Iran is one of the best soccer nations in Asia. Everything you need to know about the Iran national team.
Tehran – The Iranian national team will register their sixth participation in a soccer World Cup at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Along with Japan and South Korea, the Iranian team is one of the strongest teams in Asia. Although the Iranians proved to be a strong team by winning the Asian Cup, they never reached the knockout stages of a World Cup.
Iran national team: formation and beginnings
In 1920, the IR of Iran Football Federation was founded in Iran. Football’s popularity was initially very low. It was only over the next few decades that the ball sport grew in popularity, displacing martial arts such as wrestling, taekwondo and judo from the top of the most popular sports. In their first official international match in 1941, the Iran national team met India. The game ended in a 1-0 victory for Iran.
| I.R. of Iran Football Federation (IRFF) |
| 1920 |
| 23 August 1941 v British India (1-0 win) |
| Asian Champion (1968, 1972, 1976) |
| Javad Nekounam (151 appearances) |
| Ali Daei (109 Tore) |
| As of July 29, 2022 |
Over the years, Iran has established itself as a footballing nation. The Iranian national team had its strongest phase from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s. During this time, the team won the Asian Championship three times in a row and then qualified for a World Cup for the first time. During the first Gulf War and the Islamic Revolution in the 1980s, sport came to a standstill throughout the country. Despite the war, Iran continued to compete in international tournaments. Since then, however, there have been no successes.
Iran national team: Achievements in Asia
Iran has been taking part in the Asian Championships since 1960. In 1968, the Iranian national team won the Asian championship for the first time in front of their home crowd. The team continued its triumphal march for eight more years and won the title in both 1972 and 1976. In all three tournaments, Iran was the most prolific team and was the top scorer. The start of the Gulf War put a damper on sports culture. Despite this, the country continued to participate in the Asian Cup. So far, the team has made it to the semi-finals nine times in twelve appearances and won the title three times.
Iran did very well in other Asian competitions. The West Asian Football Championship has been held since 2000. Out of seven tournaments played, the Iran national team took first place four times. The team took home three gold medals at the Asian Games – a competition between Asian countries with an Olympic character.
National Team: Iran at the Soccer World Cup
Buoyed by winning three Asian Cups in a row, Iran qualified for the 1978 World Cup for the first time. In a group with the Netherlands, Peru and Scotland, the Iranian national team was eliminated as the group last. The World Cup finals that followed were similarly poor. The Iranians were thrown out of the tournament a total of five times in the preliminary round, four of them as last in the group. In fifteen World Cup games, Iran could only win two games.
The Iranian national team came closest to reaching the knockout rounds at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. With Spain, Portugal and Morocco in a group, Iran finished third in the table with four points. Finally, the Spanish and Portuguese sides qualified for the round of 16 with five points each.
Iran national team: The achievements
| World Championship | Qualification (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018) |
| Asian Championship | Winner (1968, 1972, 1976) |
| Asian Games | Gold Medal (1974, 1990, 1998) |
| West Asian Championship | Winner (2000, 2004, 2007, 2008) |
| As of July 29, 2022 |
Iran national team: the record players and goal scorers
The most experienced player in the Iran national team jersey is Javad Nekounam. The defensive midfielder made 151 appearances for Iran. He played in La Liga for several years and ended his career in 2016.
Iran’s top scorer is soccer legend Ali Daei. During his career he was up front for FC Bayern Munich, among others, and with 109 goals in 149 games he is the most successful international goalscorer after Cristiano Ronaldo.
| 1 | Ali Daei | 109 (149) |
| 2 | Karim Bagheri | 50 (87) |
| 3 | Sardar Azmoun | 40 (62) |
| 4 | Javad Nekouinam | 39 (151) |
| 5 | Ali Karimi | 38 (126) |
| 6 | Karim Ansarifard | 29 (90) |
| 7 | Mahdi Taremi | 27 (57) |
| 8 | Farshad Oious | 18 (34) |
| Ali Asghar Modirrousta | 18 (32) | |
| Nasir Mohammadkhani | 18 (25) | |
| As of July 29, 2022 |
The current Iran national team squad for the 2022 World Cup
- Tor: Amir Abedzadeh (SD Pnferradina), Alireza Beiranvand (Persepolis), Hossein Hosseini (Esteghlal), Payam Niazmand (Portimoense SC)
- defense: Aref Aghasi (Foolad), Aref Gholami (Esteghlal), Ehsan Hajsafi (AEK Athens), Saleh Hardani (Esteghlal), Majid Hosseini (Kayserispor), Abolfazl Jalali (Esteghlal).
- midfield: Omid Ebrahimi (Al-Wakrah SC), Saeid Ezatolahi (Vejle BK), Amir Hossein Hosseinzadeh (Esteghlal), Mehdi Mehdiour (Esteghlal), Sadegh Moharrami (Dynamo Zagreb), Omid Noorafkan (Sepahan), Ahmad Nourollah Dubai Milad Sarlak (Persepolis)
- Sturm: Ali Alipour (Gil Vicente), Sardar Azmoun (Bayer Leverkusen), Ali Gholizadeh (Sportin Charleroi), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Feyenoord Rotterdam), Allahyar Sayyadmanesh (Hull City), Mehdi Taremi (FC Porto)
The Iranian national team is coached by Croatian Dragan Skočić. Iran will play their first finals match against England at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The following opponents of the group are called Wales and USA. At fr.de you will also find an overview of all groups at the 2022 World Cup and a list of all World Cup teams. You can also use the 2022 World Cup schedule to track which nations are playing against each other. (aa)
