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Iran

Nickname(s)	Team Melli تیم ملی[1] other nicknames
Association	Football Federation of Iran (FFIRI) Fedrāsion-e Futbāll-e Irān
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	CAFA (Central Asia)
Head coach	Carlos Queiroz
Captain	Masoud Shojaei
Most caps	Javad Nekounam (151)
Top scorer	Ali Daei (109)
Home stadium	Azadi Stadium (78,116)
FIFA code	IRN
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	30 3 (25 October 2018)[2]
Highest	15 (August 2005[3])
Lowest	122 (May 1996[4])
Elo ranking
Current	18 4 (9 November 2018)[5]
Highest	15 (May 2005)
Lowest	73 (January 1964)
First international
Afghanistan 0–0 Iran  (Kabul, Afghanistan; 25 August 1941)
Biggest win
Iran 17–0 Maldives (Damascus, Syria; 2 June 1997)  Iran 19–0 Guam  (Tabriz, Iran; 24 November 2000[6])
Biggest defeat
Turkey 6–1 Iran  (Istanbul, Turkey; 28 May 1950[7])  South Korea 5–0 Iran  (Tokyo, Japan; 28 May 1958[8])
World Cup
Appearances	5 (first in 1978)
Best result	14th (Round 1), 1978
Asian Cup
Appearances	14 (first in 1968)
Best result	Champions (1968, 1972, 1976)
Olympic Games
Appearances	4 (first in 1968)
Best result	Quarter-finals (1976)

The Iran men's national football team (Persian: تیم ملی فوتبال مردان ایران‎, translit. Tīm-e Melli-e Fūtbāl-e Mardān-e Īrān), also known as Team Melli (Persian: تیم ملی‎, translit. Tīm-e Melli, lit. 'the national team'), represents Iran in international football competitions and is governed by the Iran Football Federation. From December 2014 until May 2018, the men's national football team of Iran^[9] remained the highest-ranked team in Asia, representing the longest continuous period of time a team has been top of the continent in the rankings.^[10]

Iran is one of the most successful men's national teams in Asia with three Asian Cup championships (1968, 1972, and 1976). Iran's best performance at the Olympics was reaching the quarterfinals in the 1976 Montreal Games. Iran has qualified for the World Cup five times (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, and 2018) but has never advanced past the group stage. They have, however, won two matches in the World Cup, one against the United States in 1998, and their opener against Morocco in 2018.

History

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Early years

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

The Iranian Football Federation was founded in 1920.^[11] 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.^[7] Iran won the Asian Cup three consecutive times (1968, 1972, 1976), to which the team has not been able to add since.

1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina

Additional information: 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)

Additional information: 1978 FIFA World Cup – Group 4

Iran's squad playing in '78 World Cup match against Scotland in Cordoba, Estadio Cordoba, Argentina on 7 June 1978 (16:45)

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.^[12] Team Melli managed to surprise the footballing community^[13] 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.^[14]

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 suffered 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 either the 1990 or the 1994 World Cups, it was during this period that a number of quality players burst onto the Iranian football scene, laying the foundation for third place in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup (memorable victories in that tournament included a 3–0 victory against Saudi Arabia and an impressive 6–2 victory against South Korea) and their second stab at World Cup glory in 1998.^[15]

1998 FIFA World Cup in France

Additional information: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off)

Additional information: 1998 FIFA World Cup – Group F

In November 1997, Iran qualified for the 1998 World Cup after eliminating Australia in a close playoff series. Both games finished undecided, but Iran managed to qualify due to the away goals rule. Iran held Australia to a 1–1 draw at home, and a 2–2 draw in Melbourne; however, since Iran had scored more away goals, they were able to qualify for the Cup.^[16]

At their first game of the Group F at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Iran played well against Yugoslavia, losing narrowly 1–0, only to a free kick goal by Siniša Mihajlović.^[15] Iran recorded their first World Cup victory in the second game,^[14] beating the United States 2–1, with Hamid Estili and Mehdi Mahdavikia scoring goals for Iran. The Iran vs USA World Cup match was preheated with much 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.^[17] Following defeat against Iran, the United States was eliminated from the World Cup.^[18]

Iran played against Germany in the third game. The game was lost 2–0. The goals were scored by Oliver Bierhoff and Jürgen Klinsmann.^[19] The one win and two losses meant Iran came third in the final group standing and failed to make it to the next round.^[20]
(Farhad Majidi and Mehdi Fonounizadeh were important absentees in the tournament.)

2000 AFC Asian Cup

Iran finished first in the group stage of the tournament, but lost to South Korea in the quarter-finals.

2002 FIFA World Cup qualification

Additional information: 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

Iran failed to qualify for World Cup 2002 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.

2004 AFC Asian Cup

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

2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany

Additional information: 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

Additional information: 2006 FIFA World Cup Group D

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

On 8 June 2005, Iran together with Japan became the first country to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, making it Iran's 3rd appearance on the world stage of football. The qualification round both in 2001 and 2004–05 resulted in mass celebrations, hysteria and rioting, causing internal chaos and unrest between youth and government officials. The Iran versus 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 in tragedy with 5 fans killed and several others injured as they left the Azadi Stadium at the end of the match.^[21]

Iran started their 2006 FIFA World Cup appearance with high expectations from fans and media. Their first match was against Mexico in Group D. The game was level 1–1 at the half-time, but Iran lost at the end because of a defensive mistake. The final score, 3–1, was brought about by goals from Omar Bravo and Zinha for Mexico, with Yahya Golmohammadi scoring the only Iran goal.

Iran played against Portugal in the second game. The game was lost 2–0. The goals were scored by Deco and Cristiano Ronaldo (penalty). The two losses meant Iran was eliminated from the competition, before their third and final game against Angola. Iran drew 1–1 with Angola on 21 June 2006, Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh scoring the Iran goal.

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.^[22] The ban lasted less than a month,^[23] and as a dispensation was given to allow the Iran under-23 team to participate in the football competition of the 2006 Asian Games,^[24] fixtures were unaffected.

2007 AFC Asian Cup

Additional information: 2007 AFC Asian Cup Group C

IRIFF appointed Amir Ghalenoei as head coach of the Iran national football team on 17 July 2006 to succeed Branko Ivanković. After finishing first in the qualifying round 2 points ahead of South Korea and then finishing first in the group stage of the final tournament in Malaysia, Iran lost to South Korea in a penalty shoot-out of the quarterfinal match and was eliminated from the 2007 Asian Cup. Ghalenoei was heavily criticized by the press. 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.

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Additional information: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

Ali Daei was chosen to become the new coach after Spanish coach Javier Clemente had been close to signing on as Iran's national team manager but talks collapsed when he refused to live full-time in the country.^[25] Iran was in the same FIFA World Cup qualifying group as Kuwait, Syria and United Arab Emirates in the third round. They played home and away against each of the other three teams in group 5. In the middle of the fourth round, Ali Daei was let go from his position as the Iranian national coach on 29 March 2009.^[26] He was replaced by Afshin Ghotbi. Iran failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup after ranking 4th overall in its group.^[27]

2011 AFC Asian Cup

Additional information: 2011 AFC Asian Cup Group D

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.^[28] 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.^[29] 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."^[30] Head coach Afshin Ghotbi also confirmed that it was a rumour and Iranian FA "has not taken any official stand on this issue."^[31]

Afshin Ghotbi was able to qualify for 2011 Asian Cup and finished second in West Asian Football Federation Championship 2010 just a few months before the 2011 Asian Cup. Iran was able to gain all nine points in the group stage of the 2011 Asian Cup but after an extra time goal from South Korea, Iran was yet again unable to get to the semifinals of the competition.

2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil

Iran men's national football team – October 2012

Qualification

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.^[32] 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 was drawn with 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, resulting in their qualification to the 2014 FIFA World Cup 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.^[33]

Foreign-based call-ups

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.^[34][35]

Finals

Additional information: 2014 FIFA World Cup – Group F

Iran vs. Argentina, 2014 FIFA World Cup

Iran qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup as group winners and competed in Group F alongside Argentina, Nigeria, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The sold out Argentina match tickets were among the eight most purchased for this edition of the tournament.^[36] On 1 June 2014, Queiroz announced his 23-man squad.^[37] Prior to the tournament, they founded the Central Asian Football Association.^[38]

In the opening match of the tournament on 16 June, Iran drew Nigeria 0–0, making it their first clean sheet of the FIFA World Cup.^[39] 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.^[40] 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.^[41] 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.^[42]

2015 AFC Asian Cup

Additional information: 2015 AFC Asian Cup Group C

Iran qualified for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup as group winners, where Team Melli were the highest ranked seed.^[43] Iran faced Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE in Group C. Queiroz announced his squad on 30 December 2014.^[44]

With the second highest number of fans in the tournament after hosts Australia, the Iranians defeated Bahrain 2–0 with limited preparations.^[45][46] A defensive minded Iran then defeated Qatar 1–0 thanks to a Sardar Azmoun goal before defeating the UAE by the same scoreline to reach the top of their group.^[47][48]

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 in sudden death.^[49][50]

2018 FIFA World Cup

Additional information: 2018 FIFA World Cup Group B

Iran's squad in October 2016 against South Korea

Iran's squad against Morocco in St. Petersburg at the 2018 World Cup on 15 June 2018, Uzomedia

Iran began their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign with friendly matches against Chile and Sweden in March 2015.^[51][52][53] Queiroz resigned from his managerial post thereafter due to disagreements with the Iranian Football Federation.^[54] On 14 April 2015, Iran were drawn with Oman, India, Turkmenistan, and Guam in the second round of qualifiers.^[55] On 26 April, Queiroz announced that he will continue as the manager of Iran for their 2018 World Cup campaign.

Iran became the second team to qualify for the 2018 World Cup,^[56] after a 2–0 win at home over Uzbekistan on 12 June 2017.^[57] They also clinched 1st place in their qualification group after South Korea's defeat to Qatar.^[58]

Iran won the first match against Morocco after Aziz Bouhaddouz scoring an own goal.^[59] The second match Iran lost against Spain with a goal scored by Diego Costa.^[60] The third match against Portugal ended in a draw after the penalty scored by Karim Ansarifard,^[61] and because Morocco could only manage a 2–2 draw to Spain, Iran was eliminated.^[62] However, this has become Iran's best performance in the World Cup, when they achieved four points.

Political protests

Presidential election protests, 2009

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, Javad Nekounam, Ali Karimi, Hossein Kaebi, Masoud Shojaei, Mohammad Nosrati, Vahid Hashemian, and captain Mehdi Mahdavikia 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".^[63][64] 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.^[65] As of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, many of the above players have played again for the national team, notably Javad Nekounam, Masoud Shojaei, Mehdi Mahdavikia, and Ali Karimi.

Team image

Nicknames

The Iranian national team has received several nicknames by supporters and media. The most common one used is "Team Melli", which literally means "The National Team" in Persian language. Although the Iranian supporters have popularized "Team Melli", other nicknames for the team include "Persian Stars"^[66][67][68] (entitled since the World Cup 2006) "Shiran e Iran",^[69][70] meaning "The Iranian Lions" or "The Lions of Persia",^[71]"Shirdelan", "Lion Hearts" and "Princes of Persia"^[72][73] (used since AFC Asian Cup 2011)^[74][75] have been used in media as well.^{[citation needed]} Iran's slogan for the 2014 FIFA World Cup was Honour of Persia, selected in an internet poll held by FIFA.^[76][77] A recently used nickname, due to the presence of the Asiatic cheetah on the 2014 World Cup jersey, is Youzpalangan which means 'The Cheetahs' (Persian: یوزپلنگان).^[78]

Kits and crests

The Iran national football team's kit traditionally utilizes white.

Kit suppliers

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

Rivalries

• South Korea national football team

Iran and South Korea are sporting rivals^[83][84] and have played against each other officially since 1958, totally 29 matches as of October 2016, including eight World Cup qualifiers. These two teams were among the strongest Asian national football teams during the 1960s and 1970s. Since then, the teams have developed one of Asia's greatest rivalries.^[85] Although the teams only had one chance to play against each other in the final match of the AFC Asian Cup, in 1972, they faced each other five consecutive times at the quarterfinals stage from 1996–2011.^[86][87] Iran leads the series with 13 wins, 7 draws and 9 losses.

• Saudi Arabia national football team

Iran and Saudi Arabia are rivals.^[88] The game has been ranked 9th in Bleacher Report's "International Football's 10 Most Politically-Charged Football Rivalries"^[89] and 8th in Goal.com's "Football's 10 Greatest International Rivalries".^[90]

Iran and Saudi Arabia have had 15 matches so far. All of their matches have been competitive and they have never played a friendly match. 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.

• Iraq national football team

According to the Malay Mail, "Emotions are always high when Iran and Iraq meet on the football pitch". The rivalry is not such a football-inspired ill-feeling between the two, but more of geography, religion and history. Iran and Iraq are neighboring countries, sharing a long history. In the contemporary era, especially during the reign of Saddam Hussein, the two countries had bad relations and fought the Iran–Iraq War for 8 years.^{[91][92][93][94][95]} In 2001, for the first time in decades, an Iran-Iraq match was not held at a neutral venue.^[93] The rivalry was escalated after Iraq knocked Iran out of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in controversial circumstances; Iran lodged a complaint to the AFC that one of Iraq's players had submitted a positive doping test months before, hoping to see Iraq removed from the tournament and themselves reinstated in their place,^[96] but the complaint was rejected.^[97] Iran leads the series with 14 wins, 7 draws and 5 losses.

Stadiums

Azadi Stadium

Since 1972, Iran's national stadium is Tehran's Azadi Stadium with a nominal capacity of 78,116 spectators.^[98] Azadi Stadium is the 23rd largest association football stadium in the world, 7th in Asia and 1st in West Asia. A record was set in Azadi for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Australia with over 128,000 in attendance.^[99] The government restricts Iranian women from entering the stadiums.^[100]

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

The Iran National Football Camp is home to Iran's trainings.

Sponsorship

Primary sponsors include Adidas, Bank Pasargad, 9090, Golrang, Oila and Kaspid.^[101]

Asiatic cheetah

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.^[78]

Tournament Records

World Cup

World Cup finals											World Cup qualifications
Hosts/Year	Result	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA	Squad		GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1930 to 1970	Did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	-	-	-
1974	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		8	5	1	2	9	6
1978	Round 1	14th	3	0	1	2	2	8	Squad		12	10	2	0	20	3
1982	Withdrew	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	-	-	-
1986	Disqualified	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	-	-	-
1990	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		6	5	0	1	12	5
1994		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		11	5	3	3	23	13
1998	Group Stage	20th	3	1	0	2	2	4	Squad		17	8	6	3	57	17
2002	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		14	9	3	2	36	9
2006	Group Stage	25th	3	0	1	2	2	6	Squad		12	9	1	2	29	7
2010	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		14	5	8	1	15	9
2014	Group Stage	28th	3	0	1	2	1	4	Squad		16	10	4	2	30	7
2018		18th	3	1	1	1	2	2	Squad		18	12	6	0	36	5
Total	Round 1	5/21	15	2	4	9	9	24	-		128	78	34	16	267	81

Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup finals										AFC Asian Cup qualification
Hosts/Year	Result	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA		GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1956	Withdrew	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	-	-	-
1960	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		6	3	1	2	12	10
1964	Withdrew	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	-	-	-
1968	Champions	1st	4	4	0	0	11	2		Automatic qualification as hosts
1972	Champions	1st	5	5	0	0	12	4		Automatic qualification as champions
1976	Champions	1st	4	4	0	0	13	0		Automatic qualification as hosts and as champions
1980	Third place	3rd	6	3	2	1	16	6		Automatic qualification as champions
1984	Fourth place	4th	6	2	4	0	8	3		5	5	0	0	21	2
1988	Third place	3rd	6	2	2	2	3	4		4	2	2	0	6	1
1992	Round 1	5th	3	1	1	1	2	1		2	2	0	0	10	0
1996	Third place	3rd	6	3	2	1	14	6		6	6	0	0	27	1
2000	Quarterfinals	5th	4	2	1	1	7	3		6	4	1	1	16	2
2004	Third place	3rd	6	3	3	0	14	8		6	5	0	1	16	5
2007	Quarterfinals	5th	4	2	2	0	6	3		6	4	2	0	12	2
2011	Quarterfinals	5th	4	3	0	1	6	2		6	4	1	1	11	2
2015	Quarterfinals	6th	4	3	1	0	7	3		6	5	1	0	18	5
2019	Qualified									8	6	2	0	26	3
Total	3 titles	14/17	62	37	18	7	119	45		61	46	10	5	175	33

*Denotes draws which include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
**Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Olympic Games

Summer Olympic Games Record										Qualifications record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1908–1960	Did not enter									-	-	-	-	-	-
1964	Group Stage	12th	3	0	1	2	1	6		6	4	1	1	14	3
1968	Did not enter									-	-	-	-	-	-
1972	Group Stage	12th	3	1	0	2	1	9		5	3	2	0	6	0
1976	Quarter-finals	7th	3	1	0	2	4	5		4	3	1	0	8	1
1980	Boycotted the event									5	3	2	0	18	2
1984										-	-	-	-	-	-
1988	Did not qualify									2	1	0	1	2	2
1992–present	See Iran national under-23 team
Total	Quarter-finals	4 / 17	9	2	1	6	6	20		22	14	6	2	48	8

Asian Games

Host nation(s) / year	Round	Pld	W	D*	L	GS	GA	Dif	Pts
1951	Runners-up	3	2	0	1	2	1	+1	6
1954	Did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1958	Round 1	2	0	0	2	0	9	−9	0
1962	Did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1966	Runners-up	7	4	0	3	9	6	+3	12
1970	Round 1	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	1
1974	Champions	7	7	0	0	20	1	+19	21
1978	Withdrew	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1982	Quarterfinals	4	2	0	2	3	2	+1	6
1986	Quarterfinals	5	3	1	1	13	2	+11	10
1990	Champions	5	4	1	0	7	1	+6	13
1994	Round 1	4	1	2	1	5	2	+3	5
1998	Champions	8	7	0	1	25	7	+18	21
2002–present	See Iran national under-23 team
Total	10/13	47	30	5	12	86	34	+52	95

West Asian Games

Host nation(s) / year	Round	Pld	W	D*	L	GS	GA	Dif	Pts
1997	Champions	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
2002	Runners-up	4	1	3	0	5	4	+1	6
2005	Third place	4	3	1	0	10	2	+8	10
Total	3/3	8	4	4	0	15	6	+9	16

West Asian Championship

Host nation(s) / year	Round	Pld	W	D*	L	GS	GA	Dif	Pts
2000	Champions	5	4	1	0	7	1	+6	13
2002	Third place	4	1	2	1	4	3	+1	5
2004	Champions	4	4	0	0	17	3	+14	12
2007	Champions	4	3	1	0	5	1	+4	10
2008	Champions	4	4	0	0	13	2	+11	12
2010	Runners-up	4	2	1	1	8	5	+3	7
2012	Group Stage	3	1	2	0	2	1	+1	5
Total	7/8	28	19	7	2	56	16	+40	64

Central Asian Championship

Host nation(s) / year	Round	Pld	W	D*	L	GS	GA	Dif	Pts
2018	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

RCD Cup / ECO Cup

Host nation(s) / year	Round	Pld	W	D*	L	GS	GA	Dif	Pts
1965	Champions	2	1	1	0	4	1	+3	4
1967	Runners-up	2	1	0	1	2	1	+1	3
1969	Runners-up	2	1	0	1	4	6	−2	3
1970	Champions	2	1	1	0	8	1	+7	4
1974	Runners-up	2	1	0	1	2	2	0	3
1993	Champions	4	4	0	0	10	1	+9	12
Total	6/6	14	9	2	3	30	12	+18	29

Results and fixtures

Previous matches

  Win
  Draw
  Loss

Date	Venue	Opponent	Competition	Result	Iranian scorers	Captain
2017
31 August 2017	Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul	South Korea	2018 FIFA World Cup Q	0–0 D Report		Dejagah
5 September 2017	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	Syria	2018 FIFA World Cup Q	2–2 D Report	Azmoun  45', 64'	Dejagah
5 October 2017	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	Togo	Friendly	2–0 W	Ansarifard  51', 60'	Hajsafi
10 October 2017	Kazan Arena, Kazan	Russia	Friendly	1–1 D	Azmoun  57'	Hosseini
9 November 2017	Liebenauer Stadium, Graz	Panama	Friendly	2–1 W	Dejagah  15' Ghoddos  18'	Dejagah
13 November 2017	Stadion de Goffert, Nijmegen (Behind closed-doors)	Venezuela	Friendly	1–0 W	Jahanbakhsh  57'	Hosseini
2018
17 March 2018	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	Sierra Leone	Friendly	4–0 W	Khanzadeh  14' Gholizadeh 15', 46' Rezaei  33'	Ebrahimi
23 March 2018	Stade Olympique de Radès, Rades	Tunisia	Friendly	0–1 L		Shojaei
27 March 2018	Liebenauer Stadium, Graz	Algeria	Friendly	2–1 W	Azmoun  11' Taremi 19'	Hajsafi
19 May 2018	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	Uzbekistan	Friendly	1–0 W	Cheshmi  17'	Hajsafi
28 May 2018	Fatih Terim Stadium, Istanbul	Turkey	Friendly	1–2 L	Dejagah  90+1'	Shojaei
8 June 2018	Spartak Training Ground, Moscow	Lithuania	Friendly	1–0 W	Ansarifard  88'	Shojaei
15 June 2018	Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg	Morocco	2018 FIFA World Cup	1–0 W	Bouhaddouz  90+5' (o.g.)	Shojaei
20 June 2018	Kazan Arena, Kazan	Spain	2018 FIFA World Cup	0–1 L		Hajsafi
25 June 2018	Mordovia Arena, Saransk	Portugal	2018 FIFA World Cup	1–1 D	Ansarifard  90+3' (pen.)	Hajsafi
11 September 2018	Bunyodkor Stadium, Tashkent	Uzbekistan	Friendly	1–0 W	Torabi  68'	Dejagah
16 October 2018	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	Bolivia	Friendly	2-1 W	Jahanbakhsh  17' Torabi  63'	Hajsafi

Forthcoming matches

Date	Competition	Location	Opponent
15 November 2018	Friendly	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	Trinidad and Tobago
20 November 2018	Friendly	TBA, Doha	Venezuela
31 December 2018	Friendly	TBA, Doha	Qatar
2019
7 January 2019	2019 AFC Asian Cup	Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi	Yemen
12 January 2019	2019 AFC Asian Cup	Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi	Vietnam
16 January 2019	2019 AFC Asian Cup	Al-Maktoum Stadium, Dubai	Iraq

^*FIFA International match days 2018–2024^[102]

^§AFC Calendar of Competitions 2016–2018^[103]

Records versus other nations

Coaching staff

Carlos Queiroz, the head coach

Manager	Carlos Queiroz
Assistant coach	Oceano da Cruz Markar Aghajanyan
Goalkeeping coach	Alexandre Lopes
Fitness coaches	Mick McDermott Diego Giacchino [104] Sebastião Mendes Macias [105]
Physiotherapist	Micael Moreira Alireza Shahab [106]
Translator	Aryan Ghasemi
Analyst	Miguel Saraiva [107]
Team Doctor	Dr. Parham Khanlari
Masseuse	Mohammad Saber Ehsan Sadathosseini
IT and Media Consultant	Filipe Santos [107]

• Reference

Players

Current squad

The following 28 players have been called up for the friendly match against  Bolivia on 16 October 2018.^[108]
Caps and goals are correct as of: 16 October 2018 after match against  Bolivia.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Alireza Beiranvand	(1992-09-21) 21 September 1992 (age 26)	26	0	Persepolis
12	1GK	Rashid Mazaheri	(1989-05-18) 18 May 1989 (age 29)	3	0	Zob Ahan
22	1GK	Hossein Hosseini	(1992-06-30) 30 June 1992 (age 26)	2	0	Esteghlal
30	1GK	Amir Abedzadeh	(1993-04-26) 26 April 1993 (age 25)	2	0	Marítimo
2	2DF	Vouria Ghafouri	(1987-09-20) 20 September 1987 (age 31)	21	0	Esteghlal
3	2DF	Ehsan Hajsafi (Third-Captain)	(1990-02-25) 25 February 1990 (age 28)	98	6	Tractor Sazi
4	2DF	Rouzbeh Cheshmi	(1993-07-24) 24 July 1993 (age 25)	12	1	Esteghlal
5	2DF	Milad Mohammadi	(1993-09-29) 29 September 1993 (age 25)	22	0	Akhmat Grozny
8	2DF	Morteza Pouraliganji	(1992-04-19) 19 April 1992 (age 26)	31	2	Eupen
15	2DF	Pejman Montazeri	(1983-09-06) 6 September 1983 (age 35)	47	2	Esteghlal
19	2DF	Majid Hosseini	(1996-06-20) 20 June 1996 (age 22)	6	0	Trabzonspor
25	2DF	Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh	(1991-05-11) 11 May 1991 (age 27)	11	1	Al-Ahli
28	2DF	Sadegh Moharrami	(1996-03-01) 1 March 1996 (age 22)	2	0	Dinamo Zagreb
29	2DF	Armin Sohrabian	(1995-07-26) 26 July 1995 (age 23)	0	0	Esteghlal
6	3MF	Saeid Ezatolahi	(1996-10-01) 1 October 1996 (age 22)	28	1	Reading
7	3MF	Masoud Shojaei (Captain)	(1984-06-09) 9 June 1984 (age 34)	77	8	Tractor Sazi
9	3MF	Omid Ebrahimi	(1987-09-16) 16 September 1987 (age 31)	35	0	Al-Ahli
11	3MF	Vahid Amiri	(1988-04-02) 2 April 1988 (age 30)	39	1	Trabzonspor
13	3MF	Saman Ghoddos	(1993-09-06) 6 September 1993 (age 25)	13	1	Amiens
14	3MF	Ali Karimi	(1994-02-11) 11 February 1994 (age 24)	10	0	Esteghlal
16	3MF	Mehdi Torabi	(1994-09-10) 10 September 1994 (age 24)	19	6	Saipa
18	3MF	Alireza Jahanbakhsh	(1993-08-11) 11 August 1993 (age 25)	43	5	Brighton & Hove Albion
21	3MF	Ashkan Dejagah (Vice-Captain)	(1986-07-05) 5 July 1986 (age 32)	47	9	Tractor Sazi
24	3MF	Ali Gholizadeh	(1996-03-10) 10 March 1996 (age 22)	4	2	Charleroi
26	3MF	Ahmad Nourollahi	(1993-01-02) 2 January 1993 (age 25)	0	0	Persepolis
10	4FW	Karim Ansarifard	(1990-04-03) 3 April 1990 (age 28)	66	17	Nottingham Forest
17	4FW	Mehdi Taremi	(1992-07-18) 18 July 1992 (age 26)	32	11	Al-Gharafa
20	4FW	Sardar Azmoun	(1995-01-01) 1 January 1995 (age 23)	37	23	Rubin Kazan

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	Hamed Lak	(1990-11-24) 24 November 1990 (age 27)	3	0	Nassaji	v.  Sierra Leone, 17 March 2018
GK	Mohammad Reza Akhbari	(1993-02-15) 15 February 1993 (age 25)	1	0	Saipa	Tehran training camp, November 2017
DF	Ramin Rezaeian	(1990-03-21) 21 March 1990 (age 28)	31	2	Al-Shahania	Uzbekistan, 2 September 2018
DF	Jalal Hosseini	(1982-02-03) 3 February 1982 (age 36)	116	8	Persepolis	2018 FIFA World Cup PRE, May 2018
DF	Steven Beitashour	(1987-02-01) 1 February 1987 (age 31)	6	0	Los Angeles	2018 FIFA World Cup PRE, May 2018
DF	Saeid Aghaei	(1995-02-09) 9 February 1995 (age 23)	5	0	Sepahan	2018 FIFA World Cup PRE, May 2018
DF	Mohammad Ansari	(1991-09-23) 23 September 1991 (age 27)	4	0	Persepolis	2018 FIFA World Cup PRE, May 2018
DF	Hossein Kanaanizadegan	(1994-03-23) 23 March 1994 (age 24)	3	0	Saipa	Tehran training camp, November 2017
DF	Danial Mahini	(1993-09-25) 25 September 1993 (age 25)	1	0	Esteghlal Khuzestan	Tehran training camp, November 2017
DF	Milad Zakipour	(1995-11-23) 23 November 1995 (age 22)	0	0	Esteghlal	Tehran training camp, November 2017
MF	Soroush Rafiei	(1990-03-24) 24 March 1990 (age 28)	5	0	Persepolis	2018 FIFA World Cup PRE, May 2018
MF	Ahmad Abdollahzadeh	(1993-05-06) 6 May 1993 (age 25)	4	0	Nassaji	2018 FIFA World Cup PRE, May 2018
MF	Omid Noorafkan	(1997-04-09) 9 April 1997 (age 21)	1	0	Charleroi	2018 FIFA World Cup PRE, May 2018
MF	Kamal Kamyabinia	(1989-01-18) 18 January 1989 (age 29)	5	1	Persepolis	v.  Sierra Leone, 17 March 2018
MF	Akbar Imani	(1992-03-21) 21 March 1992 (age 26)	3	0	Sanat Naft	v.  Venezuela, 13 November 2017
MF	Farshid Esmaeili	(1994-02-23) 23 February 1994 (age 24)	0	0	Esteghlal	Tehran training camp, November 2017
MF	Morteza Tabrizi	(1991-01-06) 6 January 1991 (age 27)	0	0	Esteghlal	Tehran training camp, November 2017
FW	Kaveh Rezaei	(1992-04-05) 5 April 1992 (age 26)	9	1	Club Brugge	v.  Uzbekistan, 2 September 2018
FW	Reza Ghoochannejhad RET	(1987-09-20) 20 September 1987 (age 31)	44	17	APOEL	2018 FIFA World Cup, June 2018
FW	Ali Alipour	(1994-11-12) 12 November 1994 (age 23)	1	0	Persepolis	v.  Sierra Leone, 17 March 2018
FW	Sasan Ansari	(1991-05-04) 4 May 1991 (age 27)	0	0	Sepahan	Tehran training camp, November 2017

Iran men's national team group picture on 30 May 2014 in a friendly match against Angola in Hartberg, Austria. Manager: Carlos Queiroz
Standing left to right: Mahini, Davari, Ansarifard, Alenemeh, Khanzadeh, Nekounam
Sitting left to right: Hajsafi, Beitashour, Haddadifar, Azmoun, Dejagah

Notes

• 
  ^INJ Player withdrawn from the squad due to an injury.


• 
  ^PRE Preliminary squad.


• 
  ^RC Player suspended for yellow or red card accumulation.


• 
  ^RET Player retired from the national team.


• 
  ^SUS Player suspended.

Previous squads

World Cups

• World Cup 2018 squad


• World Cup 2014 squad


• World Cup 2006 squad


• World Cup 1998 squad


• World Cup 1978 squad

Olympic Games

• 1964 Olympic Games


• 1972 Olympic Games


• 1976 Olympic Games

Asian Cups

• Asian Cup 2019 squad


• Asian Cup 2015 squad


• Asian Cup 2011 squad


• Asian Cup 2007 squad


• Asian Cup 2004 squad


• Asian Cup 2000 squad


• Asian Cup 1996 squad


• Asian Cup 1992 squad


• Asian Cup 1988 squad


• Asian Cup 1984 squad


• Asian Cup 1980 squad


• Asian Cup 1976 squads


• Asian Cup 1972 squads


• Asian Cup 1968 squads

See also Category:Iran international footballers

Asian Games

• 1998 Asian Games squad


• 1994 Asian Games squad


• 1990 Asian Games squad


• 1986 Asian Games squad


• 1982 Asian Games squad


• 1974 Asian Games squad

Since 2002, the Asian Games has been part of the under-23 team's record.

Records

Most capped players

Javad Nekounam is the most capped player in the history of Iran with 151 caps.

Ali Karimi of Iran with 127 caps and 38 goals.

As of 19 May 2018^[update], the 10 players with the most caps:

Most capped goalkeepers

Iranian iconic goalkeeper Ahmadreza Abedzadeh is the most capped goalkeeper in the history of Iran with 79 caps.

As of 7 June 2016^[update], the 5 goalkeepers with the most caps:

The records are collected based on data from FIFA and RSSSF.
Bold names denote a player still playing or available for selection.

Top goalscorers

Ali Daei is the world's all-time leading goalscorer in international matches, having scored 109 goals in 149 matches

As of 19 May 2018^[update], the 10 players with the most goals:

The records are collected based on data from FIFA, RSSSF & Varzesh3.
Bold names denote a player still playing or available for selection.

Iran captains

As of 20 June 2018 after match against Spain

Most matches as captain

As of 7 June 2016, the 10 players with the most matches as captain: