff series. After being tied 3–3 on aggregate, Iran advanced due to the away goals rule; Iran held Australia to a 1–1 draw at home, and a 2–2 draw in Melbourne.[13]

At their first game at the 1998 FIFA World Cup against Yugoslavia, Iran lost 1–0 to a free kick by Siniša Mihajlović.[12] Iran recorded their first World Cup victory in the second game[11] beating and eliminating the United States 2–1 with Hamid Estili and Mehdi Mahdavikia scoring goals for Iran. The Iran-US World Cup match was preheated with certain excitement because of each country's political stance after the Iranian revolution and the Iran hostage crisis. However, in an act of defiance against all forms of hatred or politics in sports, both sides presented one another with gifts and flowers and took ceremonial pictures before the match kickoff.[14]

Iran played against Germany in the third game, losing 2–0 courtesy of goals from Oliver Bierhoff and Jürgen Klinsmann, finishing third in the group.[15]

Iran finished first in the group stage of the 2000 Asia Cup but lost to South Korea in the quarter-finals. They failed to qualify for World Cup 2002, held in Asia for the first time, after an aggregate defeat to the Republic of Ireland, losing 2–0 in Dublin and winning 1–0 in Tehran. The elimination saw manager Miroslav Blažević step down from the top spot to be replaced by his assistant Branko Ivanković who stepped up from assistant coach.

After qualifying to the Asian Cup 2004, Iran was drawn with Thailand, Oman and Japan in the tournament. Iran finished second in the group. In the quarter-final clash against South Korea, Iran won 4–3. They then lost to host China on penalty kicks, and won against Bahrain 4–2 to finish third place in the tournament.

Iran score against Angola during a 2006 FIFA World Cup match.

On 8 June 2005, Iran and Japan became the first countries other than hosts Germany to qualify for the 2006 World Cup.

The Iran-Japan leg of the 2006 World Cup qualifiers in Tehran, played on 24 March 2005, was the highest attended qualifying match among all confederations. The match ended with five fans dead and several others injured as they left the Azadi Stadium at the end of the match.[16]

Iran started their Germany 2006 appearance with a match against North America's Mexico in Group D. Being 1–1 at half-time, defensive mistakes led to a Mexican 3–1 win, with goals from Omar Bravo and Sinha. Yahya Golmohammadi scored the only Iranian goal.

Iran played against Portugal in the second game, losing 2–0. The goals were scored by Deco and a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo. Iran were eliminated from the competition before their third and final game against Angola, a 1–1 draw.

Iran's squad in August 2006 against Syria. Manager: Amir Ghalenoei
Standing left to right: Nekounam, Enayati, Nikbakht, Shakouri, Fekri, Sadeghi
Sitting left to right: Taleblou, Madanchi, Khatibi, Teymourian, Mahdavikia

In November 2006, Iran was suspended by FIFA from all participation in international football on the grounds of governmental interference in the national football association.[17] The ban lasted less than a month[18] and as a dispensation was given to allow the Iran under-23 team to participate in the football competition of the 2006 Asian Games,[19] fixtures were unaffected.

The IRIFF appointed Amir Ghalenoei as manager of Iran on 17 July 2006 to succeed Branko Ivanković. After finishing first in the 2007 Asian Cup qualifying round two points ahead of South Korea, Iran placed first in the group stage of the final tournament in Malaysia, eventually losing to their qualifying opponents in a penalty shoot-out in the quarterfinals. After a period of discussion in the Iranian football federation, his contract was not renewed and Team Melli was left with a caretaker manager for several months.

Then-leading international goalscorer Ali Daei was chosen to become the new manager after Spanish coach Javier Clemente had been closer to signing on as Iran's national team manager, when talks collapsed when he refused to live full-time in the country.[20] Iran was placed with Kuwait, Syria and United Arab Emirates in the third round of 2010 World Cup qualifying. Ali Daei resigned from his position as the Iranian national coach on 29 March 2009,[21] replaced by Afshin Ghotbi. Iran failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup after finishing fourth overall in its group.[22]

During the final game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against South Korea in Seoul on 17 June 2009, seven members of the team wore green wristbands in support of the Iranian Green Movement during the 2009 Iranian election protests. Initial rumors and false reports were that all seven players were banned for life by the Iranian Football Federation, however, state-run media claimed that all seven had "retired".[23][24] On 24 June 2009, FIFA wrote to Iran's Football Federation asking for clarification on the situation. The Iranian Football Federation replied that no disciplinary action has been taken against any player.[25]

Iran's squad in July 2011 against Maldives. Manager: Carlos Queiroz
Standing left to right: Aghili, Hosseini, Haddadifar, Ansarifard, Zare, Pooladi
Sitting left to right: Heydari, Norouzi, Rahmati, Khalatbari, Karimi

Iran renewed the contract with Afshin Ghotbi until the end of 2011 AFC Asian Cup and the team qualified to the tournament with 13 points as the group winners.

During the final qualification match against South Korea, several Iranian players started the match wearing green armbands or wristbands, a symbol of protest at the outcome of the Iranian presidential election.[26] Most removed them at half-time. The newspaper Iran reported that Ali Karimi, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Hosein Kaebi and Vahid Hashemian had received life bans from the Iranian FA for the gesture.[27] However, the Iranian FA denied this claim in a response to FIFA's inquiry saying that "the comments in foreign media are nothing but lies and a mischievous act."[28] Head coach Afshin Ghotbi also confirmed that it was a rumour and Iranian FA "has not taken any official stand on this issue."[29]

Afshin Ghotbi qualified Iran for the 2011 Asian Cup and finished second in the West Asian Football Federation Championship 2010 just a few months before the Asian Cup. Iran were able to gain all nine possible points in the group stage of the Asian Cup but after an extra time goal from South Korea, Iran were yet again eliminated from the quarter-finals.

On 4 April 2011, former Real Madrid manager Carlos Queiroz agreed to a two-and-a-half-year deal to coach the Iranian national team until the end of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.[30] Under Queiroz, Iran began their World Cup qualification campaign successfully, defeating the Maldives 4–0 in the first leg of their second round of qualifiers. After winning 5–0 on aggregate, Iran advanced to the third round of qualifiers where they were drawn with Indonesia, Qatar and Bahrain.

Iran highlighted their position at the top of their group by defeating Bahrain 6–0 at home in the Azadi Stadium as well as inviting former German youth international Ashkan Dejagah who scored twice on his debut against Qatar. After a 4–1 win at Indonesia, Iran qualified for the final round of direct qualifiers, the fourth round. In the fourth round, Iran played South Korea, Qatar, Uzbekistan and Lebanon in their group. Queiroz made new foreign-based additions to his squad, adding players such as Reza Ghoochannejhad to his team.

Iran started their fourth round of Asian qualifiers with a 1–0 win in Uzbekistan. Team Melli then drew Qatar and lost in Lebanon before defeating South Korea at the Azadi on 16 October with a goal from captain Javad Nekounam. After a 1–0 loss in Tehran against Uzbekistan, Iran defeated Qatar 1–0 in Doha and Lebanon 4–0 at home. In their last qualification match, Iran defeated South Korea 1–0 in Ulsan Munsu with a goal from Ghoochannejhad, clinching their ticket to Brazil as group winners with 16 points. Thus, Iran became the third team that Queiroz has managed to qualify for the World Cup, having reached the 2002 edition with South Africa and the 2010 edition with Portugal, leading the latter to a knockout stage finish. Iran continued their winning streak, securing qualification to the 2015 Asian Cup months later as well.[31]

Since Queiroz's role as manager of the Iranian national team, he has been renowned for introducing players from the Iranian diaspora to the national squad. These players include German-Iranians Daniel Davari and Ashkan Dejagah, Dutch-Iranian Reza Ghoochannejhad, Swedish-Iranians Omid Nazari and Saman Ghoddos, and Iranian-American Steven Beitashour among others.[32][33]

Iran v Argentina, 2014 World Cup

Iran competed in Group F alongside Argentina, Nigeria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Prior to the tournament, they founded the Central Asian Football Association.[34]

In the opening match of the tournament on 16 June, Iran drew Nigeria 0–0 making it their first clean sheet in the World Cup.[35] In their next match, Iran was defeated by Argentina 1–0 with a late goal from Lionel Messi and received praise after holding Argentina for 90 minutes while creating some attacking opportunities of their own.[36] Iran was eliminated from the tournament in their next game, a 3–1 defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Iran's lone goal was scored by Reza Ghoochannejhad.[37] After the tournament, Queiroz declared he would resign as manager of Iran but later switched and extended his contract until the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[38]

Iran qualified for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup as group winners where Team Melli were the highest ranked seed.[39] Iran faced Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE in Group C.

With the second highest number of fans in the tournament after hosts Australia, the Iranians defeated Bahrain 2–0 with limited preparations.[40][41] A defensive-minded Iran then defeated Qatar 1–0 thanks to a Sardar Azmoun goal before defeating UAE by the same scoreline to reach the top of their group.[42][43]

In the quarter-finals Iran faced Iraq who they had beaten weeks prior in a friendly match. Having received a controversial red card in the first half, Iran competed with ten men, managing to score goals late in extra time to draw the match 3–3. In the ensuing penalty shootout, Iran lost 7–6.[44][45]

Iran's squad against Portugal in Mordovia Arena at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Iran began their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign with friendly matches against Chile and Sweden in March 2015.[46][47][48] Queiroz resigned from his managerial post thereafter due to disagreements with the Iranian Football Federation.[49] On 14 April 2015, Iran were drawn with Oman, India, Turkmenistan and Guam in the second round of qualifiers.[50] On 26 April, Queiroz announced that he would continue as the manager of Iran for their 2018 World Cup campaign.

Azadi Stadium with the Iranian flag, 2017

Iran became the second team to qualify for the 2018 World Cup[51] after a 2–0 win at home over Uzbekistan on 12 June 2017.[52] They also clinched first place in their qualification group after South Korea's defeat to Qatar.[53]

Iran won the first match against Morocco after Aziz Bouhaddouz scoring an own goal.[54] They then lost against Spain with a goal scored by Diego Costa, with video assistant referees denying an Iranian equalizer.[55] The third match against Portugal ended in a draw after a penalty scored by Karim Ansarifard[56] and because Morocco could only manage a 2–2 draw to Spain, Iran were eliminated.[57] Iran's four points is the most received in any World Cup appearance.

Iran's squad against China at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup

Having qualified for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup earlier, Iran was drawn into group D, where they shared fate with Iraq, Vietnam and Yemen. Iran opened their tournament against Yemen slower and almost conceded a goal but after 10 minutes, Iran regained the ground and proved more dominant in certain aspects, thrashing Yemen 5–0.[58] A 2–0 win over the Vietnamese side gave Iran direct qualification to the knockout stage.[59] Iran ended their group stage with a goalless draw over neighbor Iraq and took first place.[60] After the group stage, Iran encountered Oman, with a defending mistake almost costing Iran's chances but Ahmed Mubarak Al-Mahaijri's penalty was saved by Alireza Beiranvand. Iran then defeated Oman 2–0 to reach the last eight.[61] In the quarter-finals against a defensive China, Iran outclassed the Chinese 3–0 to meet Japan in the semi-finals.[62] Iran missed the opportunity to reach the final once again when they fell 3–0 with all three goals scored in second half.[63]

Iran was the highest-ranked team to be seeded in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification. Iran was drawn into the second round where they would have to deal with two other Arab countries, Iraq and Bahrain, along with Cambodia and Hong Kong. Iran, under new Belgian manager Marc Wilmots, began with a 2–0 win over Hong Kong away. The 14–0 win over Cambodia allowed women to enter the stadium for the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.[64][65] Their next away encounters against Bahrain and Iraq, went on to be consecutive defeats which Iran lost 0–1 and 1–2, respectively.[66][67] Following by two consecutive draws between Iraq and Bahrain, Iran was left with the possibility of being eliminated from the World Cup outright in the second round, leading to the sacking of Marc Wilmots.[68]

The COVID-19 pandemic in Iran forced the remaining fixtures to be played without spectators in June 2021, forcing Iran to play their remaining games in Bahrain under new coach Dragan Skočić; but with Bahrain losing its home support as an advantage, and Iraq assured a place in the final phase, Iran was able to stage a comeback, occupying first place and, together with Iraq, progressed to the final phase.[69]

Iran became the thirteenth team to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup after a 1–0 win at home over Iraq on 27 January 2022.

The Iranian national team has received several nicknames by supporters and media. The most common one used is "Team Melli" (Persian: تیم ملی), meaning "The National Team" in Persian language. Although the Iranian supporters have popularized "Team Melli",[70][71] other nicknames for the team include "Persian Stars"[72][73][74] (entitled since the World Cup 2006) "Shiran e Iran",[75][76] meaning "The Iranian Lions" or "The Lions of Persia",[77] "Shirdelan", "Lion Hearts" and "Princes of Persia"[78][79] (used since AFC Asian Cup 2011).[80] Iran's slogan for the 2014 FIFA World Cup was Honour of Persia, selected in an internet poll held by FIFA.[81][82] A more recently used nickname, due to the presence of the Asiatic cheetah on the 2014 World Cup jersey, is Youzpalangan which means "The Cheetahs".[83]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Iran national football team kits.

The Iran national football team's kit traditionally utilizes white and secondary kit is red, sometimes green shirts with white shorts and red socks are used.

The table below shows the history of kit supplier for the Iranian national football team.

Kit supplier	Period	Notes
Adidas	1978
Puma[84]	1980
Amini[85]	1981–1993
Shekari	1993–1998
Puma	1998–2000
Shekari	2000–2003
Daei Sport	2003–2006
Puma	2006–2007
Merooj	2007–2008
Daei Sport	2008–2009
Legea	2009–2012
Uhlsport[83]	2012–2016
Givova[86]	2016
Adidas[87]	2016–2019
Uhlsport	2019–2022
Merooj	2022–

Primary sponsors include Adidas, Bank Pasargad, 9090, Golrang, Oila and Kaspid.[88]

On 1 February 2014, Iran announced the addition of the endangered Asiatic cheetah on their 2014 FIFA World Cup kits in order to bring attention to its conservation efforts.[83]

Iran and South Korea are sporting rivals[89][90] and have played against each other officially since 1958, with 32 matches completed as of October 2021, including eight World Cup qualifiers. These two teams were among the strongest Asian national football teams (in a specific aspect) during the 1960s and 1970s. Since then, the teams have developed one of Asia's greatest rivalries.[91] Although the teams faced once in the final of the Asian Cup in 1972, they faced each other five consecutive times at the quarterfinals stage from 1996 to 2011.[92][93] Iran leads the series with 13 wins, 10 draws and 9 losses.

Iran and Saudi Arabia are ideological rivals.[94] The game was ranked eighth in Goal.com's 2010 list of "Football's 10 Greatest International Rivalries".[95] and ninth in Bleacher Report's 2014 list of "International Football's 10 Most Politically-Charged Football Rivalries"[96] All of their matches have been competitive; none of them were friendlies. The first match was played on 24 August 1975, with Iran defeating Saudi Arabia 3–0. Iran leads the series with 5 wins, 6 draws and 4 losses.

Iran and Iraq are neighboring rivals, sharing a history. According to the Malay Mail, "Emotions are always high when Iran and Iraq meet on the football pitch". In the contemporary era, especially during the reign of Saddam Hussein, the two countries had worsened relations and fought the Iran–Iraq War for 8 years.[97][98][99][100][101] In 2001, for the first time in decades, an Iran-Iraq match was not held at a neutral venue.[99] The rivalry was escalated after Iraq knocked Iran out of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in controversial circumstances.[102][103] Iran leads the series with 17 wins, 7 draws and 6 losses.

Iran  v  Iraq

27 January 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier	Iran	1–0	Iraq	Tehran, Iran
18:00 UTC+3:30	Taremi 48'	Report		Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 9,354[110] Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)

Iran  v  United Arab Emirates

1 February 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier	Iran	1–0	United Arab Emirates	Tehran, Iran
18:00 UTC+3:30	Taremi 44'	Report		Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

South Korea  v  Iran

24 March 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier	South Korea	2–0	Iran	Seoul, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9	Son Heung-min 45+2' Kim Young-gwon 62'	Report		Stadium: Seoul World Cup Stadium Attendance: 64,375 Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)

Iran  v  Lebanon

29 March 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier	Iran	2–0	Lebanon	Mashhad, Iran
16:00 UTC+4:30	Azmoun 35' Jahanbakhsh 62'	Report		Stadium: Imam Reza Stadium Attendance: 22,453[111] Referee: Fu Ming (China)

Iran  v  Algeria

12 June Friendly	Iran	1–2	Algeria	Doha, Qatar
21:00 UTC+3	Jahanbakhsh 64'	Report	Benayad 44' Amoura 83'	Stadium: Suheim bin Hamad Stadium Attendance: +200 Referee: Mohammed Ahmed Al-Shammari (Qatar)

Uruguay  v  Iran

23 September Friendly	Uruguay	0–1	Iran	Sankt Pölten, Austria
18:00 UTC+2		Report	Taremi 79'	Stadium: NV Arena Referee: Walter Altmann (Austria)

Iran  v  Senegal

27 September Friendly	Iran	1–1	Senegal	Maria Enzersdorf, Austria
16:30 UTC+2	Azmoun 64'	Report	Pouraliganji 55' (og)	Stadium: Motion invest Arena Referee: Harald Lechner (Austria)

Iran  v  Nicaragua

10 November[112] Friendly	Iran	v	Nicaragua	Tehran, Iran
19:00 UTC+3:30				Stadium: Azadi Stadium

Iran  v  Tunisia

16 November[113] Friendly	Iran	v	Tunisia	Doha, Qatar
				Stadium: TBD

England  v  Iran

21 November 2022 FIFA World Cup Group B	England	v	Iran	Al Rayyan, Qatar
16:00 UTC+3				Stadium: Khalifa International Stadium

Wales  v  Iran

25 November 2022 FIFA World Cup Group B	Wales	v	Iran	Al Rayyan, Qatar
13:00 UTC+3				Stadium: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium

Iran  v  United States

29 November 2022 FIFA World Cup Group B	Iran	v	United States	Doha, Qatar
22:00 UTC+3				Stadium: Al Thumama Stadium

• FIFA International match days 2020–2024[114]

The following 21 players from Iran Pro League and Qatar Stars League have been called up for the 3rd mini training camp on Performance Elite Center for technical evaluation programming before the 2022 FIFA World Cup on 22th October 2022.[116]

Caps and goals correct as of 28 September 2022, after the match against Senegal.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Alireza Beiranvand	(1992-09-12) 12 September 1992	51	0	Persepolis
	1GK	Hossein Hosseini	(1992-05-30) 30 May 1992	5	0	Esteghlal
	1GK	Mohammad Reza Akhbari	(1993-02-15) 15 February 1993	1	0	Tractor
	1GK	Payam Niazmand	(1995-04-06) 6 April 1995	1	0	Sepahan
	2DF	Morteza Pouraliganji	(1992-04-19) 19 April 1992	45	3	Persepolis
	2DF	Ramin Rezaeian	(1990-03-21) 21 March 1990	45	2	Sepahan
	2DF	Hossein Kanaanizadegan	(1994-03-23) 23 March 1994	34	2	Al-Ahli
	2DF	Shojae Khalilzadeh	(1989-05-31) 31 May 1989	24	1	Al-Ahli
	2DF	Rouzbeh Cheshmi	(1993-07-24) 24 July 1993	18	1	Esteghlal
	2DF	Omid Noorafkan	(1997-04-09) 9 April 1997	13	0	Sepahan
	2DF	Abolfazl Jalali	(1998-06-26) 26 June 1998	2	0	Esteghlal
	2DF	Saleh Hardani	(1998-09-14) 14 September 1998	2	0	Esteghlal
	2DF	Armin Sohrabian	(1995-07-26) 26 July 1995	0	0	Gol Gohar
	2DF	Saman Fallah	(2001-05-12) 12 May 2001	0	0	Paykan
	3MF	Vahid Amiri	(1988-04-02) 2 April 1988	67	2	Persepolis
	3MF	Omid Ebrahimi	(1987-09-15) 15 September 1987	54	0	Al-Wakrah
	3MF	Mehdi Torabi	(1994-09-10) 10 September 1994	35	6	Persepolis
	3MF	Milad Sarlak	(1995-03-26) 26 March 1995	10	0	Persepolis
	3MF	Mehdi Mehdipour	(1994-02-18) 18 February 1994	3	0	Esteghlal
	3MF	Mohammad Khodabandelou	(1999-09-07) 7 September 1999	0	0	Gol Gohar
	4FW	Mohammad Mohebi	(1998-12-20) 20 December 1998	3	2	Esteghlal

The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Amir Abedzadeh	(1993-04-26) 26 April 1993	11	0	Ponferradina	v.  Senegal, 27 September 2022
DF	Ehsan Hajsafi (captain)	(1990-02-25) 25 February 1990	121	7	AEK Athens	v.  Senegal, 27 September 2022
DF	Milad Mohammadi	(1993-09-29) 29 September 1993	45	1	AEK Athens	v.  Senegal, 27 September 2022
DF	Sadegh Moharrami	(1996-03-24) 24 March 1996	21	0	Dinamo Zagreb	v.  Senegal, 27 September 2022
DF	Majid Hosseini	(1996-06-20) 20 June 1996	18	0	Kayserispor	v.  Senegal, 27 September 2022
DF	Aref Aghasi	(1997-01-02) 2 January 1997	1	0	Foolad	Tehran Training Camp, 11 September 2022
DF	Mehdi Shiri	(1991-01-31) 31 January 1991	0	0	Foolad	Tehran Training Camp, 11 September 2022
DF	Aref Gholami	(1997-04-23) 23 April 1997	1	0	Esteghlal	v.  Algeria, 12 June 2022
DF	Danial Esmaeilifar	(1993-02-26) 26 February 1993	1	0	Persepolis	v.  Lebanon, 29 March 2022
DF	Farshad Faraji	(1994-04-07) 7 April 1994	0	0	Persepolis	v.  Lebanon, 29 March 2022
DF	Siavash Yazdani	(1992-02-27) 27 February 1992	1	0	Esteghlal	v.  United Arab Emirates, 1 February 2022
MF	Alireza Jahanbakhsh	(1993-08-11) 11 August 1993	64	13	Feyenoord	v.  Senegal, 27 September 2022
MF	Saeid Ezatolahi	(1996-10-01) 1 October 1996	47	1	Vejle	v.  Senegal, 27 September 2022
MF	Saman Ghoddos	(1993-09-06) 6 September 1993	33	2	Brentford	v.  Senegal, 27 September 2022
MF	Ahmad Nourollahi	(1993-01-02) 2 January 1993	26	3	Shabab Al-Ahli	v.  Senegal, 27 September 2022
MF	Ali Gholizadeh	(1996-03-10) 10 March 1996	26	6	Charleroi	v.  Senegal, 27 September 2022
MF	Ali Karimi	(1994-02-11) 11 February 1994	13	0	Kayserispor	Tehran Training Camp, 11 September 2022
MF	Mehdi Hosseini	(1993-09-16) 16 September 1993	0	0	Mes Rafsanjan	Tehran Training Camp, 11 September 2022
MF	Saeid Sadeghi	(1994-04-25) 25 April 1994	0	0	Persepolis	Tehran Training Camp, 11 September 2022
MF	Reza Asadi	(1996-01-17) 17 January 1996	0	0	Tractor	Tehran Training Camp, 11 September 2022
MF	Mohammad Karimi	(1996-06-20) 20 June 1996	0	0	Sepahan	Tehran Training Camp, 11 September 2022
MF	Yasin Salmani	(2002-02-27) 27 February 2002	0	0	Sepahan	Tehran Training Camp, 11 September 2022
MF	Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh	(2000-10-30) 30 October 2000	3	0	Charleroi	v.  Algeria, 12 June 2022
MF	Soroush Rafiei	(1990-03-24) 24 March 1990	4	0	Persepolis	v.  Algeria, 12 June 2022 PRE
MF	Kamal Kamyabinia	(1989-01-18) 18 January 1989	6	1	Persepolis	v.  Lebanon, 29 March 2022
MF	Zobeir Niknafs	(1993-04-12) 12 April 1993	0	0	Esteghlal	v.  Iraq, 27 January 2022
FW	Karim Ansarifard	(1990-04-03) 3 April 1990	94	29	Omonia	v.  Senegal, 27 September 2022
FW	Sardar Azmoun	(1995-01-01) 1 January 1995	65	41	Bayer Leverkusen	v.  Senegal, 27 September 2022
FW	Mehdi Taremi	(1992-07-18) 18 July 1992	60	28	Porto	v.  Senegal, 27 September 2022
FW	Mehdi Ghayedi	(1998-12-05) 5 December 1998	8	2	Esteghlal	Tehran Training Camp, 11 September 2022
FW	Shahriyar Moghanlou	(1994-12-21) 21 December 1994	0	0	Sepahan	Tehran Training Camp, 11 September 2022
FW	Allahyar Sayyadmanesh INJ	(2001-06-29) 29 June 2001	7	1	Hull City	v.  Algeria, 12 June 2022
FW	Ali Alipour	(1995-11-11) 11 November 1995	3	0	Gil Vicente	v.  Algeria, 12 June 2022
FW	Kaveh Rezaei	(1992-04-05) 5 April 1992	18	4	Tractor	v.  United Arab Emirates, 1 February 2022
FW	Shahab Zahedi	(1995-08-18) 18 August 1995	0	0	Puskás Akadémia	v.  United Arab Emirates, 1 February 2022
INJ Withdrew due to injury PRE Preliminary squad / standby RET Retired from the national team SUS Serving suspension WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue. COV Injured because of COVID-19

As of 27 September 2022, the 10 players with the most matches as captain:

1900 – 1904 club team.

1908 – 1964 national football team.

1968 – 1988 national amateur football team.

1992 – present national under-23 football team.

Summer Olympic Games record												Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad	Manager(s)		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1900	Team did not exist											Team did not exist
1904
1908
1912
1920
1924
1928
1936
1948	Did not enter											Did not enter
1952
1956
1960
1964	First round	12th	3	0	1	2	1	6	Squad	Fekri		6	4	1	1	14	3
1968	Did not enter											Did not enter
1972	First round	12th	3	1	0	2	1	9	Squad	Bayati		5	3	2	0	6	0
1976	Quarter-finals	7th	3	1	0	2	4	5	Squad	Mohajerani		4	3	1	0	8	1
1980	Qualified but later boycotted the event											6	4	2	0	22	2
1984	Boycotted the event											Did not enter
1988	Did not qualify											2	1	0	1	2	2
1992–present	See Iran national under-23 team											See Iran national under-23 team
Total	Quarter-finals	4/17	9	2	1	6	6	20	—	—	23	15	6	2	52	8

Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Squad
2000	Champions	1st	5	4	1	0	7	1	6	13	Squad
2002	Third place	3rd	4	1	2	1	4	3	1	5	Squad
2004	Champions	1st	4	4	0	0	17	3	14	12	Squad
2007	Champions1	1st	4	3	1	0	5	1	4	10	Squad
2008	Champions	1st	4	4	0	0	13	2	11	12	Squad
2010	Runners-up	2nd	4	2	1	1	8	5	3	7	Squad
2012	Group stage	6th	3	1	2	0	2	1	1	5	Squad
2014	Did not enter
2019–onwards	Not a WAFF member
Total	4 Titles	7/9	28	19	7	2	56	16	+40	64	—

¹ Iran played their B team in this tournament but recognised as international "A" matches.