Iran national football team

IR Iran
Nickname(s)Team Melli (Persian: تیم ملی) (the national team)
other nicknames
AssociationFootball Federation Islamic Republic of Iran
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationCAFA (Central Asia)
Head coachCarlos Queiroz
CaptainEhsan Hajsafi
Most capsJavad Nekounam (151)
Top scorerAli Daei (109)
Home stadiumAzadi Stadium
FIFA codeIRN
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 20 2 (6 October 2022)[1]
Highest15 (August 2005[2])
Lowest122 (May 1996[3])
First international
 Afghanistan 0–0 Iran 
(Kabul, Afghanistan; 25 August 1941)
Biggest win
 Iran 19–0 Guam 
(Tabriz, Iran; 24 November 2000)[4]
Biggest defeat
 Turkey 6–1 Iran 
(Istanbul, Turkey; 28 May 1950)[5]
 South Korea 5–0 Iran 
(Tokyo, Japan; 28 May 1958)[6]
World Cup
Appearances6 (first in 1978)
Best resultGroup stage (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018)
Olympic Games
Appearances3 (first in 1964)
Best resultQuarter-finals (1976)
Asian Cup
Appearances15 (first in 1968)
Best resultChampions (1968, 1972, 1976)
Asian Games
Appearances10 (first in 1951)
Best resultChampions (1974, 1990, 1998 )
Medal record
Men's football
AFC Asian Cup
1968 IranTeam
1972 ThailandTeam
1976 IranTeam
1980 KuwaitTeam
1988 QatarTeam
1996 UAETeam
2004 ChinaTeam
Asian Games
1974 TehranTeam
1990 BeijingTeam
1998 BangkokTeam
1951 New DelhiTeam
1966 BangkokTeam
WAFF Championship
2000 JordanTeam
2004 IranTeam
2007 JordanTeam
2008 IranTeam
2010 JordanTeam
2002 SyriaTeam

The Iran national football team (Persian: تیم ملی فوتبال مردان ایران, romanized: Tim-e Melli-ye Futbâl-e Mardân-e Irân), recognised by FIFA as IR Iran,[7] represents Iran in international football and is controlled by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI).

At the continental level, Iran has won three Asian Cup championships in 1968, 1972 and 1976. The nation's best performance at the Olympics was reaching the quarterfinals at the 1976 Montreal Games. At the FIFA World Cup, Iran have qualified six times (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018 and 2022) but have never progressed beyond the group stages; they have won only two matches: against the United States in 1998 and Morocco in 2018.

History

Early years

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 Revolution

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]

1998–2006

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.

Temporary suspension

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.

2007–14

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]

Late 2010s

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]

2020s

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.

Team image

Nicknames

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]

Kits and crests

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.

Kit suppliers

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–

Sponsorship

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]

Rivalries

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.

Stadiums

Azadi Stadium, 1991

Since 1972, Iran's national stadium has been Tehran's Azadi Stadium with a nominal capacity of 78,116 spectators.[104] Azadi Stadium is the 28th largest association football stadium in the world, seventh in Asia and first in West Asia. A record was set in Azadi for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Australia with over 128,000 in attendance.[105] Since 1979, the government restricts Iranian women from entering the stadiums.[106][107] However, FIFA condemned the move and wrote to Iranian Football Federation in June 2019. The federation in their letter gave deadline to uplift the restrictions and let women enter the stadiums. On 25 August 2019, deputy Sports Minister Jamshid Taghizadeh stated: "Women can go to Tehran's Azadi stadium to watch the match between Iran's national team and Cambodia in October for the Qatar World Cup qualifier.”[108] However, in 2022, Iranian women were blocked from entering the stadium for a World Cup qualifier.[109]

From 1942 to 1972, Amjadieh Stadium was Iran's national stadium. The other stadiums that Iran has been played international games are Bagh Shomal and Yadegar Emam Stadium (Tabriz), Takhti Stadium (Tehran), Enghelab Stadium (Karaj), Hafezieh Stadium (Shiraz), Takhti Stadium and Imam Reza Stadium (Mashhad).

The Iran National Football Camp is the team's training ground.

Results and fixtures

All opponents that the Iran football team has played at least once

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss

2021

11 November 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier Lebanon  1–2  Iran Sidon, Lebanon
14:00 UTC+2 Saad 37' Report Azmoun 90+1'
Nourollahi 90+5'
Stadium: Saida Municipal Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)
16 November 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier Syria  0–3  Iran Amman, Jordan
18:00 UTC+2 Report Azmoun 33'
Hajsafi 42' (pen.)
Gholizadeh 89'
Stadium: King Abdullah II Stadium
Attendance: 907
Referee: Ma Ning (China)

2022

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)
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)
24 March 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier South Korea  2–0  Iran Seoul, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9
Report Stadium: Seoul World Cup Stadium
Attendance: 64,375
Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)
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)
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)
23 September Friendly Uruguay  0–1  Iran Sankt Pölten, Austria
18:00 UTC+2 Report Taremi 79' Stadium: NV Arena
Referee: Walter Altmann (Austria)
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)
10 November[112] Friendly Iran  v  Nicaragua Tehran, Iran
19:00 UTC+3:30 Stadium: Azadi Stadium
16 November[113] Friendly Iran  v  Tunisia Doha, Qatar
Stadium: TBD
21 November 2022 FIFA World Cup Group B England  v  Iran Al Rayyan, Qatar
16:00 UTC+3 Stadium: Khalifa International Stadium
25 November 2022 FIFA World Cup Group B Wales  v  Iran Al Rayyan, Qatar
13:00 UTC+3 Stadium: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium
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]

Coaching staff

Carlos Queiroz is the current head coach of the team.

[115]

Position Name
Head coach Carlos Queiroz
Assistant coaches Roger De Sá
Goalkeeping coach Alexandre Lopes
Performance coach Ricardo Silva
IT analyst João Peixeiro
Rehabilitation coach Micael Moreira
Physiotherapist Dr. Alireza Shahab
Team doctor Dr. Parhan Khanlari
Masseurs Hadi Nejatpour
Amir Esmaeili
Translator Aryan Ghasemi
Team supervisor Mehdi Kharati

Players

Current squad

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

Recent call-ups

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

Player records

As of 27 September 2022[117]
Players in bold are still active with Iran.

Most capped players

Javad Nekounam is the most capped player in the history of Iran with 151 caps.
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Javad Nekounam 151 39 2000–2015
2 Ali Daei 149 109 1993–2006
3 Ali Karimi 127 38 1998–2012
4 Ehsan Hajsafi 121 7 2008–present
5 Jalal Hosseini 115 8 2007–2018
6 Mehdi Mahdavikia 111 13 1996–2009
7 Andranik Teymourian 101 9 2005–2016
8 Karim Ansarifard 94 29 2009–present
9 Karim Bagheri 87 50 1993–2010
Masoud Shojaei 87 8 2004–2019

Top goalscorers

Ali Daei is the world's second all-time leading goalscorer in international matches, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, having scored 109 goals in 149 matches
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Ali Daei (list) 109 149 0.73 1993–2006
2 Karim Bagheri 50 87 0.57 1993–2010
3 Sardar Azmoun 41 65 0.63 2014–Present
4 Javad Nekounam 39 151 0.26 2000–2015
5 Ali Karimi 38 127 0.3 1998–2012
6 Karim Ansarifard 29 94 0.32 2009–present
7 Mehdi Taremi 28 60 0.47 2015–present
8 Gholam Hossein Mazloumi 19 40 0.48 1969–1977
9 Farshad Pious[118] 18 34 0.53 1984–1994
10 Reza Ghoochannejhad 17 44 0.36 2012–2018

Most capped goalkeepers

Ahmadreza Abedzadeh is the most capped goalkeeper in the history of Iran with 79 caps.
Rank Player Caps Career
1 Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh 79 1987–1998
2 Mehdi Rahmati 77 2004–2012
3 Ebrahim Mirzapour 71 2001–2011
4 Nasser Hejazi[119] 62 1968–1980
5 Alireza Beiranvand 51 2015–present
6 Aziz Asli 28 1962–1968
Behzad Gholampour 1990–1999
8 Alireza Haghighi 24 2012–2018
9 Mansour Rashidi 20 1972–1985
Parviz Boroumand 1998–2001
Ali Karimi, the "Maradona of Asia" and Asian Footballer of the Year
Karim Bagheri is the world's most scoring midfielder of all-time with 50 goals in 87 matches.
Mehdi Mahdavikia is the all-time assist leader in history of Team Melli.

Iran captains

As of 27 September 2022
Ehsan Hajsafi is the current Iran national team captain.
# Reign Player Career Total As Captain Tournaments
Caps Goals Caps Goals
1 1965–1967 Mohammad Ranjbar 1959–1967 23 0 9 0
2 1967–1970 Hassan Habibi 1958–1970 31 0 10 0 1968 AFC Asian Cup
3 1970–1972 Mostafa Arab 1959–1972 48 2 13 0 1972 AFC Asian Cup
4 1972–1977 Parviz Ghelichkhani 1964–1977 64 12 26 7 1976 AFC Asian Cup
5 1977–1980 Ali Parvin 1970–1980 76 13 31 2 1978 FIFA World Cup
6 1980 Nasser Hejazi 1968–1980 62 0 7 0 1980 AFC Asian Cup
7 1980–1984 Mehdi Dinvarzadeh 1977–1984 26 0 9 0
8 1984–87
1989–91
Mohammad Panjali 1978–1991 45 0 27 0 1984 AFC Asian Cup
9 1987–89
1991–93
Sirous Ghayeghran 1986–1993 43 6 22 3 1988 AFC Asian Cup
1992 AFC Asian Cup
10 1993 Hamid Derakhshan 1980–1993 41 9 12 3
11 1993–1994 Farshad Pious 1984–1994 35 19 4 1
12 1996 Mojtaba Moharrami 1988–1996 37 5 2 0 1996 AFC Asian Cup
13 1996–1998 Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh 1988–1998 79 0 38 0 1998 FIFA World Cup
14 1998–1999 Nader Mohammadkhani 1988–1999 64 4 9 1 1998 FIFA World Cup
15 1999–2000 Javad Zarincheh 1987–2000 80 1 8 0
16 2000–2006 Ali Daei 1993–2006 149 109 80 44 2000 AFC Asian Cup
2004 AFC Asian Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
17 2006–2009 Mehdi Mahdavikia 1996–2009 111 13 17 1 2007 AFC Asian Cup
18 2009–2015 Javad Nekounam 2000–2015 151 39 56 18 2011 AFC Asian Cup
2014 FIFA World Cup
2015 AFC Asian Cup
19 2015–2016 Andranik Teymourian 2005–2016 101 9 8 1
20 2016–2019 Masoud Shojaei 2004–2019 87 8 10 0 2018 FIFA World Cup
2019 AFC Asian Cup
21 2019– Ehsan Hajsafi 2008– 121 7 27 3

Most matches as captain

As of 27 September 2022, the 10 players with the most matches as captain:
# Player Caps Years active Matches as captain
1 Ali Daei 149 1993–2006 80
2 Javad Nekounam 151 2000–2015 56
3 Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh 79 1988–1998 38
4 Ali Parvin 76 1970–1980 31
5 Mohammad Panjali 45 1978–1991 27
6 Ehsan Hajsafi 121 2008– 27
7 Parviz Ghelichkhani 64 1964–1977 26
8 Sirous Ghayeghran 43 1986–1993 22
9 Ashkan Dejagah 58 2012–2019 17
Mehdi Mahdavikia 111 1996–2009

Competition records

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Manager(s) Pld W D L GF GA
1930 Not a FIFA member No qualification
1934
1938
1950Did not enter Did not enter
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974Did not qualify 851296
1978First round14th301228SquadMohajerani121020203
1982Withdrew Withdrew
1986Disqualified Disqualified
1990Did not qualify 6501125
1994 115332313
1998Group stage20th310224SquadTalebi178635717
2002Did not qualify14932369
2006Group stage25th301226SquadIvanković12912297
2010Did not qualify14581159
2014Group stage28th301214SquadQueiroz161042307
2018 18th311122SquadQueiroz181260365
2022QualifiedQueiroz 181413498
2026To be determinedTo be determined
2030
TotalFirst round6/221524992414692351931689

Olympic Games

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
1900Team did not exist Team did not exist
1904
1908
1912
1920
1924
1928
1936
1948Did not enter Did not enter
1952
1956
1960
1964First round12th301216SquadFekri 6411143
1968Did not enter Did not enter
1972First round12th310219SquadBayati 532060
1976Quarter-finals7th310245SquadMohajerani 431081
1980Qualified but later boycotted the event 6420222
1984Boycotted the event Did not enter
1988Did not qualify 210122
1992–present See Iran national under-23 team See Iran national under-23 team
TotalQuarter-finals4/179216620 231562528

AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Manager(s) Pld W D L GF GA
1956Withdrew Withdrew
1960Did not qualify 63121210
1964Withdrew Withdrew
1968Champions1st4400112SquadBayatiAutomatic qualified as host
1972Champions1st5500124SquadDehdariAutomatic qualified as champion
1976Champions 1st4400130SquadMohajeraniAutomatic qualified as host
1980Third place3rd6321166SquadHabibiAutomatic qualified as champion
1984Fourth place4th624083SquadEbrahimi6600222
1988Third place3rd622234SquadDehdari422061
1992First round5th311121SquadParvin2200100
1996Third place3rd6321146SquadMayeli Kohan6600271
2000Quarter-finals5th421173SquadTalebi6411162
2004Third place3rd6330148SquadIvanković6501165
2007 Quarter-finals 5th 4 2 2 0 6 3 SquadGhalenoei6420122
2011 5th 4 3 0 1 6 2 SquadGhotbi6411112
2015 6th 4 3 1 0 7 3 SquadQueiroz6510185
2019Semi-finals 3rd6411123SquadQueiroz8620263
2023Qualified8602344
2027To be determined To be determined
Total3 Titles15/18684119813148705310721037

Asian Games

Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Squad Manager(s)
1951Runners-up2nd32012116SquadSadaghiani
1954Did not enter
1958Preliminary round14th20020990SquadMészáros
1962Did not enter
1966Runners-up2nd740396312SquadSzűcs
1970Preliminary round8th20112311SquadNetto
1974Champions 1st77002011921SquadO'Farrell
1978Withdrew
1982Quarter-finals8th42023216SquadCheraghpour
1986Quarter-finals6th53111321110SquadDehdari
1990Champions1st541071613SquadParvin
1994Preliminary round9th41215235SquadPoklepović
1998Champions1st87012571821SquadPourheidari
2002–present See Iran national under-23 team
Total3 Titles10/1347305128634+5295

WAFF Championship

Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Squad
2000Champions 1st541071613Squad
2002Third place3rd41214315Squad
2004Champions1st44001731412Squad
2007Champions11st431051410Squad
2008Champions1st44001321112Squad
2010Runners-up2nd42118537Squad
2012Group stage6th31202115Squad
2014Did not enter
2019–onwardsNot a WAFF member
Total4 Titles7/92819725616+4064
1 Iran played their B team in this tournament but recognised as international "A" matches.

Head-to-head record

Last match updated:  Senegal on 27 September 2022.

FIFA World Rankings

FIFA World Rankings for Iran, August 1993 – March 2018[120]

Between December 2014 until May 2018, Iran was the highest-ranked team in Asia, the longest continuous period of time that a team has held that distinction.[121]

Highest FIFA ranking
15 (July 2005)[91]
Lowest FIFA ranking
122 (May 1996)[91]
Best mover
+65 (July 1996)[91]
Worst mover
–43 (October 1995)[91]

Last update was on 13 March 2021[122]

  Best Ranking    Worst Ranking    Best Mover    Worst Mover  

Iran's FIFA World Ranking History
Rank Year Games
Played
Won Drawn Lost Best Worst
Rank Move Rank Move
212021111010 21 531 2
2920202200 29 333 0
33201912723 20 733 6
29201815933 28 537 3
32201711731 23 743 9
29201610820 27 1044 3
452015151041 38 1051 4
51201410343 34 556 7
3320139711 33 1567 10
59201214473 44 1459 15
452011151221 42 2165 4
66201012822 57 867 4
64200921786 42 264 11
432008211272 37 1151 10
41200713841 32 547 8
38200615852 19 547 24
19200511812 15 221 3
202004181332 17 731 3
28200311614 28 747 7
33200210442 29 234 3
292001201145 29 851 7
372000261574 37 753 6
4919996240 44 351 20
27199818927 27 1747 6
461997221174 46 1787 6
831996211353 57 65122 7
10819950000 63 26108 43
7519944121 57 275 9
59199315933 54 759 4

Honours

Summary

Event Gold Silver Bronze Total
Asian Cup3047
Asian Games4206
West Asian Championship4116
West Asian Games1113
ECO Cup3306
LG Cup3036
Minor Tournament56415
AFC–OFC Challenge Cup1001
Afro-Asian Cup of Nations0101
Total22141451

Continental

Champions: 1968, 1972, 1976
Third place: 1980, 1988, 1996, 2004
Fourth place: 1984
Semi-finals: 2019
  • Asian Games
Gold Medal: 1974, 1990, 1998, 2002
Silver Medal: 1951, 1966

Regional

  • West Asian Football Federation Championship
Champions: 2000, 2004, 2007*, 2008
Runners-up: 2010
Third place: 2002
  • West Asian Games: 1 Champions, 1 Runners-up, 1 Third place
  • ECO Cup
Champions: 1965, 1970, 1993
Runners-up: 1967, 1969, 1974

* as B Team

Intercontinental

  • AFC/OFC Challenge Cup
Champions: 2003
  • Afro-Asian Cup of Nations
Runners-up: 1991

Minor tournaments

  • LG Cup: 3 Champions, 3 Third place
  • Minor Tournament: 5 Champions, 6 Runners-up, 4 Third place

See also

  • Football in Iran
  • Iran national futsal team
  • Iran national beach soccer team
  • Iran national under-23 football team
  • Iran national under-20 football team
  • Iran national under-17 football team
  • Iran women's national football team
  • Iran women's national under-20 football team
  • Iran women's national under-17 football team
  • Iran women's national futsal team
  • Tehran XI

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