Examine individual changes

'{{short description|Men's national association football team representing Iran}} {{about|the men's team|the women's team|Iran women's national football team}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}} {{Infobox national football team | Name = Iran | Nickname = Team Melli ({{lang-fa|تیم ملی}}) ''(the national team)'', cheetahs ({{lang-fa|یوز ها}}) <br />''[[Iran men's national football team#Nicknames|other nicknames]]'' | Badge = Flag of Iran.svg | Badge_size = 200 | Association = [[Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran]] | FIFA Trigramme = IRN | FIFA Rank = {{FIFA World Rankings|IRN}} | FIFA max = 15 | FIFA max date = August 2005<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/rank=135/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711230353/http://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/rank=135/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 July 2015|title=The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - Ranking Table |website=FIFA.com}}</ref> | FIFA min = 122 | FIFA min date = May 1996<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/rank=30/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160622181606/http://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/rank=30/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 June 2016|title=The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - Ranking Table|website=FIFA.com}}</ref> | Elo Rank = {{World Football Elo Ratings|Iran}} | Elo max = 18 | Elo max date = 11 April 2005, 24 January 2019 | Elo min = 77 | Elo min date = 11 November 1945 ( After World War 2 ) | Confederation = [[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]] (Asia) | Sub-confederation = [[Central Asian Football Association|CAFA]] (Central Asia) | Coach =[[Amir Ghalenoei]] | Captain = [[Ehsan Hajsafi]] | Most caps = [[Javad Nekounam]] (149){{efn|Nekounam has two additional caps awarded by the Iranian FA. Those matches are not considered full internationals by FIFA, which only counts 149.<ref name="RSSSFNEKU">[https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/nekounam-intl.html Javad Nekounam – Century of International Appearances]; at [[RSSSF]]</ref>}} | Top scorer = [[Ali Daei]] ([[List of international goals scored by Ali Daei|109]]) | Home Stadium = [[Azadi Stadium]] | pattern_la1 = _irn22h | pattern_b1 = _irn22h | pattern_ra1 = _irn22h | pattern_sh1 = FFFFFF | pattern_so1 = | leftarm1 = EC0000 | body1 = FFFFFF | rightarm1 = FFFFFF | shorts1 = FFFFFF | socks1 = FFFFFF | pattern_la2 = _irn22a | pattern_b2 = _irn22a | pattern_ra2 = _irn22a | pattern_sh2 = EC0000 | pattern_so2 = | leftarm2 = EC0000 | body2 = EC0000 | rightarm2 = EC0000 | shorts2 = FF0000 | socks2 = FF0000 | First game = {{fb|AFG|1930}} 0 –0 {{fb-rt|IRN|1925}}<br />([[Kabul]], [[Kingdom of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]]; 25 August 1941) | Largest win = {{fb|IRN}} [[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round#Group 2|19–0]] {{fb-rt|GUM}}<br />([[Tabriz]], [[Iran]]; 24 November 2000)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/stats-matches/52/00/64/170429-factsheet-fifacompetitionsbiggestmarginvictories.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521083035/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/stats-matches/52/00/64/170429-factsheet-fifacompetitionsbiggestmarginvictories.pdf | url-status=dead | archive-date=21 May 2013 |title=Biggest margin victories/losses (Fifa fact-Sheet) |publisher=FIFA.com| access-date=27 November 2013}}</ref> | Largest loss = {{fb|TUR}} 6–1 {{fb-rt|IRN|1925}}<br />([[Istanbul]], Turkey; 28 May 1950)<ref name="Iran: Fixtures and Results" /><br />{{fb|KOR|1949}} 5–0 {{fb-rt|IRN|1925}}<br />([[Tokyo]], Japan; 28 May 1958)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesa/asgames58.html|title=Asian Games 1958 (Tokyo, Japan)|publisher=rsssf|access-date=17 December 2010|archive-date=25 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225010545/http://www.rsssf.com/tablesa/asgames58.html|url-status=live}}</ref> | World cup apps = 6 | World cup first = 1978 | World cup best = Group stage ([[1978 FIFA World Cup|1978]], [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]], [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]], [[2014 FIFA World Cup|2014]], [[2018 FIFA World Cup|2018]], [[2022 FIFA World Cup|2022]]) | Regional name = [[Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]] | Regional cup apps = 3 | Regional cup first = [[Football at the 1964 Summer Olympics|1964]] | Regional cup best = Quarter-finals ([[Football at the 1976 Summer Olympics|1976]]) | 2ndRegional name = [[AFC Asian Cup|Asian Cup]] | 2ndRegional cup apps = 15 | 2ndRegional cup first = [[1968 AFC Asian Cup|1968]] | 2ndRegional cup best = '''Champions''' ([[1968 AFC Asian Cup|1968]], [[1972 AFC Asian Cup|1972]], [[1976 AFC Asian Cup|1976]]) | 3rdRegional name = [[Football at the Asian Games|Asian Games]] | 3rdRegional cup apps = 10 | 3rdRegional cup first = [[Football at the 1951 Asian Games|1951]] | 3rdRegional cup best = '''Champions''' ([[Football at the 1974 Asian Games|1974]], [[Football at the 1990 Asian Games – Men's tournament|1990]], [[Football at the 1998 Asian Games – Men's tournament|1998]]) | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Men's [[Association football|football]]}} {{Medal|Competition|[[AFC Asian Cup]]}} {{MedalGold|[[1968 AFC Asian Cup|1968 Iran]]|[[1968 AFC Asian Cup squads#Iran|Team]]}} {{MedalGold|[[1972 AFC Asian Cup|1972 Thailand]]|[[1972 AFC Asian Cup squads#Iran|Team]]}} {{MedalGold|[[1976 AFC Asian Cup|1976 Iran]]|[[1976 AFC Asian Cup squads#Iran|Team]]}} {{MedalBronze|[[1980 AFC Asian Cup|1980 Kuwait]]|[[1980 AFC Asian Cup squads#Iran|Team]]}} {{MedalBronze |[[1988 AFC Asian Cup|1988 Qatar]]|[[1988 AFC Asian Cup squads#Iran|Team]]}} {{MedalBronze |[[1996 AFC Asian Cup|1996 UAE]]|[[1996 AFC Asian Cup squads#Iran|Team]]}} {{MedalBronze |[[2004 AFC Asian Cup|2004 China]]|[[2004 AFC Asian Cup squads#Iran|Team]]}} {{Medal|Competition|[[Football at the Asian Games|Asian Games]]}} {{MedalGold |[[Football at the 1974 Asian Games|1974 Tehran]]|[[Football at the 1974 Asian Games – Men's team squads#Iran|Team]]}} {{MedalGold |[[Football at the 1990 Asian Games|1990 Beijing]]|[[Football at the 1990 Asian Games – Men's team squads#Iran|Team]]}} {{MedalGold |[[Football at the 1998 Asian Games|1998 Bangkok]]|[[Football at the 1998 Asian Games – Men's team squads#Iran|Team]]}} {{MedalSilver |[[Football at the 1951 Asian Games|1951 New Delhi]]|[[Football at the 1951 Asian Games – Men's team squads#Iran|Team]]}} {{MedalSilver |[[Football at the 1966 Asian Games|1966 Bangkok]]|[[Football at the 1966 Asian Games – Men's team squads#Iran|Team]]}} {{Medal|Competition|[[WAFF Championship]]}} {{MedalGold|[[2000 WAFF Championship|2000 Jordan]]|Team}} {{MedalGold|[[2004 WAFF Championship|2004 Iran]]|Team}} {{MedalGold|[[2007 WAFF Championship|2007 Jordan]]|Team}} {{MedalGold|[[2008 WAFF Championship|2008 Iran]]|Team}} {{MedalSilver|[[2010 WAFF Championship|2010 Jordan]]|Team}} {{MedalBronze|[[2002 WAFF Championship|2002 Syria]]|Team}} {{Medal|Competition|[[CAFA Nations Cup]]}} {{MedalGold|[[2023 CAFA Nations Cup|2023 Kyrgyzstan & Uzbekistan]]|[[2023 CAFA Championship squads#Iran|Team]]}} }} The '''Iran national football team''' ({{lang-fa|تیم ملی فوتبال مردان ایران|Team Mellie Futbâle Mardâne Irân}}), recognised by [[FIFA]] as '''IR Iran''',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/associations/association/irn/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504124701/https://www.fifa.com/associations/association/IRN/|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 May 2019|title=Member Association - IR Iran|website=FIFA|access-date=22 June 2021}}</ref> represents [[Iran]] in international [[Association football|football]] and is controlled by the [[Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran]] (FFIRI).{{cn|date=November 2022}} At the continental level, Iran has won three [[AFC Asian Cup|Asian Cup]] championships in [[1968 AFC Asian Cup|1968]], [[1972 AFC Asian Cup|1972]] and [[1976 AFC Asian Cup|1976]]. The nation's best performance at the [[Football at the Summer Olympics|Olympics]] was reaching the quarterfinals at the [[Football at the 1976 Summer Olympics|1976 Montreal Games]]. At the [[FIFA World Cup]], Iran have qualified six times ([[1978 FIFA World Cup|1978]], [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]], [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]], [[2014 FIFA World Cup|2014]], [[2018 FIFA World Cup|2018]] and [[2022 FIFA World Cup|2022]]) but have never progressed beyond the group stages; they have however, won three matches: against the [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]] in 1998, [[Morocco national football team|Morocco]] in 2018 and [[Wales national football team|Wales]] in 2022. ==History== {{See also|Football in Iran|History of the Iran national football team}} {{Recentism|date=June 2016}} ===Early years=== {{expand section|date=October 2022}} [[File:Iran1304.jpg|thumb|left|The very first Iran football team that traveled to [[Baku]] in 1926]] The [[Iranian Football Federation]] was founded in 1920.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/associations/association=irn/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070603155130/http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=irn/|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 June 2007|title=Member Association – Iran}}</ref> 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 [[India national football team|British India]] while Iran's first [[FIFA]] international match was on 25 August 1941, away at [[Afghanistan national football team|Afghanistan]].<ref name="Iran: Fixtures and Results">{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/associations/association=irn/fixturesresults/gender=m/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070603173212/http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=irn/fixturesresults/gender=m/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 June 2007|title=Iran: Fixtures and Results|publisher=FIFA.com }}</ref> Iran won the [[AFC Asian Cup|Asian Cup]] three consecutive times ([[1968 AFC Asian Cup|1968]], [[1972 AFC Asian Cup|1972]], [[1976 AFC Asian Cup|1976]]) to which the team has not been able to add since. [[File:Antal Dunai vs Parviz Ghelichkhani 1972.jpg|thumb|right|[[Antal Dunai|Dunai]] and [[Parviz Ghelichkhani|Ghelichkhani]] at the [[Football at the 1972 Summer Olympics|1972 Summer Olympics]]]] [[File:Iran Football 78WC.jpg|thumb|left|Iran playing in the 1978 World Cup against [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]] in [[Córdoba, Argentina|Cordoba]], Argentina]] In [[1978 FIFA World Cup|1978]], Iran made its first appearance in the [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]] after defeating [[Australia national association football team|Australia]] in [[Tehran]]. Iran lost two of three group stage matches against the [[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]] and [[Peru national football team|Peru]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.teammelli.com/articles/iran_in_world_cup_1978.htm|title=Iran in World Cup 1978|work=teammelli.com|access-date=21 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104101448/http://www.teammelli.com/articles/iran_in_world_cup_1978.htm|archive-date=4 January 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Team Melli managed to surprise some in the footballing community<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/low/football/world_cup_2002/1632238.stm | work=BBC News | title=Iranian football facts | date=1 November 2001 | access-date=5 May 2010 | archive-date=19 November 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119142638/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2002/1632238.stm | url-status=live }}</ref> by securing one point in its first ever World Cup appearance against [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]] which saw [[Iraj Danaeifard]] cancel out an own goal scored by [[Andranik Eskandarian]] for the 1–1 draw.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-world-cup-2006.com/teams-iran.htm|title=while FIFA World Cup 2006 Iran Team Overview<!-- Bot generated title -->|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719151054/http://www.the-world-cup-2006.com/teams-iran.htm|archive-date=19 July 2008}}</ref> === After the 1979 Revolution === After the [[Iranian Revolution|1979 Revolution]], football was somewhat neglected and cast aside. During the [[Iran national football team results – 1980s|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 FIFA World Cup|1982 World Cup]] and refused to participate in the qualifiers for the [[1986 FIFA World Cup|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 [[1989–90 Qods League|Qods League]] was established. A year later, the Qods League was renamed the [[Azadegan League]]. Despite failing to qualify for both the [[1990 FIFA World Cup|1990]] and [[1994 FIFA World Cup|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 national football team|Saudi Arabia]] and a 6–2 victory against [[South Korea national football team|South Korea]]) and their second stab at World Cup glory in [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]].<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://www.iranvisitor.com/index.php?cID=416&pID=1176|title=The History of Soccer in Iran|work=iranvisitor.com|access-date=21 January 2008|archive-date=31 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231095740/http://www.iranvisitor.com/index.php?cID=416&pID=1176|url-status=live}}</ref> ===1998–2006=== {{Further|1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off)|1998 FIFA World Cup}} In November 1997, Iran qualified for the [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998 World Cup]] after eliminating [[Australia national association football team|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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mondediplo.com/1998/04/04iran|title=A third half for Iranian football|work=mondediplo.com|date=April 1998 |access-date=21 January 2008|archive-date=15 December 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215113041/http://mondediplo.com/1998/04/04iran|url-status=live}}</ref> At their first game at the [[1998 FIFA World Cup]] against Yugoslavia, Iran lost 1–0 to a free kick by [[Siniša Mihajlović]].<ref name="autogenerated1" /> Iran recorded their first World Cup victory in the second game<ref name="autogenerated2" /> beating and eliminating the [[United States men's national soccer team|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://1800-worldcup.com/world_cup_finals/france1998/matches/jun21.htm|title=France 1998 World Cup: 1st Round – Day 12 Match Reports|work=1800-worldcup.com|access-date=22 January 2008|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224104/http://1800-worldcup.com/world_cup_finals/france1998/matches/jun21.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Iran played against [[Germany national football team|Germany]] in the third game, losing 2–0 courtesy of goals from [[Oliver Bierhoff]] and [[Jürgen Klinsmann]], finishing third in the group.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=1013/results/matches/match=8767/report.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930225110/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=1013/results/matches/match=8767/report.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 September 2007|title=FIFA.com – 1998 FIFA World Cup France <!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref> Iran finished first in the group stage of the [[2000 AFC Asian Cup|2000 Asia Cup]] but lost to [[South Korea national football team|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 national football team|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 national football team|Thailand]], [[Oman national football team|Oman]] and [[Japan national football team|Japan]] in the tournament. Iran finished second in the group. In the quarter-final clash against [[South Korea national football team|South Korea]], Iran won 4–3. They then lost to host [[China national football team|China]] on penalty kicks, and won against [[Bahrain national football team|Bahrain]] 4–2 to finish third place in the tournament. [[File:Iran equaliser.JPG|thumb|left|Iran score against [[Angola national football team|Angola]] during a [[2006 FIFA World Cup]] match.]] On 8 June 2005, Iran and [[Japan national football team|Japan]] became the first countries other than hosts [[Germany national football team|Germany]] to qualify for the [[2006 FIFA World Cup|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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4383939.stm|title=Five die after Iran football game|publisher=BBC|access-date=7 June 2013|date=26 March 2005|archive-date=19 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119142637/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4383939.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Iran started their Germany 2006 appearance with a match against North America's [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]] in [[2006 FIFA World Cup Group D|Group D]]. Being 1–1 at half-time, defensive mistakes led to a Mexican 3–1 win, with goals from [[Omar Bravo]] and [[Sinha (footballer)|Sinha]]. [[Yahya Golmohammadi]] scored the only Iranian goal. Iran played against [[Portugal national football team|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 national football team|Angola]], a 1–1 draw. ===Temporary suspension=== 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/en/media/index/0,1369,126229,00.html |title=FIFA suspends Iran Football Federation |publisher=[[FIFA]] |access-date=27 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102093639/http://www.fifa.com/en/media/index/0%2C1369%2C126229%2C00.html |archive-date=2 January 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The ban lasted less than a month<ref>{{cite web|url=http://the-afc.com/english/media/default.asp?mnsection=media&section=newsDetails&newsID=7658 |title=FIFA to lift Iran ban: Blatter |publisher=the-AFC.com |access-date=17 December 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070623134749/http://www.the-afc.com/english/media/default.asp?mnsection=media |archive-date=23 June 2007 }}</ref> and as a dispensation was given to allow the [[Iran national under-23 football team|Iran under-23 team]] to participate in the [[football at the 2006 Asian Games|football competition]] of the [[2006 Asian Games]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://the-afc.com/english/media/default.asp?mnsection=media&section=newsDetails&newsID=7543 |title=FIFA President announces temporary lifting of Iran ban |publisher=the-AFC.com |access-date=27 November 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070623134749/http://www.the-afc.com/english/media/default.asp?mnsection=media |archive-date=23 June 2007 }}</ref> fixtures were unaffected. ===2007–14=== {{Main|2007 AFC Asian Cup}} 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 national football team|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://int.soccerway.com/news/2008/March/02/ali-daei-named-new-iran-coach|title=Ali Daei named new Iran coach|work=soccerway.com}}</ref> Iran was placed with [[Kuwait national football team|Kuwait]], [[Syria national football team|Syria]] and [[United Arab Emirates national football team|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,<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/mar/30/iran-football-ali-daei | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Iran football coach Ali Daei loses job following team's defeat | first=Robert | last=Tait | date=30 March 2009 | access-date=5 May 2010 | archive-date=6 September 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906062749/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/mar/30/iran-football-ali-daei | url-status=live }}</ref> replaced by [[Afshin Ghotbi]]. Iran failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup after finishing fourth overall in its group.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/asia/standings/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113083920/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/asia/standings/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 November 2007 |title=FIFA.com |publisher=FIFA.com |access-date=7 September 2010}}</ref> During the final game of the [[2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC fourth round|2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers]] against [[South Korea national football team|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 [[Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran|Iranian Football Federation]], however, state-run media claimed that all seven had "retired".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/2009/06/24/2009-06-24_iran_soccer_players_banned.html |title=Iran soccer players banned from national team after wearing green pro-opposition wristbands |first=Andy |last=Clayton |date=24 June 2009 |work=NY Daily News |access-date=8 July 2010 |location=New York |archive-date=31 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831040659/http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/2009/06/24/2009-06-24_iran_soccer_players_banned.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="theguardian">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jun/23/iran-football-protest-ban|first=Robert|last=Tait|date=23 June 2009|access-date=16 December 2017|title=Iran bans election protest footballers|work=The Guardian|archive-date=6 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906195640/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jun/23/iran-football-protest-ban|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/story/2009/06/26/sp-iran-green.html |title=Iran says it didn't punish soccer players |date=26 June 2009 |publisher=CBC |access-date=8 July 2010 |archive-date=28 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628190654/http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/story/2009/06/26/sp-iran-green.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[File:Iran-Maldavies.jpg|250px|thumbnail|Iran's squad in July 2011 against Maldives. Manager: [[Carlos Queiroz]]<br /> Standing left to right: [[Hadi Aghili|Aghili]], [[Jalal Hosseini|Hosseini]], [[Ghasem Haddadifar|Haddadifar]], [[Karim Ansarifard|Ansarifard]], [[Maziar Zare|Zare]], [[Mehrdad Pooladi|Pooladi]] <br />Sitting left to right: [[Khosro Heydari|Heydari]], [[Hadi Norouzi|Norouzi]], [[Mehdi Rahmati|Rahmati]], [[Mohammad Reza Khalatbari (footballer, born 1983)|Khalatbari]], [[Ali Karimi|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 [[2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC fourth round|qualification]] match against [[South Korea national football team|South Korea]], several Iranian players started the match wearing green [[armband]]s or [[wristband]]s, a symbol of [[2009 Iranian election protests|protest at the outcome of the Iranian presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/5559871/Iranian-football-team-shows-support-for-Mousavi-with-green-arm-bands-at-Seoul-World-Cup-qualifier.html |title=Iranian football team shows support for Mousavi with green arm bands at Seoul World Cup qualifier |date=17 June 2009 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |access-date=17 June 2009 |location=London |archive-date=16 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616095809/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/5559871/Iranian-football-team-shows-support-for-Mousavi-with-green-arm-bands-at-Seoul-World-Cup-qualifier.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 [[Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran|Iranian FA]] for the gesture.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2009/0625/1224249508070.html |title=Iranian players receive life bans for gestures |last=Tiat |first=Robert |date=25 June 2009 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=25 June 2009 |archive-date=20 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020142037/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2009/0625/1224249508070.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/5634682/Iran-denies-punishing-players-for-wearing-green-wristbands.html|title=Iran denies punishing players for wearing green wristbands|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=25 June 2009|access-date=25 June 2009|location=London|archive-date=14 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614112258/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/5634682/Iran-denies-punishing-players-for-wearing-green-wristbands.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Head coach [[Afshin Ghotbi]] also confirmed that it was a rumour and Iranian FA "has not taken any official stand on this issue."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/iran-did-not-suspend-players-coach-says/|title=Iran Did Not Suspend Players, Coach Says|newspaper=The New York Times|date=26 June 2009|access-date=27 June 2009|first=Jack|last=Bell|archive-date=28 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628191517/http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/iran-did-not-suspend-players-coach-says/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[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.<ref name="Goal">{{cite news | title = Carlos Queiroz agrees deal to become Iran head coach | work = Sport | publisher = Soccernet | date = 4 April 2011 | url = http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/902584/carlos-queiroz-agrees-deal-to-become-iran-coach?cc=5901 | access-date = 4 April 2011 | location = Dubai | archive-date = 18 August 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110818141931/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/902584/carlos-queiroz-agrees-deal-to-become-iran-coach?cc=5901 | url-status = live }}</ref> Under Queiroz, Iran began their [[2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|World Cup qualification]] campaign successfully, defeating the [[Maldives national football team|Maldives]] 4–0 in the first leg of their [[2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round|second round of qualifiers]]. After winning 5–0 on aggregate, Iran advanced to the [[2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC third round|third round of qualifiers]] where they were drawn with [[Indonesia national football team|Indonesia]], [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]] and [[Bahrain national football team|Bahrain]]. Iran highlighted their position at the top of [[2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC third round#Group E|their group]] by defeating Bahrain 6–0 at home in the [[Azadi Stadium]] as well as inviting former [[Germany national youth football team|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 [[2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC fourth round|fourth round]]. In the fourth round, Iran played South Korea, [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]], [[Uzbekistan national football team|Uzbekistan]] and [[Lebanon national football team|Lebanon]] in [[2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC fourth round#Group A|their group]]. Queiroz made new [[Iranian diaspora|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 Football Stadium|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 [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]], having reached the [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002 edition]] with [[South Africa national football team|South Africa]] and the [[2010 FIFA World Cup|2010 edition]] with [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]], leading the latter to a knockout stage finish. Iran continued their winning streak, securing [[2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification|qualification]] to the [[2015 AFC Asian Cup|2015 Asian Cup]] months later as well.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/men/afc-asian-cup-qualifiers/27245-lib-irn-md5-201113.html |title=Asian Cup 2015 (Qs) MD5: Lebanon 1–4 Iran |publisher=[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]] |date=20 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140514040022/http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/men/afc-asian-cup-qualifiers/27245-lib-irn-md5-201113.html |archive-date=14 May 2014 }}</ref> 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 [[Iranians in Germany|German-Iranians]] [[Daniel Davari]] and [[Ashkan Dejagah]], [[Iranians in the Netherlands|Dutch-Iranian]] [[Reza Ghoochannejhad]], [[Swedish Iranians|Swedish-Iranians]] [[Omid Nazari]] and [[Saman Ghoddos]], and [[Iranian Americans|Iranian-American]] [[Steven Beitashour]] among others.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/iran-players-watch-world-cup-23269497|title=5 Iran Players to Watch at the World Cup|publisher=[[ABC News]]|access-date=16 April 2014|archive-date=17 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417091756/https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/iran-players-watch-world-cup-23269497|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="guardianmagath">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/apr/18/asgkan-dejagah-felix-magath-fulham|title=Ashkan Dejagah says Felix Magath is the right man to keep Fulham up|newspaper=The Guardian|date=18 April 2014|access-date=19 April 2014|archive-date=19 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419064501/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/apr/18/asgkan-dejagah-felix-magath-fulham|url-status=live}}</ref> [[File:Iran vs. Argentina match, 2014 FIFA World Cup 15.jpg|thumb|Iran v [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]], [[2014 FIFA World Cup|2014 World Cup]]]] Iran competed in [[2014 FIFA World Cup Group F|Group F]] alongside [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]], [[Nigeria national football team|Nigeria]] and [[Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team|Bosnia and Herzegovina]]. Prior to the tournament, they founded the [[Central Asian Football Association]].<ref>[http://www.the-afc.com/en/about-afc/afc-committees/1127-executive-committee/28784-central-zone-gets-thumbs-up-from-tajikistan.html 'Central Zone' gets thumbs up from Tajikistan] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140612013350/http://www.the-afc.com/en/about-afc/afc-committees/1127-executive-committee/28784-central-zone-gets-thumbs-up-from-tajikistan.html |date=12 June 2014 }}</ref> In the opening match of the tournament on 16 June, Iran drew [[Nigeria national football team|Nigeria]] 0–0 making it their first clean sheet in the World Cup.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2014/6/16/5815590/nigeria-vs-iran-2014-world-cup-final-score-result|title=Nigeria vs. Iran: Final score 0-0, Super Eagles held in dire stalemate|work=[[SB Nation]]|date=16 June 2014 |access-date=24 July 2020|archive-date=24 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724035818/https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2014/6/16/5815590/nigeria-vs-iran-2014-world-cup-final-score-result|url-status=live}}</ref> In their next match, Iran was [[List of 2014 FIFA World Cup controversies#Argentina vs Iran|defeated]] by [[Argentina national football team|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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/25285221|title=BBC Sport – World Cup: Argentina 1–0 Iran|first=David|last=Ornstein|work=BBC Sport|access-date=12 February 2018|archive-date=14 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114205734/http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/25285221|url-status=live}}</ref> Iran was eliminated from the tournament in their next game, a 3–1 defeat to [[Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team|Bosnia and Herzegovina]]. Iran's lone goal was scored by [[Reza Ghoochannejhad]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cafc.co.uk/news/article/20140625-reza-makes-charlton-history-at-world-cup-1678140.aspx|title=Iran's Rez Ghoochannejhad becomes Charlton's first ever player to score a goal at the World Cup after 3–1 loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina|first=Olly|last=Groome|work=cafc.co.uk|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140730124624/http://www.cafc.co.uk/news/article/20140625-reza-makes-charlton-history-at-world-cup-1678140.aspx|archive-date=30 July 2014}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-asia-iran-quieroz-idUKKBN0HC04720140917|title=Queiroz ends contract saga by signing Iran deal|work=Reuters UK|date=17 September 2014 |access-date=6 July 2021|archive-date=24 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024014437/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-asia-iran-quieroz-idUKKBN0HC04720140917|url-status=live}}</ref> ===Late 2010s=== Iran qualified for the [[2015 AFC Asian Cup]] as [[2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification#Group B|group winners]] where Team Melli were the highest [[FIFA World Rankings|ranked]] [[Seed (sports)|seed]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-asia-cup-idUKBREA2H04J20140318|title=Hosts Australia top seeds for 2015 Asian Cup|work=Reuters|access-date=18 March 2014|archive-date=6 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306222654/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-asia-cup-idUKBREA2H04J20140318|url-status=live}}</ref> Iran faced [[Bahrain national football team|Bahrain]], [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]] and the [[United Arab Emirates national football team|UAE]] in [[2015 AFC Asian Cup Group C|Group C]]. With the second highest number of fans in the tournament after hosts [[Australia national soccer team|Australia]], the Iranians defeated Bahrain 2–0 with limited preparations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://au.sports.yahoo.com/football/news/article/-/25960236/iranian-crowd-sets-asian-cup-standard/|title=Iranian crowd sets Asian Cup standard|work=yahoo.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150124082850/https://au.sports.yahoo.com/football/news/article/-/25960236/iranian-crowd-sets-asian-cup-standard/|archive-date=24 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goal.com/en/news/3550/asian-cup/2015/01/11/7862822/queiroz-iran-victimised-by-fifa-sanctions|title=Queiroz: Iran 'victimised' by sanctions - Goal.com|work=Goal.com|access-date=12 January 2015|archive-date=13 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113181409/http://www.goal.com/en/news/3550/asian-cup/2015/01/11/7862822/queiroz-iran-victimised-by-fifa-sanctions|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-23/iran-censors-images-of--inappropriate-female-soccer-fans/6043600|title=#teammelli: Social media helps Iranian fans defy censorship of images from Asian Cup matches in Australia|work=ABC News|date=23 January 2015 |access-date=23 January 2015|archive-date=23 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123132254/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-23/iran-censors-images-of--inappropriate-female-soccer-fans/6043600|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goal.com/en/match/iran-vs-uae/1466402/report|title=Iran 1 - 0 UAE Match report - 1/19/15 Asian Cup - Goal.com|work=goal.com|access-date=23 January 2015|archive-date=22 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122214758/http://www.goal.com/en/match/iran-vs-uae/1466402/report|url-status=live}}</ref> In the [[2015 AFC Asian Cup knockout stage#Iran vs Iraq|quarter-finals]] Iran faced [[Iraq national football team|Iraq]] who they had beaten weeks prior in a [[Exhibition game#International football|friendly match]]. Having received a controversial [[Red card (sport)|red card]] in the first half, Iran competed with ten men, managing to score goals late in [[Overtime (association football)|extra time]] to draw the match 3–3. In the ensuing [[Penalty shoot-out (association football)|penalty shootout]], Iran lost 7–6.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/afc-asian-cup/former-socceroos-blast-referee-ben-williams-for-embarrasing-sendoff-in-irans-asian-cup-loss-to-iraq-20150124-12xdox.html|title=Former Socceroos blast referee Ben Williams for 'embarrasing' &#91;sic&#93; send-off in Iran's Asian Cup loss to Iraq|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=24 January 2015 |access-date=16 April 2020|archive-date=27 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171127064307/http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/afc-asian-cup/former-socceroos-blast-referee-ben-williams-for-embarrasing-sendoff-in-irans-asian-cup-loss-to-iraq-20150124-12xdox.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/jan/23/asian-cup-iran-fans-protest|title=Iranian women stand united in protest and hope at Asian Cup|first=Joe|last=Gorman|work=The Guardian|date=23 January 2015 |access-date=11 December 2016|archive-date=5 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105182316/https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/jan/23/asian-cup-iran-fans-protest|url-status=live}}</ref> [[File:Portugal and Iran match at the FIFA World Cup 2018 1.jpg|thumb|Iran's squad against [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]] in [[Mordovia Arena]] at the [[2018 FIFA World Cup]]]] Iran began their [[2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|2018 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign]] with [[Exhibition game#International football|friendly matches]] against [[Chile national football team|Chile]] and [[Sweden national football team|Sweden]] in March 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goal.com/en/match/iran-vs-chile/1998633/report|title=Iran 2 - 0 Chile Match report - 3/26/15 Friendlies - Goal.com|work=goal.com|access-date=31 March 2015|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402073759/http://www.goal.com/en/match/iran-vs-chile/1998633/report|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-friendly-sweden-idUKKBN0MR2JI20150331|title=Ibra silences raucous Iran fans to give Sweden 3–1 win|work=Reuters UK|date=31 March 2015 |access-date=6 July 2021|archive-date=18 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818215110/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-friendly-sweden-idUKKBN0MR2JI20150331|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=3993&artikel=6131039|title=Regimkritiska budskap på Friends kan ge böter|newspaper=Sveriges Radio|date=31 March 2015 |access-date=31 March 2015|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402135739/http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=3993&artikel=6131039|url-status=live|last1=Ramel |first1=Fredrik |last2=Akhtari |first2=Kavoos }}</ref> Queiroz resigned from his managerial post thereafter due to disagreements with the [[Iranian Football Federation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxsportsasia.com/football/asian-football/news/detail/item38283/Queiroz-quits-as-Iran-coach|title=Asian Football News – Queiroz quits as Iran coach – FOX SPORTS|work=FOX SPORTS|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150323003733/http://www.foxsportsasia.com/football/asian-football/news/detail/item38283/Queiroz-quits-as-Iran-coach|archive-date=23 March 2015}}</ref> On 14 April 2015, Iran were drawn with [[Oman national football team|Oman]], [[India national football team|India]], [[Turkmenistan national football team|Turkmenistan]] and [[Guam national football team|Guam]] in the [[2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round#Group D|second round]] of qualifiers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2015/m=4/news=draw-throws-up-derbies-and-drama-2590319.html?intcmp=fifacom_hp_module_news|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418130433/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2015/m=4/news=draw-throws-up-derbies-and-drama-2590319.html?intcmp=fifacom_hp_module_news|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 April 2015|title=Asian draw throws up derbies and drama|date=14 April 2015|work=FIFA.com}}</ref> On 26 April, Queiroz announced that he would continue as the manager of Iran for their 2018 World Cup campaign. Iran became the second team to qualify for the [[2018 World Cup]]<ref>{{cite news |agency=[[Associated Press]] |title=Iran become second team to qualify for World Cup |url=https://www.khaleejtimes.com/iran-become-second-team-to-qualify-for-world-cup |date=13 June 2017 |access-date=15 June 2018 |newspaper=[[Khaleej Times]] |location=Tehran |archive-date=15 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615214954/https://www.khaleejtimes.com/iran-become-second-team-to-qualify-for-world-cup |url-status=live }}</ref> after a 2–0 win at home over [[Uzbekistan national football team|Uzbekistan]] on 12 June 2017.<ref>{{cite news |agency=[[Associated Press]] |title=Iran second team to qualify for 2018 World Cup after beating Uzbekistan |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2017/06/12/iran-qualifies-for-2018-world-cup-after-beating-uzbekistan/102786192/ |date=12 June 2017 |access-date=15 June 2018 |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |publisher=[[Gannett]] |archive-date=19 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119142638/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2017/06/12/iran-qualifies-for-2018-world-cup-after-beating-uzbekistan/102786192/ |url-status=live }}</ref> They also clinched first place in their qualification [[2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC third round#Group A|group]] after South Korea's defeat to [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Church |first=Michael |title=China, Qatar face elimination as Iran look to Russia |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-worldcup-asia/china-qatar-face-elimination-as-iran-look-to-russia-idUKKBN192090 |date=11 June 2017 |access-date=15 June 2018 |work=[[Reuters]] |archive-date=15 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615214927/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-worldcup-asia/china-qatar-face-elimination-as-iran-look-to-russia-idUKKBN192090 |url-status=live }}</ref> Iran won the first match against [[Morocco national football team|Morocco]] after [[Aziz Bouhaddouz]] scoring an own goal.<ref>{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Nick |title=Aziz Bouhaddouz own goal in added time hands Iran win against Morocco |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jun/15/morocco-iran-world-cup-group-b-match-report |date=15 June 2018 |access-date=15 June 2018 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |publisher=[[Guardian News and Media Limited]] |archive-date=15 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615224921/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jun/15/morocco-iran-world-cup-group-b-match-report |url-status=live }}</ref> They then lost against [[Spain national football team|Spain]] with a goal scored by [[Diego Costa]], with [[video assistant referee]]s denying an Iranian equalizer.<ref>{{cite news |last1=White |first1=Jim |last2=Bloom |first2=Ben |title=Fortunate Diego Costa goal sees Spain overcome Iran's stubborn resistance |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-cup/2018/06/20/iran-vs-spain-world-cup-2018-live-score-latest-updates/ |date=20 June 2018 |access-date=21 June 2018 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |archive-date=20 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620203455/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-cup/2018/06/20/iran-vs-spain-world-cup-2018-live-score-latest-updates/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The third match against [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]] ended in a draw after a [[Penalty (association football)|penalty]] scored by [[Karim Ansarifard]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Late penalty holds Portugal to runner-up spot in Group B |url=http://www.marca.com/en/world-cup/2018/06/25/5b314da246163fc8048b45b7.html |date=25 June 2018 |access-date=26 June 2018 |newspaper=[[Marca (newspaper)|Marca]] |language=es |publisher=[[Unidad Editorial]] Información Deportiva, S.L.U. |archive-date=26 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626135600/http://www.marca.com/en/world-cup/2018/06/25/5b314da246163fc8048b45b7.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and because Morocco could only manage a 2–2 draw to Spain, Iran were eliminated.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/world-cup/news/iran-scores-results-world-cup-ends-after-nearly-forcing-ronaldo-portugal-on-brink-of-elimination/ |title=Iran scores, results: World Cup ends after nearly forcing Ronaldo, Portugal on brink of elimination |last=Gonzalez |first=Roger |date=25 June 2018 |access-date=26 June 2018 |work=[[CBS Sports]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive Inc.]] |archive-date=26 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626201007/https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/world-cup/news/iran-scores-results-world-cup-ends-after-nearly-forcing-ronaldo-portugal-on-brink-of-elimination/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Iran's four points is the most received in any World Cup appearance. [[File:China-Iran 2019 AFC Asian Cup by Mehdi Zare 1.jpg|thumb|Iran's squad against [[China national football team|China]] at the [[2019 AFC Asian Cup]]]] Having qualified for the [[2019 AFC Asian Cup]] earlier, Iran was drawn into [[2019 AFC Asian Cup Group D|group D]], where they shared fate with [[Iraq national football team|Iraq]], [[Vietnam national football team|Vietnam]] and [[Yemen national football team|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/blog/2019/1/8/asian-cup-2019-iran-takes-5-0-win-against-yemen |title=Asian Cup 2019: An emotional loss for Yemen as Iran takes 5-0 win |publisher=English.alaraby.co.uk |date=23 May 2019 |access-date=19 November 2021 |archive-date=30 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930103941/https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/blog/2019/1/8/asian-cup-2019-iran-takes-5-0-win-against-yemen |url-status=live }}</ref> A 2–0 win over the Vietnamese side gave Iran direct qualification to the knockout stage.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/en/sports/2019/01/12/Iran-beats-Vietnam-2-0-for-2nd-win-at-Asian-Cup.html |title=Iran beats Vietnam 2-0 for second win at Asian Cup |publisher=Al Arabiya English |date= 12 January 2019|access-date=19 November 2021 |archive-date=16 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616083857/https://english.alarabiya.net/en/sports/2019/01/12/Iran-beats-Vietnam-2-0-for-2nd-win-at-Asian-Cup.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Iran ended their group stage with a goalless draw over neighbor Iraq and took first place.<ref>{{cite web |first=Karzan |last=Sulaivany |url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/sport/ac86f49b-3286-4643-8088-6f6594957dfe |title=Asian Cup 2019: Iran tops group after fiery goalless draw against rivals Iraq |publisher=Kurdistan24.net |date=16 January 2019 |access-date=19 November 2021 |archive-date=25 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425052302/http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/sport/ac86f49b-3286-4643-8088-6f6594957dfe |url-status=live }}</ref> After the group stage, Iran encountered [[Oman national football team|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.<ref>{{cite web |first=David |last=Nelson |url=https://en.as.com/en/2019/01/20/football/1548001356_977417.html |title=Iran into the quarter-finals with solid performance against Oman - AS.com |publisher=En.as.com |date=20 January 2019 |access-date=19 November 2021 |archive-date=24 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924014256/https://en.as.com/en/2019/01/20/football/1548001356_977417.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In the quarter-finals against a defensive [[China national football team|China]], Iran outclassed the Chinese 3–0 to meet [[Japan national football team|Japan]] in the semi-finals.<ref>{{cite web |first=Robbie |last=Dunne |url=https://en.as.com/en/2019/01/24/football/1548342829_085944.html |title=Iran have too much for China as they march on to the semi-final - AS.com |publisher=En.as.com |date=24 January 2019 |access-date=19 November 2021 |archive-date=9 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809000314/https://en.as.com/en/2019/01/24/football/1548342829_085944.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Iran missed the opportunity to reach the final once again when they fell 3–0 with all three goals scored in second half.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.mehrnews.com/news/141983/Iran-eliminated-from-AFC-Asian-CUP-after-losing-to-Japan-0-3 |title=Iran eliminated from AFC Asian CUP after losing to Japan 0-3 in semifinals - Mehr News Agency |publisher=En.mehrnews.com |date=28 January 2019 |access-date=19 November 2021 |archive-date=2 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102204613/https://en.mehrnews.com/news/141983/Iran-eliminated-from-AFC-Asian-CUP-after-losing-to-Japan-0-3 |url-status=live }}</ref> ===Early 2020s=== {{Main|2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|2022 FIFA World Cup|2022 FIFA World Cup controversies#Iranian protests}} [[File:Lebanon v Iran, 11 November 2021 14.jpg|thumb|Iran against Lebanon at the [[2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|2022 FIFA World Cup qualification]].]] [[File:2022 FIFA World Cup England 6–2 Iran - (7).jpg|thumb|Iran's squad against [[England national football team|England]] at the [[2022 FIFA World Cup]].]] Iran was the highest-ranked team to be seeded in the [[2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|2022 FIFA World Cup qualification]]. Iran was drawn into the [[2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round|second round]] where they would have to deal with two Arab countries, [[Iraq national football team|Iraq]] and [[Bahrain national football team|Bahrain]], along with [[Cambodia national football team|Cambodia]] and [[Hong Kong national football team|Hong Kong]]. Iran, under new Belgian manager [[Marc Wilmots]], began with a 2–0 win over Hong Kong away. After the [[death of Sahar Khodayari]], the 14–0 win over Cambodia allowed select Iranian women to enter the stadium for the first time since the [[Iranian Revolution|1979 Islamic Revolution]].<ref name=reuters-40-yrs>{{Cite news |date=2019-10-10 |title=Iranian women attend first soccer match in 40 years |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-soccer-women-idUSKBN1WP1QZ |access-date=2022-11-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.the-afc.com/competitions/fifa-world-cup/latest/news/md2-group-c-hong-kong-0-2-ir-iran| title = MD2 - Group C: Hong Kong 0-2 IR Iran| access-date = 24 November 2020| archive-date = 22 October 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201022041032/https://www.the-afc.com/competitions/fifa-world-cup/latest/news/md2-group-c-hong-kong-0-2-ir-iran| url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=AS |last=English |url=https://en.as.com/en/2019/10/10/football/1570717133_630385.html |title=Iran 14-0 Cambodia as women return to stadium after 40 years - AS.com |publisher=En.as.com |date=10 October 2019 |access-date=19 November 2021 |archive-date=26 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026020859/https://en.as.com/en/2019/10/10/football/1570717133_630385.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Their next away encounters against Bahrain and Iraq went on to be consecutive defeats which Iran lost 0–1 and 1–2, respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/en/sports/2019/10/15/Bahrain-defeats-Iran-1-0-in-second-round-of-Asian-WC-qualifiers |title=Bahrain defeats Iran 1-0 in second round of Asian WC qualifiers |publisher=Al Arabiya English |date= 15 October 2019|access-date=19 November 2021 |archive-date=19 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119142640/https://english.alarabiya.net/sports/2019/10/15/Bahrain-defeats-Iran-1-0-in-second-round-of-Asian-WC-qualifiers |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-11/15/c_138557140.htm |title=Iraq beats Iran 2-1 at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 group C match - Xinhua &#124; English.news.cn |publisher=Xinhuanet.com |date=15 November 2019 |access-date=19 November 2021 |archive-date=30 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630025728/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-11/15/c_138557140.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Following 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.<ref>{{cite web |first=Ben |last=Thomas |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/12/05/soccer/marc-wilmots-steps-iran-coach/ |title=Article expired |publisher=The Japan Times |date=1 January 1970 |access-date=19 November 2021 |archive-date=27 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027041617/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/12/05/soccer/marc-wilmots-steps-iran-coach/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 [[2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC third round|final phase]], Iran was able to stage a comeback, occupying first place and, together with Iraq, progressed to the final phase.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210615-iran-iraq-and-uae-saudi-march-into-final-phase-of-world-cup-qualifying |title=Iran, Iraq and UAE, Saudi march into final phase of World Cup qualifying |publisher=France 24 |date=15 June 2021 |access-date=19 November 2021 |archive-date=14 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210714151141/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210615-iran-iraq-and-uae-saudi-march-into-final-phase-of-world-cup-qualifying |url-status=live }}</ref> 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. In March 2022, Iranian women were again banned from entering the stadium for a World Cup qualifier.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iran again bans women from football stadium - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/03/iran-again-bans-women-football-stadium |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=www.al-monitor.com |date=30 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref> Iran's World Cup preparation friendly match against [[Canada men's national soccer team|Canada]] at [[BC Place]] in June 2022 was cancelled by the [[Canadian Soccer Association]] amid opposition and mounting criticism, namely in regards to the Iranian government's role in shooting down [[Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/canada-can/story/4675795/canada-soccer-cancels-iran-friendly-amid-opposition | title=Canada cancels Iran friendly amid opposition | date=26 May 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/article/canada-soccer-cancels-mens-national-team-friendly-vs-iran-in-vancouver/ | title=Canada Soccer cancels men's national team friendly vs. Iran in Vancouver }}</ref> By the start of the World Cup in Qatar, Iran was the highest ranked team from Asia. In October 2022, calls were made to ban the Iranian national team from the World Cup for the Iranian government's [[Sex segregation in Iran#Sport events|blocking of Iranian women from their stadiums]], their supplying of weapons to Russia during the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|invasion of Ukraine]], and the treatment towards protesters during the [[Mahsa Amini protests]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hall |first=Peter |date=2022-11-02 |title='This is not our national team' - why some Iranians want their own country banned from World Cup |language= |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/this-is-not-our-national-team-why-some-iranians-want-their-own-country-banned-2022-11-01/ |access-date=2022-11-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-10-31 |title=Qatar World Cup 2022: Ukraine FA wants Fifa to ban Iran from tournament |language= |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/63463937 |access-date=2022-11-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-10-20 |title=Qatar World Cup 2022: Fifa asked to ban Iran from tournament |language= |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/63338691 |access-date=2022-11-04}}</ref> However, Iran started its World Cup campaign with a nightmare, losing 2–6 to [[England national football team|England]] in the opening game as Iran suffered the worst ever loss in its FIFA World Cup history.<ref>{{Cite web |title=England demolish Iran in World Cup opener as Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham play starring roles |url=https://www.planetsport.com/soccer/news/england-demolish-iran-world-cup-opener-bukayo-saka-jude-bellingham-play-starring-roles |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=PlanetSport |language=en}}</ref> The Iranian team notably made headlines in their opening match against England after refusing to sing the [[National Anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran|national anthem]] in solidarity with the [[Mahsa Amini protests]], with some Iranian supporters cheering against their own team or [[2022 FIFA World Cup controversies#Iranian protests|boycotting their team]] amidst the ongoing protests as they felt the team was representing the government.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Church |first=Ben |date=2022-11-21 |title=Iran players remain silent during national anthem at World Cup in apparent protest at Iranian regime |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/21/football/iran-national-anthem-england-2022-world-cup-spt-intl/index.html |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Iran players decline to sing national anthem |language=en-GB |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/63706487 |access-date=2022-11-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-21 |title='Guilty conscience': Iranians in London torn over cheering on their team |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/nov/21/guilty-conscience-iranians-in-london-torn-over-cheering-on-their-country-due-to-crackdown |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Whitehead |first=Jacob |title=Iranian state television censors players protesting anthem at World Cup |url=https://theathletic.com/3919310/2022/11/21/iran-world-cup-protest/ |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=The Athletic |language=en}}</ref> In the following match against [[Wales national football team|Wales]], amidst the boos and whistles from the Iranian supporters during the playing of the national anthem, the Iranian players were filmed singing the national anthem before defeating Wales 2–0 for their first-ever win over a European nation at the World Cup, with some protestors having their pre-revolutionary [[Lion and Sun]] [[Flag of Iran|flags]] and [[Woman, Life, Freedom|Women, Life, Freedom]] banners snatched from them by pro-government fans and stadium security at the [[Ahmad bin Ali Stadium]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63762276 | title=World Cup: Iran protesters confronted at World Cup game against Wales | work=BBC News | date=25 November 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/nov/25/iran-supporters-jeer-national-anthem-before-emotional-win-over-wales | title=Iran offer powerful show of defiance on day of jeers, tears and joy | website=[[TheGuardian.com]] | date=25 November 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/world-cup-security-confiscate-iran-28582265 | title=World Cup security take Iran fans' flag as joint protest broken up at Wales game | website=[[Daily Mirror]] | date=25 November 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/63753096 | title=Iran players sing national anthem against Wales | work=BBC Sport }}</ref> Protesters were harassed by government supporters with some protesters being detained by Qatari police, while stadium security confirmed they were given orders to confiscate anything but the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/worldcup/2022/11/25/iran-protesters-world-cup-harassed-wales-match/10771198002/ | title=Iran protesters harassed by government supporters at World Cup match vs. Wales | website=[[USA Today]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://theathletic.com/3944297/2022/11/28/world-cup-iran-women-life-freedom/|title=Detained at the World Cup for wearing a 'Women Life Freedom' T-shirt|date=28 November 2022|work=The Athletic}}</ref> Documents obtained by [[Iran International]] showed Iran was coordinating secret efforts with Qatar to control who attends the World Cup and restrict any signs of dissent.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.iranintl.com/en/202211279876 | title=IRGC Man Says Qatar Helping Iran Silence Dissidents in World Cup }}</ref> Ahead of Iran's final group stage match against the [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]], the Iranian players were reportedly called in to a meeting with members of the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|IRGC]] and were threatened with violence and torture for their families if they did not sing the national anthem or joined the protests against the Iranian regime.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/28/football/iran-soccer-family-threats-intl-spt/index.html|title=Iran threatened families of World Cup soccer team, according to security source|date=28 November 2022|work=CNN}}</ref> During the match, the Iranian players sang the national anthem again before losing to the United States 1–0 for the first time in their history and thereby being knocked out of the tournament.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nationalreview.com/news/iranian-players-mumble-through-national-anthem-at-world-cup-after-alleged-government-threats/ | title=Iranian Players Mumble through National Anthem at World Cup after Alleged Government Threats | website=[[National Review]] | date=29 November 2022 }}</ref> Many Iranians celebrated the defeat and one Iranian man was killed by security forces in [[Bandar-e Anzali]] after honking his car horn in celebration.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63805284 | title=World Cup 2022: Man killed in Iran celebrating football team's loss - report | work=BBC News | date=30 November 2022 }}</ref> Another Iranian fan was also arrested by Qatari police after he was wearing a shirt with the [[Woman, Life, Freedom]] slogan.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/video/iranian-soccer-fan-tackled-by-qatar-world-cup-security-over-protest-slogan-155670597526 | title=Iranian soccer fan tackled by Qatar World Cup security over protest slogan | website=[[NBC News]] }}</ref> ==Team image== ===Nicknames=== The Iranian national team has received several nicknames by supporters and media. The most common one used is ''"Team Melli"'' ({{lang-fa|تیم ملی}}), meaning "The National Team" in [[Persian language]]. Although the Iranian supporters have popularized ''"Team Melli"'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.goal.com/en/match/45657/uae-vs-iran/report |title=UAE 0–3 Iran: Team Melli Cruise Into Quarter-Finals |publisher=Goal.com |access-date=21 October 2013 |archive-date=24 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624165159/http://www.goal.com/en/match/45657/uae-vs-iran/report |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Veo 2014">{{cite web | last=Veo | first=Valerio | title=Team Melli looked excellent in defeat | website=ESPNFC.com | date=23 November 2014 | url=http://www.espnfc.com/team/iran/469/blog/post/1901739/iran-played-to-an-impressive-1-0-loss-to-argentina-at-the-2014-world-cup | access-date=11 January 2015 | archive-date=25 December 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225010542/http://www.espnfc.com/team/iran/469/blog/post/1901739/iran-played-to-an-impressive-1-0-loss-to-argentina-at-the-2014-world-cup%20 | url-status=live }}</ref> other nicknames for the team include "Persian Stars"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://90tv.ir/news/پیش-بازی-ایران-یمن-ستارگان-پارسی-وارد-می-شوند|title=پیش بازی ایران – یمن : ستارگان پارسی وارد می‌شوند|website=90tv.ir|language=fa|trans-title=Iran-Yemen pre-match: Persian stars arrive}} {{Dead link|date=November 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.goal.com/en/match/57314/iran-vs-russia/report? |title=Iran 1–0 Russia: Khalatbari Strike Sinks The Sbornaya |publisher=Goal.com |access-date=21 October 2013 |archive-date=6 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206100540/http://www.goal.com/en/match/57314/iran-vs-russia/report |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ufwc.co.uk/2012/09/iran-vs-north-korea-prepare-for-the-ufwc-megaclash/|title=Iran vs North Korea: prepare for the UFWC 'megaclash'|publisher=UFWC|date=23 September 2012|access-date=21 October 2013|archive-date=21 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021210420/http://www.ufwc.co.uk/2012/09/iran-vs-north-korea-prepare-for-the-ufwc-megaclash/|url-status=live}}</ref> (entitled since [[2006 FIFA World Cup|the World Cup 2006]]) ''"Shiran e Iran"'',<ref name="khabar">{{cite web |url=http://www.khabarsport.com/detail/3527/ |title=Elephants surrounded by the lions of Iran (in Persian) |publisher=khabarsport.com |date=15 October 2013 |access-date=22 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131022101157/http://www.khabarsport.com/detail/3527/ |archive-date=22 October 2013 }}</ref><ref name="varzesh11">{{cite web |url=http://www.varzesh11.com/fa/soccer_news_centre/news/تمجید_سایت_AFC_از_رحمان_احمدی_دروازه_بان_شیران_ایران/2426 |title=The AFC website hailed Rahman Ahmadi the goalkeeper of Iranian lions (in Persian) |publisher=Varzesh11 |access-date=22 October 2013 |archive-date=28 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131028211614/http://www.varzesh11.com/fa/soccer_news_centre/news/%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%AC%DB%8C%D8%AF_%D8%B3%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AA_AFC_%D8%A7%D8%B2_%D8%B1%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF%DB%8C_%D8%AF%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%87_%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86/2426 |url-status=dead }}</ref> meaning "The [[Persian Lion|Iranian Lions]]" or "The Lions of Persia",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2012/06/sports-the-lions-of-persia.html |title=The Lions of Persia |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) |date=12 June 2012 |access-date=22 October 2013 |archive-date=23 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023061144/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2012/06/sports-the-lions-of-persia.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ''"Shirdilan"'', "Lion Hearts" and "Princes of Persia"<ref name="espnfc">{{cite web |url=http://espnfc.com/columns/story/_/id/861355/john-duerden:-asian-cup-history?cc=5901 |title=Traditional powers eye return to glory (Princes of Persia become Kings of Asia) |publisher=ESPN |date=6 January 2011 |access-date=21 October 2013 |archive-date=10 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110204006/http://espnfc.com/columns/story/_/id/861355/john-duerden:-asian-cup-history?cc=5901 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="irandaily">{{cite web | url=http://www.iran-daily.com/1389/10/9/MainPaper/3858/Page/11/MainPaper_3858_11.pdf | title=Princes of Persia Rout Qatar Army | publisher=Iran-daily | access-date=22 October 2013 | archive-date=20 September 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920173057/http://www.iran-daily.com/1389/10/9/MainPaper/3858/Page/11/MainPaper_3858_11.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref> (used since [[2011 AFC Asian Cup|AFC Asian Cup 2011]]).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-534561 | title=What a despicable slogan for Iranian soccer team | publisher=CNN iReport | access-date=22 October 2013 | archive-date=23 October 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023061544/http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-534561 | url-status=live }}</ref> Iran's slogan for the [[2014 FIFA World Cup]] was ''Honour of Persia'', selected in an internet poll held by [[FIFA]].<ref name="honourofpersia">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/15/sport/football/world-cup-slogans-football/|title=World Cup 2014: FIFA's bus slogans cause misery and mirth on social media|first=Matt |last=Knight|date=15 May 2014|work=CNN|access-date=16 May 2014|archive-date=22 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140622224001/http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/15/sport/football/world-cup-slogans-football|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="fifa.slogans2014">{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/games/be-there-with-hyundai/winning-slogans |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518031244/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/games/be-there-with-hyundai/winning-slogans/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 May 2014 |title=The Winners |publisher=fifa.com|access-date=10 June 2014}}</ref> 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".<ref name="PersianFootball.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.persianfootball.com/news/2014/02/01/irans-world-cup-kit-unveiled-photos/|title=Iran's World Cup kits unveiled [PHOTOS]|publisher=PersianFootball.com|access-date=1 February 2014|archive-date=3 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203073932/http://www.persianfootball.com/news/2014/02/01/irans-world-cup-kit-unveiled-photos/|url-status=live}}</ref> The team mascot "Yupa" is also a cheetah.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-05-19 |title=Iran national football teams' mascot unveiled |url=https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/423740/Iran-national-football-teams-mascot-unveiled |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=Tehran Times |language=en}}</ref> ===Kits and crests=== {{Commons|Iran national football team kits}} Traditionally, Iran national football team's home kit is white, and the away 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. {| class="wikitable" |- ! Kit supplier ! Period |- |{{flagicon|FRG}} [[Adidas]] | 1978 |- |{{flagicon|FRG}} [[Puma SE|Puma]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3USDwh2yUZQ |title=Iran national football team (Team Melli) 1980 Asian Cup and 1980 Olympic qualifiers |website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=4 January 2018 |archive-date=11 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190211083731/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3USDwh2yUZQ&gl=US&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> | 1980 |- |{{flagicon|IRN}} Amini<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.varzesh3.com/news/1353457/|title=تیم ملی و آدیداس بعد از 40 سال به هم رسیدند|access-date=28 August 2016|archive-date=19 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119142647/https://www.varzesh3.com/news/1353457/%d8%aa%db%8c%d9%85-%d9%85%d9%84%db%8c-%d9%88-%d8%a2%d8%af%db%8c%d8%af%d8%a7%d8%b3-%d8%a8%d8%b9%d8%af-%d8%a7%d8%b2-40-%d8%b3%d8%a7%d9%84-%d8%a8%d9%87-%d9%87%d9%85-%d8%b1%d8%b3%db%8c%d8%af%d9%86%d8%af|url-status=live}}</ref> | 1981–1993 |- |{{flagicon|IRN}} Shekari | 1993–1998 |- |{{flagicon|GER}} [[Puma SE|Puma]] | 1998–2000 |- |{{flagicon|IRN}} Shekari | 2000–2003 |- |{{flagicon|IRN}} [[Daei Sport]] | 2003–2006 |- |{{flagicon|GER}} [[Puma SE|Puma]] | 2006–2007 |- |{{flagicon|IRN}} [[Merooj]] | 2007–2008 |- |{{flagicon|IRN}} [[Daei Sport]] | 2008–2009 |- |{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Legea]] | 2009–2012 |- |{{flagicon|GER}} [[Uhlsport]]<ref name="PersianFootball.com" /> | 2012–2016 |- |{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Givova]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.varzesh3.com/news/1313518/|title=برند ایتالیایی اسپانسر تیم ملی شد|work=Varzesh3.com|access-date=30 March 2016|archive-date=19 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119142654/https://www.varzesh3.com/news/1313518/%d8%a8%d8%b1%d9%86%d8%af-%d8%a7%db%8c%d8%aa%d8%a7%d9%84%db%8c%d8%a7%db%8c%db%8c-%d8%a7%d8%b3%d9%be%d8%a7%d9%86%d8%b3%d8%b1-%d8%aa%db%8c%d9%85-%d9%85%d9%84%db%8c-%d8%b4%d8%af|url-status=live}}</ref> | 2016 |- |{{flagicon|GER}} [[Adidas]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://90tv.ir/news/294431/توافق-حاصل-شد-تیم-ملی-آدیداس-می-پوشد|title=توافق حاصل شد/ تیم ملی آدیداس می پوشد|work=90tv.ir|access-date=27 August 2016|archive-date=29 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829081229/http://90tv.ir/news/294431/%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%81%D9%82-%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%B5%D9%84-%D8%B4%D8%AF-%D8%AA%DB%8C%D9%85-%D9%85%D9%84%DB%8C-%D8%A2%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B3-%D9%85%DB%8C-%D9%BE%D9%88%D8%B4%D8%AF|url-status=live}}</ref> | 2016–2019 |- |{{flagicon|GER}} [[Uhlsport]] | 2019–2022 |- |{{flagicon|IRN}} [[Merooj|Majid]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-24 |title=نتیجه مزایده اسپانسر تیم ملی فوتبال ایران چطور تغییر کرد؟ |url=https://www.mehrnews.com/news/5541945/نتیجه-مزایده-اسپانسر-تیم-ملی-فوتبال-ایران-چطور-تغییر-کرد |access-date=2023-03-20 |website=خبرگزاری مهر {{!}} اخبار ایران و جهان {{!}} Mehr News Agency |language=fa}}</ref> | 2022– |- |} ===Sponsorship=== <!-- Primary sponsors include [[Adidas]], [[Bank Pasargad]], [[Mobile Telecommunication Company of Iran|9090]], [[Golrang Industrial Group|Golrang]], Oila and Kaspid.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ffiri.ir/|title=فدراسیون فوتبال جمهوری اسلامی ایران|work=ffiri.ir|access-date=19 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807234254/http://www.ffiri.ir/|archive-date=7 August 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> --> On 1 February 2014, Iran announced the addition of the endangered [[Asiatic cheetah]] on their [[2014 FIFA World Cup]] [[Kit (association football)|kits]] in order to bring attention to its conservation efforts.<ref name="PersianFootball.com" /> ===Rivalries=== {{Main|Iran–Iraq football rivalry|Iran–Saudi Arabia football rivalry}} Iran’s biggest rival is unquestionably [[South Korea national football team|South Korea]]. As two of the leading competitors on the continent in the 1970s, the Korea-Iran rivalry is among the most storied in [[AFC Asian Cup|Asian football]]. Since their initial meeting in the [[1958 Asian Games]], they have faced off in a total of 32 games. Korea frequently held the upper hand in the early years of the competition, but things started to shift in the [[21st century|twenty-first century]]. Iran has triumphed six times since 2006, while Korea has only defeated them once—by a score of 1-0 at the Asian Cup in 2011. Before Korea recovered its footing in 2017 and pushed the Middle Eastern team to a tie the past three times they faced off, Iran won four straight games after the [[2011 AFC Asian Cup|2011 Asian Cup]]. Iran and [[Iraq national football team|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.<ref name="ESPN">{{cite web |last=Duerden |first=John |title=Asia awaits neighbourly rivalry |url=http://www.espnfc.com/story/863589 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905023944/http://www.espnfc.com/story/863589 |archive-date=5 September 2017 |access-date=22 November 2014 |work=[[ESPN]]}}</ref><ref name="CNN">{{cite web |last=Montague |first=James |date=13 January 2011 |title=Pitch Warfare: Iran face Iraq in soccer grudge match |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/01/11/football.asian.iraq.iran/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905001230/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/01/11/football.asian.iraq.iran/ |archive-date=5 September 2017 |access-date=21 November 2014 |work=[[CNN]]}}</ref><ref name="Iran Daily">{{cite news |date=5 November 2014 |title=Iran-Iraq classic rivalry |page=11 |newspaper=[[Iran Daily]] |number=4924 |url=http://newspaper.iran-daily.com/newspaper/page/4924/11/21845/0 |url-status=live |access-date=5 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905002709/http://newspaper.iran-daily.com/newspaper/page/4924/11/21845/0 |archive-date=5 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Iraq vs. Iran a 53 years old rivalry |url=http://www.teammelli.com/2015/01/21/iraq-vs-iran-a-53-years-old-rivalry/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905005210/http://www.teammelli.com/2015/01/21/iraq-vs-iran-a-53-years-old-rivalry/ |archive-date=5 September 2017 |access-date=20 May 2017 |work=Team Melli}}</ref><ref name="BBC">{{cite news |title=Trouble flares after Iran beat Iraq |work=[[BBC]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2002/1595244.stm |url-status=live |access-date=20 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119142641/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2002/1595244.stm |archive-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> In 2001, for the first time in decades, an Iran-Iraq match was not held at a neutral venue.<ref name="Iran Daily" /> The rivalry was escalated after Iraq knocked Iran out of the [[2015 AFC Asian Cup]] in controversial circumstances.<ref name="ABC">{{cite news |date=25 January 2015 |title=Asian Cup: Iran claims Iraq's Alaa Abdul-Zahra tested positive, lodges complaint about quarter-final result |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-25/iran-lodges-complaint-over-asian-cup-quarter-final-result/6045114 |url-status=live |access-date=5 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703101908/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-25/iran-lodges-complaint-over-asian-cup-quarter-final-result/6045114 |archive-date=3 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=25 January 2015 |title=AFC rejects Iranian protest over Iraqi player ineligibility |url=http://www.iraqinews.com/sports/afc-rejects-iranian-protest-over-iraqi-player-ineligibility/ |url-status=live |access-date=5 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905003911/http://www.iraqinews.com/sports/afc-rejects-iranian-protest-over-iraqi-player-ineligibility/ |archive-date=5 September 2017}}</ref> Iran leads the series with [[Iran–Iraq football rivalry|17 wins, 7 draws and 6 losses]]. Iran and [[Saudi Arabia national football team|Saudi Arabia]] are ideological rivals.<ref name="FIFA">{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/matches/qualifiers/match=2712/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130105035322/http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/matches/qualifiers/match=2712/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 January 2013|title=Saudi Arabia VS Iran: Launch pad for Saudi reign|date=28 October 1993|access-date=21 November 2014|work=[[FIFA]].com}}</ref> The game was ranked eighth in ''[[Goal.com]]'s'' 2010 list of "Football's 10 Greatest International Rivalries".<ref name="Goal.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.goal.com/en/news/2377/top-10/2010/11/17/2216499/footballs-10-greatest-international-rivalries-argentina|first=Peter|last=Staunton|title=Football's 10 Greatest International Rivalries; Argentina – Brazil, Portugal – Spain, Algeria – Egypt, Japan – South Korea And More|date=17 November 2010|access-date=21 November 2014|work=Goal.com|archive-date=22 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622153351/https://www.goal.com/en/news/2377/top-10/2010/11/17/2216499/footballs-10-greatest-international-rivalries-argentina|url-status=live}}</ref> and ninth in ''[[Bleacher Report]]'s'' 2014 list of "International Football's 10 Most Politically-Charged Football Rivalries"<ref name="Bleacher Report">{{cite web|url=http://stag-br-app-s5.brenv.net/articles/2233242-international-footballs-10-most-politically-charged-football-rivalries/page/3|first=Jerrad|last=Peters|title=International Football's 10 Most Politically-Charged Football Rivalries|date=15 October 2014|access-date=21 November 2014|work=[[Bleacher Report]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017205954/http://stag-br-app-s5.brenv.net/articles/2233242-international-footballs-10-most-politically-charged-football-rivalries/page/3|archive-date=17 October 2015}}</ref> All of their matches have been competitive; none of them were [[Exhibition game|friendlies]]. The first match was played on 24 August 1975, with Iran defeating Saudi Arabia 3–0. Iran leads the series with [[Iran–Saudi Arabia football rivalry|5 wins, 6 draws and 4 losses]]. ==Stadiums== {{Main|Iran national football team records#Home record}} [[File:Azadi Stadium 1991.PNG|thumb|[[Azadi Stadium]], 1991]] Since 1972, Iran's national stadium has been [[Tehran]]'s [[Azadi Stadium]] with a nominal capacity of 78,116 spectators.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.varzesh3.com/news/1343153/|title=Azadi Stadium Capacity|date=23 July 2016|work=Varzesh3|access-date=24 July 2016|archive-date=29 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729005246/http://www.varzesh3.com/news/1343153|url-status=live}}</ref> Azadi Stadium is the [[List of association football stadia by capacity|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 qualification (AFC–OFC play-off)|1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier]] against [[Australia national football team|Australia]] with over 128,000 in attendance.<ref name="fifa97">{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/matches/qualifiers/match=8705/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425053310/http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/matches/qualifiers/match=8705/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 April 2013|title=Classic Football|work=FIFA.com}}</ref> Since [[Iranian Revolution|1979]], the government [[Football revolution|restricts]] [[Women in Iran|Iranian women]] from entering the stadiums.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10927470/World-Cup-ban-Irans-women-just-dont-care.html|title=World Cup ban? Iran's women just don't care|date=26 June 2014|work=Telegraph.co.uk|access-date=3 April 2018|archive-date=19 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319161850/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10927470/World-Cup-ban-Irans-women-just-dont-care.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2782231-women-allowed-into-iran-football-stadium-for-the-first-time-since-1979 |title=Women Allowed into Iranian Football Stadium for the 1st Time Since 1979 |website=[[Bleacher Report]] |access-date=27 October 2022 |archive-date=27 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221027182447/https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2782231-women-allowed-into-iran-football-stadium-for-the-first-time-since-1979 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.”<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nnn.com.ng/2019/08/25/iranian-women-allowed-to-watch-world-cup-qualifier-in-stadium-official/|title=Sport Iranian women allowed to watch World Cup qualifier in stadium – official|date=25 August 2019|access-date=25 August 2019|publisher=NNN|archive-date=29 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829141337/https://nnn.com.ng/2019/08/25/iranian-women-allowed-to-watch-world-cup-qualifier-in-stadium-official/|url-status=live}}</ref> After the [[death of Sahar Khodayari]], select Iranian women were allowed to attend the match against Cambodia in October 2019.<ref name=reuters-40-yrs/> However, in March 2022, Iranian women were again blocked from entering the stadium for a World Cup qualifier.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/31/iran-women-blocked-entering-stadium |title=Iran: Women Blocked from Entering Stadium |date=31 March 2022 |access-date=27 October 2022 |archive-date=26 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026010926/https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/31/iran-women-blocked-entering-stadium |url-status=live }}</ref> From 1942 to 1972, [[Amjadieh Stadium]] was Iran's national stadium. The other stadiums that Iran has been played international games are [[Takhti Stadium (Tabriz)|Bagh Shomal]] and [[Yadegar-e-Emam Stadium (Tabriz)|Yadegar Emam Stadium]] ([[Tabriz]]), [[Takhti Stadium (Tehran)|Takhti Stadium]] ([[Tehran]]), [[Enghelab Stadium]] ([[Karaj]]), [[Hafezieh Stadium]] ([[Shiraz]]), [[Takhti Stadium (Mashhad)|Takhti Stadium]] and [[Imam Reza Stadium]] ([[Mashhad]]). The [[Iran National Football Camp]] is the team's training ground. ==Results and fixtures== [[File:Iran national football team opponents.png|thumb|right|300px|All opponents that the Iran football team has played at least once]] {{Main|Iran national football team results|Iran national football team records and statistics#Head-to-head records}} {{Further|Iran national football team results (2020–present)}} The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. {{legend2|#CCFFCC|Win|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|#FFFFCC|Draw|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|#FFCCCC|Loss|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|#FFFFFF|Fixture|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} ===2022=== {{Football box collapsible|format=1 |round = [[Exhibition game|Friendly]] |date = 23 September |time = {{UTZ|18:00|2}} |team1 = {{fb-rt|URU}} |score = 0–1 |team2 = {{fb|IRN}} |goals1 = |goals2 = [[Mehdi Taremi|Taremi]] {{goal|79}} |location = [[Sankt Pölten]], Austria |stadium = [[NV Arena]] |attendance = 300 |referee = Walter Altmann ([[Austrian Football Association|Austria]]) |report = [https://www.footballcritic.com/fifa-friendlies-iran-uruguay/match-stats/2757501 Report] |note = |result = W }} {{footballbox collapsible |format = 1 |round = [[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly]] |date = 27 September |time = {{UTZ|16:30|2}} |team1 = {{fb-rt|IRN}} |score = 1–1 |team2 = {{fb|SEN}} |goals1 = [[Sardar Azmoun|Azmoun]] {{goal|64}} |goals2 = [[Morteza Pouraliganji|Pouraliganji]] {{goal|55|og}} |location = [[Maria Enzersdorf]], Austria |stadium = [[Motion invest Arena]] |attendance = |referee = [[Harald Lechner]] ([[Austrian Football Association|Austria]]) |report = [https://www.footballcritic.com/fifa-friendlies-iran-senegal/match-stats/2824636 Report] |result = D }} {{footballbox collapsible |format = 1 |round = [[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly]] |date = 10 November |time = {{UTZ|19:00|+3:30}} |team1 = {{fb-rt|IRN}} |score = 1–0 |team2 = {{fb|NCA}} |goals1 = *[[Mehdi Torabi|Torabi]] {{goal|15}} |goals2 = |location = [[Tehran]], Iran |stadium = [[Azadi Stadium]] |attendance = |referee = Golmorad Saadollah ([[Tajikistan Football Federation|Tajikistan]]) |report = [https://www.goal.com/en-us/match/iran-v-nicaragua/commentary-result/2x9urp5difel0ug1knj8i1yc4 Report] |result = W }} {{footballbox collapsible |format = 1 |round = [[Exhibition game#Association football|Unofficial Friendly]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/75c63731a2f58da4/original/pywuivvlfl5aqvhsw2i7-pdf.pdf |title=Regulations Governing International Matches |access-date=17 November 2022 |archive-date=24 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524205945/https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/75c63731a2f58da4/original/pywuivvlfl5aqvhsw2i7-pdf.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> |date = 16 November |time = {{UTZ|16:00|3}} |team1 = {{fb-rt|IRN}} |score = 0–2 |team2 = {{fb|TUN}} |goals1 = |goals2 = *[[Naïm Sliti|Sliti]] {{goal|62|pen.}} *[[Ali Abdi (footballer)|Abdi]] {{goal|69}} |location = [[Doha]], Qatar |stadium = Al Rayyan SC Training Stadium |attendance = 0 |referee = |report = [https://www.livegoals.com/match/football/iran-tunisia-4056468 Report] |result = V }} {{Football box collapsible |format = 1 |round = [[2022 FIFA World Cup Group B]] |date = 21 November |time = {{UTZ|16:00|3}} |team1 = {{fb-rt|ENG}} |score = 6–2 |team2 = {{fb|IRN}} |goals1 = *[[Jude Bellingham|Bellingham]] {{goal|35}} *[[Bukayo Saka|Saka]] {{goal|43||62}} *[[Raheem Sterling|Sterling]] {{goal|45+1}} *[[Marcus Rashford|Rashford]] {{goal|71}} *[[Jack Grealish|Grealish]] {{goal|89}} |goals2 = *[[Mehdi Taremi|Taremi]] {{goal|65||90+13|pen.}} |location = [[Al Rayyan]], Qatar |stadium = [[Khalifa International Stadium]] |attendance = 45,334 |referee = [[Raphael Claus]] ([[Brazilian Football Confederation|Brazil]]) |report = https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/17/255711/285063/400235458 |result = L }} {{football box collapsible |format = 1 |round = [[2022 FIFA World Cup Group B]] |date = 25 November |time = {{UTZ|13:00|3}} |team1 = {{fb-rt|WAL}} |score = 0–2 |report = https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/17/255711/285063/400235453 |team2 = {{fb|IRN}} |goals1 = |goals2 = [[Rouzbeh Cheshmi|Cheshmi]] {{goal|90+8}} <br> [[Ramin Rezaeian|Rezaeian]] {{goal|90+11}} |location = [[Al Rayyan]], Qatar |stadium = [[Ahmad bin Ali Stadium]] |attendance = 40,875 |referee = [[Mario Escobar (referee)|Mario Escobar]] ([[National Football Federation of Guatemala|Guatemala]]) |result = W }} {{football box collapsible |format = 1 |round = [[2022 FIFA World Cup Group B]] |date = 29 November |time = {{UTZ|22:00|3}} |team1 = {{fb-rt|IRN}} |score = 0–1 |report = https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/17/255711/285063/400235456 |team2 = {{fb|USA}} |goals1 = |goals2 = *[[Christian Pulisic|Pulisic]] {{goal|38}} |location = [[Doha]], Qatar |stadium = [[Al Thumama Stadium]] |attendance = 42,127 |referee = [[Antonio Mateu Lahoz]] ([[Royal Spanish Football Federation|Spain]]) |result = l }} ===2023=== {{footballbox collapsible |format = 1 |round = [[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly]] |date = 23 March |time = {{UTZ|20:30|3:30}} |team1 = {{fb-rt|IRN}} |score = 1–1 |team2 = {{fb|RUS}} |goals1 = *[[Mehdi Taremi|Taremi]] {{goal|49|pen.}} |goals2 = *[[Anton Miranchuk|Miranchuk]] {{goal|28|pen.}} |location = [[Tehran]], Iran |stadium = [[Azadi Stadium]] |attendance = |referee = Ilgiz Tantashev ([[Uzbekistan Football Association|Uzbekistan]]) |report = https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2023/03/23/world/friendlies/iran/russia/4053012/ |result = D }} {{footballbox collapsible |format = 1 |round = [[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly]] |date = 28 March |time = {{UTZ|20:30|3:30}} |team1 = {{fb-rt|IRN}} |score = 2–1 |team2 = {{fb|KEN}} |goals1 = *[[Mohammad Mohebi|Mohebi]] {{goal|77}} *[[Ramin Rezaeian|Rezaeian]] {{goal|84}} |goals2 = *[[Michael Olunga|Olunga]] {{goal|51}} |location = [[Tehran]], Iran |stadium = [[Azadi Stadium]] |attendance = |referee = Zaid Thamer ([[Iraq Football Association|Iraq]]) |report = |result = W }} {{Football box collapsible | format = 1 | round = [[2023 CAFA Nations Cup]] | date = 13 June 2023 | time = {{UTZ|21:00|6}} | team1 = {{fb-rt|IRN}} | score = 6–1 | team2 = {{fb|AFG}} | report = | goals1 = *[[Sardar Azmoun|Azmoun]] {{goal|20}} *[[Mehdi Taremi|Taremi]] {{goal|21||28||51}} *[[Alireza Jahanbakhsh|Jahanbakhsh]] {{goal|45}} *[[Reza Asadi|Asadi]] {{goal|67}} | goals2 = *[[Farshad Noor|Noor]] {{goal|57}} | location = [[Bishkek]], Kyrgyzstan | stadium = [[Dolen Omurzakov Stadium]] | attendance = | referee = Golmorad Saadollah ([[Tajikistan Football Federation|Tajikistan]]) | result = W }} {{Football box collapsible | format = 1 | round = [[2023 CAFA Nations Cup]] | date = 16 June 2023 | time = {{UTZ|21:00|6}} | team1 = {{fb-rt|KGZ}} | score = 1–5 | team2 = {{fb|IRN}} | report = | goals1 = *[[Mirlan Murzayev|Murzayev]] {{goal|52}} | goals2 = *[[Mehdi Taremi|Taremi]] {{goal|34||39|pen.|56}} *[[Sardar Azmoun|Azmoun]] {{goal|66||79}} | location = [[Bishkek]], Kyrgyzstan | stadium = [[Dolen Omurzakov Stadium]] | attendance = | referee = Akhrol Riskullaev ([[Uzbekistan Football Association|Uzbekistan]]) | result = W }} {{Football box collapsible | format = 1 | round = [[2023 CAFA Nations Cup|2023 CAFA Nations Cup Final]] | date = 20 June 2023 | time = {{UTZ|20:30|5}} | team1 = {{fb-rt|UZB}} | score = 0–1 | team2 = {{fb|IRN}} | report = | goals1 = | goals2 = *[[Sardar Azmoun|Azmoun]] {{goal|48}} | location = [[Tashkent]], Uzbekistan | stadium = [[Milliy Stadium]] | attendance = | referee = [[Kirill Levnikov]] ([[Russia]]) | result = W }} {{football box collapsible|format=1 |round = 2023 Jordan International Friendly Tournament <ref>[https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/483797/Iran-to-participate-at-Jordan-football-tournament Iran to participate at Jordan football tournament]</ref><ref>[https://video.varzesh3.com/video/303154/ توضیحات الهویی در رابطه با بازی‌های دوستانه تیم ملی]</ref> |date = 12 October 2023 |time = {{UTZ||3}} |team1 = {{fb-rt|JOR}} |score = |report = |team2 = {{fb|IRN}} |goals1= |goals2= |stadium = [[Amman International Stadium]] |location = [[Amman]], [[Jordan]] |attendance = |referee = |result = }} {{football box collapsible|format=1 |round = 2023 Jordan International Friendly Tournament |date = 16 October 2023 |time = {{UTZ||3}} |team1 = {{fb-rt|IRN}} |score = |report = |team2 = {{fb|IRQ}} ''or'' {{fb|QAT}} |goals1= |goals2= |stadium = [[Amman International Stadium]] |location = [[Amman]], [[Jordan]] |attendance = |referee = |result = }} {{footballbox collapsible |format = 1 | round = [[2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)#Second round|2026 WCQ]] / [[2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification#Second round|2027 ACQ]] |date = 16 November |time = |team1 = {{fb-rt|IRN}} |score = |team2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of None.svg}} |report = |goals1 = |goals2 = |location = [[Tehran]], Iran |stadium = [[Azadi Stadium]] |attendance = |referee = |result = }} {{footballbox collapsible |format = 1 | round = [[2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)#Second round|2026 WCQ]] / [[2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification#Second round|2027 ACQ]] |date = 21 November |time = |team1 = {{flagicon image|Flag of None.svg}} |score = |team2 = {{fb|IRN}} |report = |goals1 = |goals2 = |location = TBD |stadium = TBD |attendance = |referee = |result = }} ===2024=== {{footballbox collapsible |format = 1 |round = [[2023 AFC Asian Cup|Asian Cup]] |date = 14 January |time = |team1 = {{fb-rt|IRN}} |score = |team2 = {{fb|PLE}} |goals1 = |goals2 = |location = [[Al Wakrah]], Qatar |stadium = [[Al Janoub Stadium]] |attendance = |referee = |report = |result = }} {{footballbox collapsible |format = 1 |round = [[2023 AFC Asian Cup|Asian Cup]] |date = 19 January |time = |team1 = {{fb-rt|HKG}} |score = |team2 = {{fb|IRN}} |goals1 = |goals2 = |location = [[Al Rayyan (city)|Al Rayyan]], Qatar |stadium = [[Khalifa International Stadium]] |attendance = |referee = |report = |result = }} {{footballbox collapsible |format = 1 |round = [[2023 AFC Asian Cup|Asian Cup]] |date = 23 January |time = |team1 = {{fb-rt|IRN}} |score = |team2 = {{fb|UAE}} |goals1 = |goals2 = |location = [[Al Rayyan (city)|Al Rayyan]], Qatar |stadium = [[Education City Stadium]] |attendance = |referee = |report = |result = }} *FIFA International match days 2020–2024<ref>{{cite web |title=MEN'S INTERNATIONAL MATCH CALENDAR 2020-2024 |url=https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/88176dce3738a428/original/cd3qpcttmbbjowbso2tz-pdf.pdf |website=FIFA |date=February 2021 |access-date=12 October 2021 |archive-date=7 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707082714/https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/88176dce3738a428/original/cd3qpcttmbbjowbso2tz-pdf.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> ==Coaching staff== {{Main|List of Iran national football team managers}} <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hamshahrionline.ir/news/749094/%D8%AF%D8%B3%D8%AA%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%82%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%87-%D9%86%D9%88%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AA%DB%8C%D9%85-%D9%85%D9%84%DB%8C-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A8%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%B2%DB%8C%D9%84%DB%8C-%D9%88-%DB%8C%DA%A9-%D9%BE%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%BE%D9%88%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%B3%DB%8C-%D8%B1%D9%88%DB%8C |title=همشهری آنلاین: دستیاران قلعه نویی در تیم ملی؛ مربی برزیلی و یک پرسپولیسی روی نیمکت ایران |date=15 March 2023 |access-date=15 March 2023 |archive-date= |archive-url= |url-status= }}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |- ! Position ! Name |- | Head Coach | {{Flagicon|IRN}} [[Amir Ghalenoei]] |- | rowspan="5" |Assistant Coach(es) |{{Flagicon|ITA}} [[Antonio Manicone]] |- |{{Flagicon|IRN}} [[Rahman Rezaei]] |- |{{Flagicon|IRN}} [[Hamid Motahari]] |- |{{Flagicon|IRN}} [[Andranik Teymourian]] |- | {{Flagicon|IRN}} [[Saeid Alhoei]] |- |Goalkeeping Coach |{{Flagicon|ROU}} [[Alin Dincă]] |- | Fitness Coach | {{Flagicon|IRN}} [[Ali Asghar Ghorbanalipour]] |- | Physiotherapist | {{Flagicon|IRN}} [[Dr. Alireza Shahab]] |- | Team Doctor | {{Flagicon|IRN}} [[Dr. Parhan Khanlari]] |- | rowspan="2" | Masseurs | {{Flagicon|IRN}} [[Hadi Nejatpour]] |- |{{Flagicon|IRN}} [[Amir Esmaeili]] |- | Team Supervisor | {{Flagicon|IRN}} [[Mehdi Kharati]] |- | Team Management | {{Flagicon|IRN}} [[Mahdi Mohammadnabi]] |} ==Players== ===Current squad=== The following 25 players have been called up for taking part at CAFA tournament in June 2023.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.varzesh3.com/news/1942711/%D9%81%D9%88%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA-%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D8%AA%DB%8C%D9%85-%D9%85%D9%84%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%B3%D9%88%DB%8C-%D9%82%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%87-%D9%86%D9%88%DB%8C%DB%8C|title=اعلام لیست تیم ملی برای حضور در تورنمنت کافا|publisher=varzesh3 |date=8 June 2023|access-date=8 June 2023|language=fa}}</ref> ''Caps and goals updated as of 16 June 2023, after the match against [[kyrgyzstan national football team|kyrgyzstan]].'' {{nat fs g start}} {{nat fs g player|no=1|pos=GK|name=[[Alireza Beiranvand]]|sortname=Beiranvand, Alireza|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1992|9|21}}|caps=56|goals=0|club=[[Persepolis F.C.|Persepolis]]|clubnat=IRN}} {{nat fs g player|no=12|pos=GK|name=[[Payam Niazmand]]|sortname=Niazmand, Payam|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1995|4|6}}|caps=3|goals=0|club=[[Sepahan S.C.|Sepahan]]|clubnat=IRN}} {{nat fs g player|no=22|pos=GK|name=[[Hossein Pour Hamidi]]|sortname=Pour Hamidi, Hossein|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1998|3|26}}|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[Aluminium Arak F.C.|Aluminium Arak]]|clubnat=IRN}} {{nat fs break}} {{nat fs g player|no=2|pos=DF|name=[[Sadegh Moharrami]]|sortname=Moharrami, Sadegh|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1996|3|1}}|caps=25|goals=0|club=[[GNK Dinamo Zagreb|Dinamo Zagreb]]|clubnat=CRO}} {{nat fs g player|no=3|pos=DF|name=[[Ehsan Hajsafi]]|sortname=Hajsafi, Ehsan|other=[[Captain (association football)|captain]]|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1990|2|25}}|caps=128|goals=7|club=[[AEK Athens F.C.|AEK Athens]]|clubnat=GRE}} {{nat fs g player|no=8|pos=DF|name=[[Morteza Pouraliganji]]|sortname=Pouraliganji, Morteza|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1992|4|19}}|caps=50|goals=3|club=[[Persepolis F.C.|Persepolis]]|clubnat=IRN}} {{nat fs g player|no=11|pos=DF|name=[[Vahid Amiri]]|sortname=Amiri, Vahid|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1988|4|2}}|caps=70|goals=2|club=[[Persepolis F.C.|Persepolis]]|clubnat=IRN}} {{nat fs g player|no=13|pos=DF|name=[[Hossein Kanaanizadegan]]|sortname=Kanaanizadegan, Hossein|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1994|3|23}}|caps=39|goals=2|club=[[Al Ahli SC (Doha)|Al-Ahli]]|clubnat=QAT}} {{nat fs g player|no=19|pos=DF|name=[[Majid Hosseini]]|sortname=Hosseini, Majid|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1996|6|20}}|caps=23|goals=0|club=[[Kayserispor]]|clubnat=TUR}} {{nat fs g player|no=23|pos=DF|name=[[Ramin Rezaeian]]|sortname=Rezaeian, Ramin|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1990|3|21}}|caps=52|goals=4|club=[[Sepahan S.C.|Sepahan]]|clubnat=IRN}} {{nat fs break}} {{nat fs g player|no=5|pos=MF|name=[[Mohammad Karimi]]|age={{Birth date and age|1996|6|20|df=y}}|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[Sepahan S.C.|Sepahan]]|clubnat=IRN}} {{nat fs g player|no=6|pos=MF|name=[[Saeid Ezatolahi]]|sortname=Ezatolahi, Saeid|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1996|10|1}}|caps=52|goals=1|club=[[Vejle Boldklub|Vejle]]|clubnat=DEN}} {{nat fs g player|no=7|pos=MF|name=[[Alireza Jahanbakhsh]]|sortname=Jahanbakhsh, Alireza|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1993|8|11}}|caps=69|goals=14|club=[[Feyenoord]]|clubnat=NED}} {{nat fs g player|no=10|pos=MF|name=[[Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh]]|age={{Birth date and age|2000|10|30|df=y}}|caps=3|goals=0|club=[[R. Charleroi S.C.|Charleroi]]|clubnat=BEL}} {{nat fs g player|no=15|pos=MF|name=[[Rouzbeh Cheshmi]]|sortname=Cheshmi, Rouzbeh|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1993|7|24}}|caps=24|goals=2|club=[[Esteghlal F.C.|Esteghlal]]|clubnat=IRN}} {{nat fs g player|no=16|pos=MF|name=[[Mehdi Torabi]]|sortname=Torabi, Mehdi|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1994|9|10}}|caps=42|goals=7|club=[[Persepolis F.C.|Persepolis]]|clubnat=IRN}} {{nat fs g player|no=17|pos=MF|name=[[Mehdi Ghayedi]]|age={{Birth date and age|1998|12|5|df=y}}|caps=9|goals=2|club=[[Shabab Al Ahli Club|Shabab Al-Ahli]]|clubnat=UAE}} {{nat fs g player|no=18|pos=MF|name=[[Mohammad Mohebi]]|age={{Birth date and age|1998|12|20|df=y}}|caps=7|goals=3|club=[[C.D. Santa Clara|Santa Clara]]|clubnat=POR}} {{nat fs g player|no=21|pos=MF|name=[[Omid Noorafkan]]|age={{Birth date and age|1997|4|9|df=y}}|caps=18|goals=0| club=[[Sepahan S.C.|Sepahan]]|clubnat=IRN}} {{nat fs g player|no=24|pos=MF|name=[[Saeid Mehri]]|age={{Birth date and age|1995|9|16|df=y}}|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[Esteghlal F.C.|Esteghlal]]|clubnat=IRN}} {{nat fs g player|no=25|pos=MF|name=[[Alireza Alizadeh]]|age={{Birth date and age|1993|2|11|df=y}}|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[Gol Gohar Sirjan F.C.|Gol Gohar]]|clubnat=IRN}} {{nat fs break}} {{nat fs g player|no=4|pos=FW|name=[[Shahab Zahedi]]|age={{Birth date and age|1995|8|18|df=y}}|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[Puskás Akadémia FC|Puskás Akadémia]]|clubnat=HUN}} {{nat fs g player|no=9|pos=FW|name=[[Mehdi Taremi]]|sortname=Taremi, Mehdi|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1992|7|18}}|caps=67|goals=36|club=[[FC Porto|Porto]]|clubnat=POR}} {{nat fs g player|no=14|pos=FW|name=[[Reza Asadi]]|age={{Birth date and age|1996|1|17|df=y}}|caps=4|goals=1|club=[[Tractor S.C.|Tractor]]|clubnat=IRN}} {{nat fs g player|no=20|pos=FW|name=[[Sardar Azmoun]]|sortname=Azmoun, Sardar|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1995|1|1}}|caps=70|goals=44|club=[[Bayer 04 Leverkusen|Bayer Leverkusen]]|clubnat=GER}} {{nat fs end}} ===Recent call-ups=== The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months. <!--Sorted by position, most recent call-up, caps, goals and last name.--> {{nat fs r start|background=#FF0000|color=white}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=GK|name=[[Mohammad Reza Akhbari]]|age={{Birth date and age|1993|2|15|df=y}}|caps=1|goals=0| club=[[Tractor S.C.|Tractor]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Mini Camp, 2 June 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=GK|name=[[Hossein Hosseini (footballer, born 1992)|Hossein Hosseini]]|sortname=Hosseini, Hossein|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1992|6|30}}|caps=9|goals=0|club=[[Esteghlal F.C.|Esteghlal]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=v. {{fb|KEN}}, 28 March 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=GK|name=[[Amir Abedzadeh]]|sortname=Abedzadeh, Amir|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1993|4|26}}|caps=11|goals=0|club=[[SD Ponferradina|Ponferradina]]|clubnat=ESP|latest=v. {{fb|USA}}, 29 November 2022}} {{nat fs break|background=#FF0000}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Shojae Khalilzadeh]] ^INJ|sortname=Khalilzadeh, Shojae|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1989|5|14}}|caps=26|goals=1|club=[[Al Ahli SC (Doha)|Al-Ahli]]|clubnat=QAT|latest=Mini Camp, 2 June 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Mohammad Naderi]]|age={{Birth date and age|1996|10|5|df=y}}|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[Altay S.K.|Altay Spor]]|clubnat=TUR|latest=Mini Camp, 2 June 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Aref Aghasi]]|age={{Birth date and age|1997|1|2|df=y}}|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[Foolad F.C.|Foolad]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Mini Camp, 2 June 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Mohammad Daneshgar]]|age={{Birth date and age|1994|1|20|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Sepahan S.C.|Sepahan]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Mini Camp, 2 June 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Mehdi Tikdari]]|age={{Birth date and age|1996|7|12|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Gol Gohar Sirjan F.C.|Gol Gohar]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Mini Camp, 2 June 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Ehsan Hosseini]]|age={{Birth date and age|1998|10|3|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Aluminium Arak F.C.|Aluminium Arak]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Mini Camp, 2 June 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Amir Mehdi Janmaleki]]|age={{Birth date and age|1999|2|1|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[F.C. Nassaji Mazandaran|Nassaji Mazandaran]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Mini Camp, 2 June 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Armin Sohrabian]]|age={{Birth date and age|1995|7|26|df=y}}|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[Gol Gohar Sirjan F.C.|Gol Gohar]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=v. {{fb|KEN}}, 28 March 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Milad Zakipour]]|age={{Birth date and age|1995|11|23|df=y}}|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[Sepahan S.C.|Sepahan]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=v. {{fb|KEN}}, 28 March 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Amin Hazbavi]]|age={{Birth date and age|2003|5|6|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Al Sadd SC|Al Sadd]]|clubnat=QAT|latest=v. {{fb|KEN}}, 28 March 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Milad Mohammadi]]|sortname=Mohammadi, Milad|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1993|9|29}}|caps=48|goals=1|club=[[AEK Athens F.C.|AEK Athens]]|clubnat=GRE|latest=v. {{fb|USA}}, 29 November 2022}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Abolfazl Jalali]]|sortname=Jalali, Abolfazl|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1998|6|26}}|caps=4|goals=0|club=[[Esteghlal F.C.|Esteghlal]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=v. {{fb|USA}}, 29 November 2022}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Saman Touranian]]|age={{Birth date and age|2001|12|12|df=y}}|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[Sanat Mes Kerman F.C.|Mes Kerman]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=v. {{fb|NCA}}, 10 November 2022}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Saleh Hardani]]|age={{Birth date and age|1998|9|14|df=y}}|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[Esteghlal F.C.|Esteghlal]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Tehran Training Camp, 22 October 2022}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Saman Fallah]]|age={{Birth date and age|2001|5|12|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Paykan F.C.|Paykan]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Tehran Training Camp, 22 October 2022}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Mehdi Shiri (footballer, born 1991)|Mehdi Shiri]]|age={{Birth date and age|1991|1|31|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Foolad F.C.|Foolad]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Tehran Training Camp, 11 September 2022}} {{nat fs break|background=#FF0000}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Saman Ghoddos]] ^WD|sortname=Ghoddos, Saman|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1993|9|6}}|caps=34|goals=2|club=[[Brentford F.C.|Brentford]]|clubnat=ENG|latest=Mini Camp, 2 June 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Ahmad Nourollahi]] ^INJ|sortname=Nourollahi, Ahmad|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1993|2|1}}|caps=29|goals=3|club=[[Shabab Al Ahli Club|Shabab Al-Ahli]]|clubnat=UAE|latest=Mini Camp, 2 June 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Mehran Ahmadi (footballer, born 1997)|Mehran Ahmadi]]|age={{Birth date and age|1997|1|1|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Malavan F.C.|Malavan]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Mini Camp, 2 June 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Mohammad Mehdi Ghanbari]]|age={{Birth date and age|1999|1|1|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0| club=[[Tractor S.C.|Tractor]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Mini Camp, 2 June 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Mehdi Mamizadeh]]|age={{Birth date and age|2000|1|1|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Sanat Naft Abadan F.C.|Sanat Naft]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Mini Camp, 2 June 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Gholamreza Sabet Imani]]|age={{Birth date and age|2000|4|6|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Paykan F.C.|Paykan]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Mini Camp, 2 June 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Ali Gholizadeh]]|sortname=Gholizadeh, Ali|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1996|3|10}}|caps=30|goals=6|club=[[Kasımpaşa S.K.|Kasımpaşa]]|clubnat=TUR|latest=v. {{fb|KEN}}, 28 March 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Milad Sarlak]]|age={{Birth date and age|1995|3|26|df=y}}|caps=12|goals=0|club=[[Persepolis F.C.|Persepolis]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=v. {{fb|KEN}}, 28 March 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Mehdi Hosseini (footballer)|Mehdi Hosseini]]|age={{Birth date and age|1993|9|16|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Mes Rafsanjan F.C.|Mes Rafsanjan]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=v. {{fb|KEN}}, 28 March 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Reza Shekari]]|age={{Birth date and age|1998|5|31|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Gol Gohar Sirjan F.C.|Gol Gohar]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=v. {{fb|KEN}}, 28 March 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Mohammadhossein Eslami]]|age={{Birth date and age|2001|4|13|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Zob Ahan Esfahan F.C.|Zob Ahan]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=v. {{fb|KEN}}, 28 March 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Ali Karimi (footballer, born 1994)|Ali Karimi]]|sortname=Karimi, Ali|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1994|2|11}}|caps=16|goals=0|club=[[Kayserispor]]|clubnat=TUR|latest=v. {{fb|USA}}, 29 November 2022}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Omid Ebrahimi]] ^INJ|age={{Birth date and age|1987|9|15|df=y}}|caps=55|goals=0|club=[[Al-Wakrah SC|Al-Wakrah]]|clubnat=QAT|latest=v. {{fb|NCA}}, 10 November 2022}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Amirali Sadeghi]]|age={{Birth date and age|2001|2|9|df=y}}|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[Esteghlal F.C.|Esteghlal]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=v. {{fb|NCA}}, 10 November 2022}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Mehdi Hashemnejad]]|age={{Birth date and age|2001|10|27|df=y}}|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[Tractor S.C.|Tractor]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=v. {{fb|NCA}}, 10 November 2022}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Mehdi Mehdipour]]|age={{Birth date and age|1994|2|18|df=y}}|caps=3|goals=0|club=[[Esteghlal F.C.|Esteghlal]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Tehran Training Camp, 22 October 2022}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Mohammad Khodabandelou]]|age={{Birth date and age|1999|9|7|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Gol Gohar Sirjan F.C.|Gol Gohar]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Tehran Training Camp, 22 October 2022}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Saeid Sadeghi]]|age={{Birth date and age|1994|4|25|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Persepolis F.C.|Persepolis]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Tehran Training Camp, 11 September 2022}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Yasin Salmani]]|age={{Birth date and age|2002|2|27|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Sepahan S.C.|Sepahan]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Tehran Training Camp, 11 September 2022}} {{nat fs break|background=#FF0000}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Allahyar Sayyadmanesh]] ^WD|age={{Birth date and age|2001|6|29|df=y}}|caps=7|goals=1|club=[[Hull City A.F.C.|Hull City]]|clubnat=ENG|latest=Mini Camp, 2 June 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Mohammad Javad Mohammadi]]|age={{Birth date and age|1996|7|20|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Havadar S.C.|Havadar]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Mini Camp, 2 June 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Mohammad Reza Azadi]]|age={{Birth date and age|1999|12|7|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Aluminium Arak F.C.|Aluminium Arak]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=Mini Camp, 2 June 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Shahriyar Moghanlou]]|age={{Birth date and age|1994|12|21|df=y}}|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[Sepahan S.C.|Sepahan]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=v. {{fb|KEN}}, 28 March 2023}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Karim Ansarifard]]|sortname=Ansarifard, Karim|age={{birth date and age|df=y|1990|4|3}}|caps=96|goals=29|club=[[AC Omonia|Omonia]]|clubnat=CYP|latest=v. {{fb|USA}}, 29 November 2022}} {{nat fs r player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Aria Barzegar]]|age={{Birth date and age|2002|10|10|df=y}}|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[Naft Masjed Soleyman F.C.|Naft Masjed Soleyman]]|clubnat=IRN|latest=v. {{fb|NCA}}, 10 November 2022}} {{nat fs break|background=#0B0B3F}} ^INJ Withdrew due to injury<br /> ^PRE Preliminary squad / standby<br /> ^RET Retired from the national team<br /> ^SUS Serving suspension<br /> ^WD Player withdrew from the squad due to a non-injury issue.<br /> ^COV Injured because of COVID-19 {{nat fs end|background=#0B0B3F}} ==Player records== {{Main|Iran national football team records and statistics|Category:Iran men's international footballers}} :{{Updated|16 June 2023}}<ref name="RSSSF">{{cite web |last1=Mamrud |first1=Roberto |title=Iran - Record International Players |url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/iran-recintlp.html |website=RSSSF |access-date=31 May 2004 |archive-date=20 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720140046/http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/iran-recintlp.html |url-status=live }}</ref> : Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only :''Players in '''bold''' are still active with Iran.'' ===Most capped players=== {{Main|List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps}} [[File:Iran vs. Montenegro 2014-05-26 (040).jpg|thumb|180px|[[Javad Nekounam]] is the most [[caps (sport)|capped]] player in the history of Iran with 149 appearances.]] {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" |- !width=30px|Rank !style="width:175px;"|Player !width=50px|Caps !width=50px|Goals !style="width:100px;"|Career |- |1 | style="text-align:left;"|[[Javad Nekounam]] |149 |38 |2000–2015 |- |2 | style="text-align:left;"|[[Ali Daei]] |148 |109 |1993–2006 |- |3 |align="left"|'''[[Ehsan Hajsafi]]''' |128 |7 |2008–present |- |4 |align="left"|[[Ali Karimi]] |127 |38 |1998–2012 |- |5 |align="left"|[[Jalal Hosseini]] |115 |8 |2007–2018 |- |6 |align="left"|[[Mehdi Mahdavikia]] |110 |13 |1996–2009 |- |7 |align="left"|[[Andranik Teymourian]] |101 |9 |2005–2016 |- |8 | style="text-align:left;"|'''[[Karim Ansarifard]]''' |96 |29 |2009–present |- | rowspan="2" |9 | style="text-align:left;"|[[Karim Bagheri]] |87 |50 |1993–2010 |- |align="left"|[[Masoud Shojaei]] |87 |8 |2004–2019 |} ===Top goalscorers=== {{Main|List of men's footballers with 50 or more international goals}} [[File:Ali Daei, Saipa vs. Al-Rayyan pre-match conference.jpg|thumb|180px|[[Ali Daei]] is the world's second [[List of top international association football goal scorers by country|all-time leading goalscorer]] in international matches, having scored 109 goals in 148 matches]] {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" |- !width=30px|Rank !style="width:175px;"|Player !width=50px|Goals !width=50px|Caps !width=50px|Ratio !style="width:100px;"|Career |- |1 |align="left"|[[Ali Daei]] <small>([[List of international goals scored by Ali Daei|list]])</small> |109 |148 |{{#expr:109/148 round 2}} |1993–2006 |- |2 |align="left"|[[Karim Bagheri]] |50 |87 |{{#expr:50/87 round 2}} |1993–2010 |- |3 |align="left"|'''[[Sardar Azmoun]]''' |44 |70 |{{#expr:44/70 round 2}} |2014–Present |- |rowspan="2"|4 |align="left"|[[Ali Karimi]] |38 |127 |{{#expr:38/127 round 2}} |1998–2012 |- |align="left"|[[Javad Nekounam]] |38 |149 |{{#expr:39/151 round 2}} |2000–2015 |- |6 | style="text-align:left;"|'''[[Mehdi Taremi]]''' |36 |67 |{{#expr:36/67 round 2}} |2015–present |- |7 |align="left"|'''[[Karim Ansarifard]]''' |29 |96 |{{#expr:29/95 round 2}} |2009–present |- |8 |align="left"|[[Gholam Hossein Mazloumi]] |19 |40 |{{#expr:19/40 round 2}} |1969–1977 |- |9 | style="text-align:left;"|[[Farshad Pious]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.teammelli.com/matchdata/details/player.php?id=420|title=Statistics: Iran [ Team Melli]|access-date=8 June 2016|archive-date=13 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913091727/http://www.teammelli.com/matchdata/details/player.php?id=420|url-status=live}}</ref> |18 |34 |{{#expr:18/34 round 2}} |1984–1994 |- |10 | style="text-align:left;"|[[Reza Ghoochannejhad]] |17 |44 |{{#expr:16/44 round 2}} |2012–2018 |} ===Most capped goalkeepers=== [[File:Ahmadreza Abedzadeh 20170303 04.jpg|thumb|180px|[[Ahmadreza Abedzadeh]] is the most capped [[goalkeeper (association football)|goalkeeper]] in the history of Iran with 79 caps.]] <!---PLEASE ADD CLEAN SHEETS WHEN DATA BECOMES AVAILABLE!---> {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" |- !width=30px|Rank !style="width:175px;"|Player !width=50px|Caps !style="width:100px;"|Career |- |1 |align="left"|[[Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh]] |79 |1987–1998 |- |2 |align="left"|[[Mehdi Rahmati]] |77 |2004–2012 |- |3 |align="left"|[[Ebrahim Mirzapour]] |71 |2001–2011 |- |4 |align="left"|[[Nasser Hejazi]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/world-match-centre/news/newsid/144/149/5/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213041951/http://www.fifa.com/world-match-centre/news/newsid/144/149/5/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 December 2014|title=Iran says farewell to 'The Legend'|website=FIFA.com|date=26 May 2011}}</ref> |62 |1968–1980 |- |5 |align="left"|'''[[Alireza Beiranvand]]''' |56 |2015–present |- | rowspan="2" |6 |align="left"|[[Aziz Asli]] | rowspan="2" |28 |1962–1968 |- |align="left"|[[Behzad Gholampour]] |1990–1999 |- |8 |align="left"|[[Alireza Haghighi]] |24 |2012–2018 |- | rowspan="2" |9 |align="left"|[[Mansour Rashidi]] | rowspan="2" |20 |1972–1985 |- |align="left"|[[Parviz Boroumand]] |1998–2001 |} ===Captains=== [[File:Ehsan Hajsafi at IRNPOR match 2018 FIFA World Cup.jpg|thumb|190px|[[Ehsan Hajsafi]] is the current Iran national team captain.]] {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" |- !scope=col rowspan=2|# !scope=col rowspan=2|{{Tooltip|Reign|Years as captain}} !scope=col rowspan=2|Player !scope=col rowspan=2|{{Tooltip|Career|Years representing Iran}} !scope=col colspan=2|Total !scope=col colspan=2|As Captain !scope=col rowspan=2|Tournaments |- class=unsortable !scope=col|Caps !scope=col|Goals !scope=col|Caps !scope=col|Goals |- |1 |1965–1967 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Mohammad Ranjbar]] |1959–1967 |23 |0 |9 |0 | |- |2 |1967–1970 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Hassan Habibi (footballer)|Hassan Habibi]] |1958–1970 |31 |0 |10 |0 |[[1968 AFC Asian Cup]] |- |3 |1970–1972 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Mostafa Arab]] |1959–1972 |48 |2 |13 |0 |[[1972 AFC Asian Cup]] |- |4 |1972–1977 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Parviz Ghelichkhani]] |1964–1977 |64 |12 |26 |7 |[[1976 AFC Asian Cup]] |- |5 |1977–1980 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Ali Parvin]] |1970–1980 |76 |13 |31 |2 |[[1978 FIFA World Cup]] |- |6 |1980 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Nasser Hejazi]] |1968–1980 |62 |0 |7 |0 |[[1980 AFC Asian Cup]] |- |7 |1980–1984 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Mehdi Dinvarzadeh]] |1977–1984 |26 |0 |9 |0 | |- |8 |1984–87<br />1989–91 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Mohammad Panjali]] |1978–1991 |45 |0 |27 |0 |[[1984 AFC Asian Cup]] |- |9 |1987–89<br />1991–93 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Sirous Ghayeghran]] |1986–1993 |43 |6 |22 |3 |[[1988 AFC Asian Cup]] <br /> [[1992 AFC Asian Cup]] |- |10 |1993 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Hamid Derakhshan]] |1980–1993 |41 |9 |12 |3 | |- |11 |1993–1994 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Farshad Pious]] |1984–1994 |35 |19 |4 |1 | |- |12 |1996 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Mojtaba Moharrami]] |1988–1996 |37 |5 |2 |0 |[[1996 AFC Asian Cup]] |- |13 |1996–1998 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh]] |1988–1998 |78 |0 |38 |0 |[[1998 FIFA World Cup]] |- |14 |1998–1999 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Nader Mohammadkhani]] |1988–1999 |64 |4 |9 |1 |[[1998 FIFA World Cup]] |- |15 |1999–2000 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Javad Zarincheh]] |1987–2000 |80 |1 |8 |0 | |- |16 |2000–2006 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Ali Daei]] |1993–2006 |148 |109 |80 |44 |[[2000 AFC Asian Cup]] <br /> [[2004 AFC Asian Cup]] <br /> [[2006 FIFA World Cup]] |- |17 |2006–2009 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Mehdi Mahdavikia]] |1996–2009 |111 |13 |17 |1 |[[2007 AFC Asian Cup]] |- |18 |2009–2015 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Javad Nekounam]] |2000–2015 |149 |38 |56 |18 |[[2011 AFC Asian Cup]]<br />[[2014 FIFA World Cup]]<br />[[2015 AFC Asian Cup]] |- |19 |2015–2016 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Andranik Teymourian]] |2005–2016 |101 |9 |9 |1 | |- |20 |2016–2019 |style="text-align:left;"|[[Masoud Shojaei]] |2004–2019 |87 |8 |11 |0 |[[2018 FIFA World Cup]]<br />[[2019 AFC Asian Cup]] |- |21 |2019– |style="text-align:left;"|'''[[Ehsan Hajsafi]]''' |2008– |128 |7 |34 |3 |[[2022 FIFA World Cup]] |} ==Competition records== ===FIFA World Cup=== {{Main|Iran at the FIFA World Cup}} {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |- !colspan=11|[[FIFA World Cup]] record ! style="width:1%;" rowspan="25"| !colspan=6|[[FIFA World Cup qualification|Qualification]] record |- !Year !Round !Position !{{Tooltip|Pld|Games played}} !{{Tooltip|W|Won}} !{{Tooltip|D|Drawn}} !{{Tooltip|L|Lost}} !{{Tooltip|GF|Goals for}} !{{Tooltip|GA|Goals against}} !Squad !Manager(s) !width=30|{{Tooltip|Pld|Games played}} !width=30|{{Tooltip|W|Won}} !width=30|{{Tooltip|D|Drawn}} !width=30|{{Tooltip|L|Lost}} !width=30|{{Tooltip|GF|Goals for}} !width=30|{{Tooltip|GA|Goals against}} |- |{{flagicon|Uruguay}} [[1930 FIFA World Cup|1930]] |colspan=10 rowspan=3|''Not a [[FIFA]] member'' | colspan="6" |''No qualification'' |- |{{flagicon|Italy|1861}} [[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]] | colspan="6" rowspan="2" |''Not a [[FIFA]] member'' |- |{{flagicon|France|1794}} [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938]] |- |{{flagicon|Brazil|1889}} [[1950 FIFA World Cup|1950]]||colspan=10 rowspan=6|''Did not enter'' |colspan=6 rowspan=6|''Did not enter'' |- |{{flagicon|Switzerland}} [[1954 FIFA World Cup|1954]] |- |{{flagicon|Sweden}} [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958]] |- |{{flagicon|Chile}} [[1962 FIFA World Cup|1962]] |- |{{flagicon|England}} [[1966 FIFA World Cup|1966]] |- |{{flagicon|Mexico}} [[1970 FIFA World Cup|1970]] |- |{{flagicon|West Germany}} [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974]]||colspan=10|''Did not qualify'' ||8||5||1||2||9||6 |- |{{flagicon|Argentina}} [[1978 FIFA World Cup|1978]] ||First round||14th||3||0||1||2||2||8||[[1978 FIFA World Cup squads#Iran|Squad]]||[[Heshmat Mohajerani|Mohajerani]]||12||10||2||0||20||3 |- |{{flagicon|Spain}} [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982]]||colspan=10|''Withdrew'' |colspan=6|''Withdrew'' |- |{{flagicon|Mexico}} [[1986 FIFA World Cup|1986]]||colspan=10|''Disqualified'' |colspan=6|''Disqualified'' |- ||{{flagicon|Italy}} [[1990 FIFA World Cup|1990]]||colspan=10 rowspan=2|''Did not qualify'' ||6||5||0||1||12||5 |- ||{{flagicon|USA}} [[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994]] ||11||5||3||3||23||13 |- |{{flagicon|France|1974}} [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]] ||Group stage||20th||3||1||0||2||2||4||[[1998 FIFA World Cup squads#Iran|Squad]]||[[Jalal Talebi|Talebi]]||17||8||6||3||57||17 |- |{{flagicon|Korea Republic}}{{flagicon|Japan}} [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002]]||colspan=10|''Did not qualify''||14||9||3||2||36||9 |- |{{flagicon|Germany}} [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]] ||Group stage||25th||3||0||1||2||2||6||[[2006 FIFA World Cup squads#Iran|Squad]]||[[Branko Ivanković|Ivanković]]||12||9||1||2||29||7 |- |{{flagicon|South Africa}} [[2010 FIFA World Cup|2010]]||colspan=10|''Did not qualify''||14||5||8||1||15||9 |- |{{flagicon|Brazil}} [[2014 FIFA World Cup|2014]]||rowspan=3|Group stage ||28th||3||0||1||2||1||4||[[2014 FIFA World Cup squads#Iran|Squad]]||rowspan=3|[[Carlos Queiroz|Queiroz]]||16 ||10 ||4 ||2 ||30 ||7 |- |{{flagicon|Russia}} [[2018 FIFA World Cup|2018]] ||18th||3||1||1||1||2||2||[[2018 FIFA World Cup squads#Iran|Squad]]||18||12||6||0||36||5 |- |{{Flagicon|Qatar}} [[2022 FIFA World Cup|2022]] ||26th||3||1||0||2||4||7||[[2022 FIFA World Cup squads#Iran|Squad]]||18||14||1||3||49||8 |- |{{Flagicon|Canada}}{{Flagicon|Mexico}}{{Flagicon|USA}} [[2026 FIFA World Cup|2026]]||colspan=10|''To be determined''||colspan=6|''To be determined'' |- !Total||First round||6/22||18||3||4||11||13||31||—||—||||146||92||35||19||316||89 |} {| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width:35%;font-size:80%" |- style="color:white" !style="background:#00A693;width:20%" colspan="2"|<big>Iran's World Cup record</big> |- !width=10%|First match |width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|NED}} 3–0 {{fb-rt|IRN|1964}}<br> (3 June 1978; [[Mendoza, Argentina|Mendoza]], [[Argentina]])</div> |- !width=10%|Biggest win |width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|WAL}} 0–2 {{fb-rt|IRN}}<br> (25 November 2022; [[Al Rayyan]], [[Qatar]])</div> |- !width=10%|Biggest defeat |width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|ENG}} 6–2 {{fb-rt|Iran}}<br> (21 November 2022; [[Al Rayyan]], [[Qatar]])</div> |- !width=10%|Fastest Goal |width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">36th minute, [[Yahya Golmohammadi]], vs {{fb-rt|MEX}}<br> (11 June 2006; [[Nuremberg]], [[Germany]])</div> |- !width=10%|Latest goal |width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">90+13th minute, [[Mehdi Taremi]], vs {{fb-rt|ENG}}<br> (21 November 2022; [[Al Rayyan]], [[Qatar]])</div> |} ===Olympic Games=== {{Main|Football at the Summer Olympics}} {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |- !colspan=11|[[Football at the Summer Olympics|Summer Olympic Games]] record ! style="width:1%;" rowspan="24"| !colspan=6|Qualification record |- ! style="width:90px;"|Year ! style="width:90px;"|Result ! style="width:80px;"|Position ! style="width:20px;"|{{Abbr|Pld|Games played}} ! style="width:20px;"|{{Abbr|W|Won}} ! style="width:20px;"|{{Abbr|D|Drawn}} ! style="width:20px;"|{{Abbr|L|Lost}} ! style="width:20px;"|{{Abbr|GF|Goals for}} ! style="width:20px;"|{{Abbr|GA|Goals against}} ! style="width:20px;"|Squad ! style="width:20px;"|Manager(s) ! style="width:20px;"|{{Abbr|Pld|Games played}} ! style="width:20px;"|{{Abbr|W|Won}} ! style="width:20px;"|{{Abbr|D|Drawn}} ! style="width:20px;"|{{Abbr|L|Lost}} ! style="width:20px;"|{{Abbr|GF|Goals for}} ! style="width:20px;"|{{Abbr|GA|Goals against}} |- |- |{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Football at the 1900 Summer Olympics|1900]]||rowspan=8 colspan=10|''Not an [[International Olympic Committe|IOC]] member'' |rowspan=10 colspan=6|''No qualification'' |- |{{flagicon|USA}} [[Football at the 1904 Summer Olympics|1904]] |- |{{flagicon|GBR}} [[Football at the 1908 Summer Olympics|1908]] |- |{{flagicon|SWE}} [[Football at the 1912 Summer Olympics|1912]] |- |{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Football at the 1920 Summer Olympics|1920]] |- |{{flagicon|FRA|1794}} [[Football at the 1924 Summer Olympics|1924]] |- |{{flagicon|NED}} [[Football at the 1928 Summer Olympics|1928]] |- |{{flagicon|DEU|1935}} [[Football at the 1936 Summer Olympics|1936]] |- |{{flagicon|GBR}} [[Football at the 1948 Summer Olympics|1948]]||rowspan=2 colspan=10|''Did not enter'' |- |{{flagicon|FIN}} [[Football at the 1952 Summer Olympics|1952]] |- |{{flagicon|AUS}} [[Association football at the 1956 Summer Olympics|1956]]||colspan=10|''Withdrew'' |colspan=6|''Withdrew'' |- |{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Football at the 1960 Summer Olympics|1960]]||colspan=10|''Did not enter'' |colspan=6|''Did not enter'' |- |{{flagicon|Japan}} [[Football at the 1964 Summer Olympics|1964]]||First round||12th||3||0||1||2||1||6||[[Football at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Men's team squads#Iran|Squad]]||[[Hossein Fekri|Fekri]] ||6||4||1||1||14||3 |- |{{flagicon|Mexico}} [[Football at the 1968 Summer Olympics|1968]]||colspan=10|''Withdrew'' |colspan=6|''Withdrew'' |- |{{flagicon|West Germany}} [[Football at the 1972 Summer Olympics|1972]]||First round||12th||3||1||0||2||1||9||[[Football at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's team squads#Iran|Squad]]||[[Mahmoud Bayati|Bayati]] ||5||3||2||0||6||0 |- |{{flagicon|Canada}} [[Football at the 1976 Summer Olympics|1976]]||{{nowrap|Quarter-finals}}||7th||3||1||0||2||4||5||[[Football at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Men's team squads#Iran|Squad]]||[[Heshmat Mohajerani|Mohajerani]] ||4||3||1||0||8||1 |- |{{flagicon|USSR}} [[Football at the 1980 Summer Olympics|1980]]||colspan=10|''Qualified but later boycotted the event'' ||6||4||2||0||22||2 |- |{{flagicon|USA}} [[Football at the 1984 Summer Olympics|1984]]||colspan=10|''Boycotted the event'' |colspan=6|''Did not enter'' |- || {{flagicon|South Korea}} [[Football at the 1988 Summer Olympics|1988]]||colspan=10|''Did not qualify'' ||2||1||0||1||2||2 |- |[[Football at the 1992 Summer Olympics|1992]]–present |colspan=11|''See [[Iran national under-23 football team#Olympic Games|Iran national under-23 team]]'' |colspan=6|''See [[Iran national under-23 football team#Olympic Games|Iran national under-23 team]]'' |- !Total||{{nowrap|Quarter-finals}}||4/17||9||2||1||6||6||20||—||— !|23||15||6||2||52||8 |} ===AFC Asian Cup=== {{Main|Iran at the AFC Asian Cup}} {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |- !colspan=11|[[AFC Asian Cup]] record ! style="width:1%;" rowspan="22"| !colspan=6|[[AFC Asian Cup qualifiers|Qualification]] record |- !Year !Result !Position !{{Tooltip|Pld|Games played}} !{{Tooltip|W|Won}} !{{Tooltip|D|Drawn}} !{{Tooltip|L|Lost}} !{{Tooltip|GF|Goals for}} !{{Tooltip|GA|Goals against}} !Squad !Manager(s) !width=30|{{Tooltip|Pld|Games played}} !width=30|{{Tooltip|W|Won}} !width=30|{{Tooltip|D|Drawn}} !width=30|{{Tooltip|L|Lost}} !width=30|{{Tooltip|GF|Goals for}} !width=30|{{Tooltip|GA|Goals against}} |- |{{flagicon|Hong Kong|1910}} [[1956 AFC Asian Cup|1956]]||colspan=10|''Withdrew'' |colspan=6|''Withdrew'' |- |{{flagicon|Korea Republic}} [[1960 AFC Asian Cup|1960]]||colspan=10|''Did not qualify'' ||6||3||1||2||12||10 |- |{{flagicon|Israel}} [[1964 AFC Asian Cup|1964]]||colspan=10|''Withdrew'' |colspan=6|''Withdrew'' |- style="background:gold;" |style="border: 3px solid red"|{{flagicon|Iran|1964}} [[1968 AFC Asian Cup|1968]]||'''Champions'''||'''1st'''||'''4'''||'''4'''||'''0'''||'''0'''||'''11'''||'''2'''||'''[[1968 AFC Asian Cup squads#Iran|Squad]]'''||[[Mahmoud Bayati|Bayati]]||colspan=6|'''Automatic qualified as host''' |- style="background:gold;" |{{flagicon|Thailand}} [[1972 AFC Asian Cup|1972]]||'''[[1972 AFC Asian Cup Final|Champions]]'''||'''1st'''||'''5'''||'''5'''||'''0'''||'''0'''||'''12'''||'''4'''||'''[[1972 AFC Asian Cup squads#Iran|Squad]]'''||[[Mohammad Ranjbar|Ranjbar]]||colspan=6|'''Automatic qualified as champion''' |- style="background:gold;" |style="border: 3px solid red"|{{flagicon|Iran|1964}} [[1976 AFC Asian Cup|1976]]||'''[[1976 AFC Asian Cup Final|Champions]] '''||'''1st'''||'''4'''||'''4'''||'''0'''||'''0'''||'''13'''||'''0'''||'''[[1976 AFC Asian Cup squads#Iran|Squad]]'''||[[Heshmat Mohajerani|Mohajerani]]||colspan=6|'''Automatic qualified as host''' |- style="background:#c96;" |{{flagicon|Kuwait}} [[1980 AFC Asian Cup|1980]]||'''Third place'''||'''3rd'''||'''6'''||'''3'''||'''2'''||'''1'''||'''16'''||'''6'''||'''[[1980 AFC Asian Cup squads#Iran|Squad]]'''||[[Hassan Habibi (footballer)|Habibi]]||colspan=6|'''Automatic qualified as champion''' |- style="background:#9acdff;" |{{flagicon|Singapore}} [[1984 AFC Asian Cup|1984]]||'''Fourth place'''||'''4th'''||'''6'''||'''2'''||'''4'''||'''0'''||'''8'''||'''3'''||'''[[1984 AFC Asian Cup squads#Iran|Squad]]'''||[[Nasser Ebrahimi|Ebrahimi]]||'''6'''||'''6'''||'''0'''||'''0'''||'''22'''||'''2''' |- style="background:#c96;" |{{flagicon|Qatar}} [[1988 AFC Asian Cup|1988]]||'''Third place'''||'''3rd'''||'''6'''||'''2'''||'''2'''||'''2'''||'''3'''||'''4'''||'''[[1988 AFC Asian Cup squads#Iran|Squad]]'''||[[Parviz Dehdari|Dehdari]]||'''4'''||'''2'''||'''2'''||'''0'''||'''6'''||'''1''' |- |{{flagicon|Japan}} [[1992 AFC Asian Cup|1992]]||Group stage||5th||3||1||1||1||2||1||[[Asian Cup 1992 squads#Iran|Squad]]||[[Ali Parvin|Parvin]]||2||2||0||0||10||0 |- style="background:#c96;" |{{flagicon|UAE}} [[1996 AFC Asian Cup|1996]]||'''Third place'''||'''3rd'''||'''6'''||'''3'''||'''2'''||'''1'''||'''14'''||'''6'''||'''[[Asian Cup 1996 squads#Iran|Squad]]'''||[[Mohammad Mayeli Kohan|Mayeli Kohan]]||'''6'''||'''6'''||'''0'''||'''0'''||'''27'''||'''1''' |- |{{flagicon|Lebanon}} [[2000 AFC Asian Cup|2000]]||Quarter-finals||5th||4||2||1||1||7||3||[[Asian Cup 2000 squads#Iran|Squad]]||[[Jalal Talebi|Talebi]]||6||4||1||1||16||2 |- style="background:#c96;" |{{flagicon|China}} [[2004 AFC Asian Cup|2004]]||'''Third place'''||'''3rd'''||'''6'''||'''3'''||'''3'''||'''0'''||'''14'''||'''8'''||'''[[Asian Cup 2004 squads#Iran|Squad]]'''||[[Branko Ivanković|Ivanković]]||'''6'''||'''5'''||'''0'''||'''1'''||'''16'''||'''5''' |- |{{flagicon|Indonesia}}{{flagicon|Malaysia}}{{flagicon|Thailand}}{{flagicon|Vietnam}} [[2007 AFC Asian Cup|2007]] |rowspan=3|Quarter-finals |5th |4 |2 |2 |0 |6 |3 |[[Asian Cup 2007 squads#Iran|Squad]]||[[Amir Ghalenoei|Ghalenoei]]||6||4||2||0||12||2 |- |{{flagicon|Qatar}} [[2011 AFC Asian Cup|2011]] |5th |4 |3 |0 |1 |6 |2 |[[2011 AFC Asian Cup squads#Iran|Squad]]||[[Afshin Ghotbi|Ghotbi]]||6||4||1||1||11||2 |- |{{flagicon|AUS}} [[2015 AFC Asian Cup|2015]] |6th |4 |3 |1 |0 |7 |3 |[[2015 AFC Asian Cup squads#Iran|Squad]]||[[Carlos Queiroz|Queiroz]]||6||5||1||0||18||5 |- style="background:#81c846" |{{flagicon|UAE}} [[2019 AFC Asian Cup|2019]]||'''Semi-finals'''||''' 3rd'''||'''6'''||'''4'''||'''1'''||'''1'''||'''12'''||'''3'''||'''[[2019 AFC Asian Cup squads#Iran|Squad]]'''||[[Carlos Queiroz|Queiroz]]||'''8'''||'''6'''||'''2'''||'''0'''||'''26'''||'''3''' |- |{{flagicon|QAT}} [[2023 AFC Asian Cup|2023]]||colspan=10|''Qualified''||8||6||0||2||34||4 |- |{{flagicon|Saudi Arabia}} [[2027 AFC Asian Cup|2027]]||colspan=10|''To be determined'' |colspan=6|''To be determined'' |- !Total||3 titles||15/18||68||41||19||8||131||48||—||—||70||53||10||7||210||37 |} {| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width:35%;font-size:80%" |- style="color:white" !style="background:#00A693;width:20%" colspan="2"|<big>Iran's AFC Asian Cup record</big> |- !width=10%|First match |width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|IRN|1964}} 2–0 {{fb-rt|Hong Kong|1959}}<br> (10 May 1968; [[Tehran]], [[Iran]])</div> |- !width=10%|Biggest win(s) |width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|IRN|1964}} 8–0 {{fb-rt|South Yemen}}<br> (8 June 1976; [[Tehran]], [[Iran]])</div> |- !width=10%|Biggest defeat(s) |width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|KOR|1984}} 3–0 {{fb-rt|IRN}}<br> (11 December 1988; [[Doha]], [[Qatar]])</div><div style="text-align:center">{{fb|IRN}} 0–3 {{fb-rt|JPN}}<br> (28 January 2019; [[Al Ain]], [[UAE]])</div> |- !width=10%|Best result |width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">'''Champions''' in [[1968 AFC Asian Cup|1968]], [[1972 AFC Asian Cup|1972]] and [[1976 AFC Asian Cup|1976]]</div> |- !width=10%|Worst result |width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">[[1992 AFC Asian Cup|1992]] (group stage)</div> |} ===Asian Games=== {{Main|Football at the Asian Games}} {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;font-size:90%;" |- !width=200|Year !width=100|Round !width=35|Position !width=35|Pld !width=35|W !width=35|D !width=35|L !width=35|GF !width=35|GA !Squad !Manager(s) |- style="background:silver;" |{{flagicon|IND}} [[Football at the 1951 Asian Games – Men|1951]]||'''Runners-up'''||'''2nd'''||'''3'''||'''2'''||'''0'''||'''1'''||'''2'''||'''1'''||'''[[Football at the 1951 Asian Games – Squads|Squad]]'''||[[Hossein Sadaghiani|Sadaghiani]] |- |{{flagicon|PHL|1936}} [[Football at the 1954 Asian Games – Men|1954]]||colspan=12|''Did not enter'' |- |{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Football at the 1958 Asian Games – Men|1958]]||Preliminary round||14th||2||0||0||2||0||9||[[Football at the 1958 Asian Games – Squads#Iran|Squad]]||[[József Mészáros|Mészáros]] |- |{{flagicon|IDN}} [[Football at the 1962 Asian Games – Men|1962]]||colspan=12|''Did not enter'' |- style="background:silver;" |{{flagicon|THA}} [[Football at the 1966 Asian Games – Men|1966]]||'''Runners-up'''||'''2nd'''||'''7'''||'''4'''||'''0'''||'''3'''||'''9'''||'''6'''||'''[[Football at the 1966 Asian Games – Squads#Iran|Squad]]'''||[[György Szűcs|Szűcs]] |- |{{flagicon|THA}} [[Football at the 1970 Asian Games – Men|1970]]||Preliminary round||8th||2||0||1||1||2||3||[[Football at the 1970 Asian Games – Squads#Iran|Squad]]||[[Igor Netto|Netto]] |- style="background:gold;" |style="border: 3px solid red"|{{flagicon|IRN|1964}} [[Football at the 1974 Asian Games|1974]]||'''Champions '''||'''1st'''||'''7'''||'''7'''||'''0'''||'''0'''||'''20'''||'''1'''||'''[[Football at the 1974 Asian Games – Squads#Iran|Squad]]'''||[[Frank O'Farrell|O'Farrell]] |- |{{flagicon|THA}} [[Football at the 1978 Asian Games|1978]]||colspan=12|''Did not enter'' |- |{{flagicon|IND}} [[Football at the 1982 Asian Games–Men|1982]]||rowspan=2|Quarter-finals||8th||4||2||0||2||3||2||[[Football at the 1982 Asian Games – Squads#Iran|Squad]]||[[Jalal Cheraghpour|Cheraghpour]] |- |{{flagicon|KOR}} [[Football at the 1986 Asian Games – Men|1986]]||6th||5||3||1||1||13||2||[[Football at the 1986 Asian Games – Squads#Iran|Squad]]||[[Parviz Dehdari|Dehdari]] |- style="background:gold;" |{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Football at the 1990 Asian Games – Men|1990]]||'''Champions'''||'''1st'''||'''5'''||'''4'''||'''1'''||'''0'''||'''7'''||'''1'''||'''[[Football at the 1990 Asian Games – Squads#Iran|Squad]]'''||[[Ali Parvin|Parvin]] |- |{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Football at the 1994 Asian Games – Men|1994]]||Preliminary round||9th||4||1||2||1||5||2||[[Football at the 1994 Asian Games – Squads#Iran|Squad]]||[[Stanko Poklepović|Poklepović]] |- style="background:gold;" |{{flagicon|THA}} [[Football at the 1998 Asian Games – Men|1998]]||'''Champions'''||'''1st'''||'''8'''||'''7'''||'''0'''||'''1'''||'''25'''||'''7'''||'''[[Football at the 1998 Asian Games – Squads#Iran|Squad]]'''||[[Mansour Pourheidari|Pourheidari]] |- |[[Football at the 2002 Asian Games|2002]]–present |colspan=12|''See [[Iran national under-23 football team#Asian Games|Iran national under-23 team]]'' |- !Total||3 titles||10/13||47||30||5||12||86||34||—||— |} ===WAFF Championship=== {{Main|WAFF Championship}} {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;font-size:90%;" |- !width=200|Year !width=100|Round !width=35|Position !width=35|Pld !width=35|W !width=35|D !width=35|L !width=35|GF !width=35|GA !Squad !Manager(s) |- style="background:gold;" |{{flagicon|Jordan}} [[West Asian Football Federation Championship 2000|2000]]||'''Champions '''||'''1st'''||'''5'''||'''4'''||'''1'''||'''0'''||'''7'''||'''1'''||'''Squad'''||[[Jalal Talebi|Talebi]] |- style="background:#c96;" |{{flagicon|Syria}} [[West Asian Football Federation Championship 2002|2002]]||'''Third place'''||'''3rd'''||'''4'''||'''1'''||'''2'''||'''1'''||'''4'''||'''3'''||'''Squad'''||[[Branko Ivanković|Ivanković]] |- style="background:gold;" |style="border: 3px solid red"|{{flagicon|Iran}} [[West Asian Football Federation Championship 2004|2004]]||'''Champions'''||'''1st'''||'''4'''||'''4'''||'''0'''||'''0'''||'''17'''||'''3'''||'''Squad'''||[[Branko Ivanković|Ivanković]] |- style="background:gold;" |{{flagicon|Jordan}} [[West Asian Football Federation Championship 2007|2007]]||'''Champions'''¹||'''1st'''||'''4'''||'''3'''||'''1'''||'''0'''||'''5'''||'''1'''||'''Squad'''||[[Parviz Mazloumi|Mazloumi]] |- style="background:gold;" |style="border: 3px solid red"|{{flagicon|Iran}} [[West Asian Football Federation Championship 2008|2008]]||'''Champions'''||'''1st'''||'''4'''||'''4'''||'''0'''||'''0'''||'''13'''||'''2'''||'''Squad'''||[[Ali Daei|Daei]] |- style="background:silver;" |{{flagicon|Jordan}} [[2010 West Asian Football Federation Championship|2010]]||'''Runners-up'''||'''2nd'''||'''4'''||'''2'''||'''1'''||'''1'''||'''8'''||'''5'''||'''Squad'''||[[Afshin Ghotbi|Ghotbi]] |- |{{flagicon|Kuwait}} [[2012 West Asian Football Federation Championship|2012]]||Group stage ||6th||3||1||2||0||2||1||Squad||[[Carlos Queiroz|Queiroz]] |- |{{flagicon|Qatar}} [[2014 WAFF Championship|2014]]||colspan=10|''Did not enter'' |- | [[2019 WAFF Championship|2019]]–onwards||colspan=10|''Not a [[West Asian Football Federation|WAFF]] member'' |- !Total||4 titles||7/9||28||19||7||2||56||16||—||— |} :{{anchor|11}}¹ Iran played their [[Iran B national football team|B team]] in this tournament however recognised as international "A" matches. ===CAFA Nations Cup=== {{Main|CAFA Nations Cup}} {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;font-size:90%;" |- !width=200|Year !width=100|Round !width=35|Position !width=35|Pld !width=35|W !width=35|D !width=35|L !width=35|GF !width=35|GA !Squad !Manager(s) |- style="background:gold;" |{{flagicon|KGZ}}{{flagicon|UZB}} [[2023 CAFA Nations Cup|2023]]||'''Champions '''||'''1st'''||'''3'''||'''3'''||'''0'''||'''0'''||'''12'''||'''2'''||'''[[2023 CAFA Championship squads#Iran|Squad]]'''||[[Amir Ghalenoei|Ghalenoei]] |- !Total||1 title||1/1||3||3||0||0||12||2||—||— |} ==Head-to-head record== {{Main|Iran national football team records and statistics}} :''Last match updated: {{Fb|KGZ}} on 16 June 2023.'' {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center; font-size: 100%;" width="100%" !width=180|Team !width=30|Played !width=30|Won !width=30|Drawn !width=30|Lost !width=35|Goals for !width=35|Goals against !width=35|Goal difference !width=35|Win percentage !width=130|Confederation !width=70|Best win !width=70|Worst loss |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|AFG|2013}}||3||2||1||0||10||1||+9||66.67% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||6–1||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|ALB}}||1||0||0||1||0||1||−1||{{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−1|0–1}} |-bgcolor=#FFFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|ALG}}||4||2||0||2||5||5||0||{{#expr: 2/4 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|01|2–1}}||{{Sort|−1|1–2}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|ANG}}||3||1||2||0||3||2||+1||{{#expr: 1/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|01|1–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|ARG}}||2||0||1||1||1||2||−1||{{#expr: 0/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[CONMEBOL]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−1|0–1}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|ARM}}||1||1||0||0||3||1||+2||{{#expr: 1/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|02|3–1}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|AUS}}||6||3||2||1||7||6||+1||{{#expr: 3/6 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]] / [[Oceania Football Confederation|OFC]]||{{Sort|02|2–0}}||{{Sort|−3|0–3}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|AUT}}||1||0||0||1||1||5||−4||{{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−4|1–5}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|AZE}}||3||2||1||0||4||2||+2||{{#expr: 2/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|01|2–1}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|BHR}}||18||8||5||5||32||13||+19||{{#expr: 8/18 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|06|6–0}}||{{Sort|−2|2–4}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|BAN}}||6||6||0||0||28||1||+27||{{#expr: 6/6 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|06|6–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|BLR}}||3||0||2||1||3||4||−1||{{#expr: 0/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−1|1–2}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|BOL}}||1||1||0||0||2||1||+1||{{#expr: 1/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[CONMEBOL]]||{{Sort|01|2–1}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|BIH}}||7||5||1||1||19||10||+9||{{#expr: 5/7 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|04|4–0}}||{{Sort|−2|1–3}} |-bgcolor=#FFFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|BOT}}||1||0||1||0||1||1||0||{{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|BRA}}||1||0||0||1||0||3||−3||{{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[CONMEBOL]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−3|0–3}} |-bgcolor=#FFFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|BUL}}||1||0||1||0||1||1||0||{{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|CAM}}||4||4||0||0||28||1||+27||{{#expr: 4/4 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|14|14–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|CMR}}||2||0||2||0||1||1||0||{{#expr: 0/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|CAN}}||3||2||0||1||2||1||+1||{{#expr: 2/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[CONCACAF]]||{{Sort|01|1–0}}||{{Sort|−1|0–1}} |-bgcolor=#FFFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|CHI}}||3||1||1||1||4||3||+1||{{#expr: 1/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[CONMEBOL]]||{{Sort|02|2–0}}||{{Sort|−1|1–2}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|CHN}}||23||13||6||4||39||18||+21||{{#expr: 13/23 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|04|4–0}}||{{Sort|−2|0–2}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|TPE}}||5||5||0||0||22||0||+22||{{#expr: 5/5 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|06|6–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|CRC}}||2||1||1||0||3||2||+1||{{#expr: 1/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[CONCACAF]]||{{Sort|01|3–2}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|CRO}}||2||0||1||1||2||4||−2||{{#expr: 0/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−2|0–2}} |-bgcolor=#FFFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|CYP}}||1||0||1||0||0||0||0||{{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|CZE}}||1||0||0||1||0||1||−1||{{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−1|0–1}} |-bgcolor=#FFFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|DEN}}||1||0||1||0||0||0||0||{{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|ECU}}||3||0||2||1||2||3||−1||{{#expr: 0/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[CONMEBOL]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−1|0–1}} |-bgcolor=#FFFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|EGY}}||1||0||1||0||1||1||0||{{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|ENG}}||1||0||0||1||2||6||−4 ||{{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|0|2–6}} |--bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|FRA}}||1||0||0||1||1||2||−1||{{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−1|1–2}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|GEO}}||1||1||0||0||2||1||+1||{{#expr: 1/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|01|2–1}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|GER}}||2||0||0||2||0||4||−4||{{#expr: 0/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−2|0–2}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|GHA}}||2||2||0||0||5||0||+5||{{#expr: 2/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|03|3–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|GUM}}||3||3||0||0||31||0||+31||{{#expr: 3/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|19|'''19–0'''}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|GUA}}||1||0||1||0||2||2||0||{{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[CONCACAF]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|GUI}}||2||0||1||1||2||3||−1|| {{#expr: 0/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−1|1–2}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|HKG}}||6||6||0||0||14||1||+13|| {{#expr: 6/6 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|03|3–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|HUN}}||3||0||0||3||1||6||−5|| {{#expr: 0/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−2|0–2}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|ISL}}||1||1||0||0||1||0||+1|| {{#expr: 1/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|01|1–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|IND}}||8||5||1||2||17||6||+11|| {{#expr: 5/8 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|04|4–0}}||{{Sort|–2|1–3}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|INA}}||5||4||1||0||11||3||+8|| {{#expr: 4/5 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|03|4–1}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|IRQ}}||28||16||6||6||37||21||+16|| {{#expr: 16/28 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|03|3–0}}||{{Sort|−1|1–2}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|IRL|name=}}||3||1||0||2||2||4||−2|| {{#expr: 1/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|01|1–0}}||{{Sort|−2|0–2}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|ISR}}||5||3||1||1||7||6||+1|| {{#expr: 3/5 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]] / [[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|03|3–0}}||{{Sort|−4|0–4}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|JAM}}||2||2||0||0||9||1||+8|| {{#expr: 2/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[CONCACAF]]||{{Sort|07|8–1}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|JPN}}||18||6||6||6||19||21||−2|| {{#expr: 6/18 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|02|2–0}}||{{Sort|−3|0–3}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|JOR}}||13||6||3||4||15||10||+5|| {{#expr: 6/13 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|03|4–1}}||{{Sort|−1|2–3}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|KAZ}}||2||2||0||0||5||0||+5|| {{#expr: 2/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]] / [[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|03|3–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|KEN}}||3||3||0||0||6||1||+5|| {{#expr: 2/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|03|3–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|PRK|name=}}||18||14||4||0||28||7||+21|| {{#expr: 14/18 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|03|3–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|KOR|name=}}||33||13||10||10||34||36||−2|| {{#expr: 13/33 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|04|6–2}}||{{Sort|−5|'''0–5'''}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|KUW}}||30||13||10||7||39||31||+8|| {{#expr: 13/30 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|02|3–1}}||{{Sort|−3|0–3}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|KGZ}}||4||4||0||0||21||2||+19|| {{#expr: 4/4 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|07|7–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|LAO}}||3||3||0||0||20||1||+19|| {{#expr: 3/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|07|7–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|LIB}}||12||10||1||1||31||3||+28|| {{#expr: 10/12 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|05|5–0}}||{{Sort|−1|0–1}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|LBA}}||1||1||0||0||4||0||+4|| {{#expr: 1/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|04|4–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|LTU}}||1||1||0||0||1||0||+1|| {{#expr: 1/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|01|1–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|MKD|name=}}||3||2||1||0||7||3||+4|| {{#expr: 2/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|02|3–1}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|MAD}}||1||1||0||0||1||0||+1|| {{#expr: 1/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|01|1–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|MAS}}||4||4||0||0||8||0||+8|| {{#expr: 4/4 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|03|3–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|MDV}}||6||6||0||0||42||0||+42|| {{#expr: 6/6 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|17|17–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|MLI}}||1||0||0||1||1||2||−1|| {{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−1|1–2}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|MEX}}||3||0||0||3||2||9||−7|| {{#expr: 0/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[CONCACAF]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−4|0–4}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|MNE}}||2||1||1||0||2||1||+1|| {{#expr: 1/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|01|2–1}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|MAR}}||1||1||0||0||1||0||+1|| {{#expr: 1/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|01|1–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|MYA}}||5||3||0||2||7||4||+3|| {{#expr: 3/5 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|02|3–1}}||{{Sort|−1|0–1}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|NEP}}||5||5||0||0||25||0||+25|| {{#expr: 5/5 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|08|8–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|NED}}||1||0||0||1||0||3||−3|| {{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−3|0–3}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|NZL}}||2||1||1||0||3||0||+3|| {{#expr: 1/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Oceania Football Confederation|OFC]]||{{Sort|03|3–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|NIC}}||1||1||0||0||1||0||+1||{{#expr: 1/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[CONCACAF]]||{{Sort|02|1–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|NGR}}||2||0||1||1||0||1||−1|| {{#expr: 0/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−1|0–1}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|OMA}}||13||7||4||2||26||15||+11|| {{#expr: 7/13 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|04|4–0}}||{{Sort|−2|2–4}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|PAK}}||14||12||1||1||58||10||+48|| {{#expr: 12/14 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|08|9–1}}||{{Sort|−3|1–4}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|PLE}}||5||3||2||0||14||2||+12|| {{#expr: 3/5 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|07|7–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|PAN}}||2||2||0||0||3||1||+2|| {{#expr: 2/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[CONCACAF]]||{{Sort|01|2–1}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|PNG}}||1||1||0||0||8||1||+7|| {{#expr: 1/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Oceania Football Confederation|OFC]]||{{Sort|07|8–1}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|PAR}}||1||0||1||0||1||1||0|| {{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[CONMEBOL]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|PER}}||1||0||0||1||1||4||−3|| {{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[CONMEBOL]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−3|1–4}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|PHI}}||1||1||0||0||7||1||+6|| {{#expr: 1/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|06|7–1}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|POL}}||2||0||0||2||0||3||−3|| {{#expr: 0/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−2|0–2}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|POR}}||3||0||1||2||1||6||−5|| {{#expr: 0/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−3|0–3}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|QAT}}||23||15||5||3||37||16||+21|| {{#expr: 15/23 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|05|6–1}}||{{Sort|−2|0–2}} |-bgcolor=#FFFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|ROU}}||2||0||2||0||2||2||0|| {{#expr: 0/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|RUS}}||5||1||2||2||3||5||−2|| {{#expr: 1/5 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|01|1–0}}||{{Sort|−2|0–2}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|KSA}}||14||4||6||4||19||13||+6|| {{#expr: 4/14 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|03|3–0}}||{{Sort|−1|3–4}} |-bgcolor=#FFFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|SCO}}||1||0||1||0||1||1||0|| {{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|SEN}}||2||0||2||0||2||2||0||{{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|SRB}}||3||0||1||2||1||4||−3||{{#expr: 0/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−2|1–3}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|SLE}}||1||1||0||0||4||0||+4||{{#expr: 1/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|04|4–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|SIN}}||3||2||1||0||10||2||+8||{{#expr: 2/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|06|6–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|SVK}}||2||1||0||1||6||6||0||{{#expr: 1/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|01|4–3}}||{{Sort|−1|2–3}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|ESP}}||1||0||0||1||0||1||−1||{{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−1|0–1}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|SRI}}||2||2||0||0||11||0||+11||{{#expr: 2/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|07|7–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|SWE}}||1||0||0||1||1||3||−2||{{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−2|1–3}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|SYR}}||30||18||11||1||52||15||+37||{{#expr: 18/30 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|06|7–1}}||{{Sort|−1|0–1}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|TJK}}||4||4||0||0||14||1||+13||{{#expr: 4/4 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|05|6–1}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|THA}}||14||11||3||0||32||5||+27||{{#expr: 11/14 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|05|5–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|TOG}}||2||2||0||0||4||0||+4||{{#expr: 2/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|02|2–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|TTO}}||2||2||0||0||3||0||+3||{{#expr: 2/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[CONCACAF]]||{{Sort|02|2–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|TUN}}||2||0||1||1||2||3||−1||{{#expr: 0/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−1|0–1}} |-bgcolor=#FFCCCC |align="left"|{{fb|TUR}}||6||0||2||4||2||13||−11||{{#expr: 0/6 * 100 round 2}}%||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|−5|'''1–6'''}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|TKM}}||8||3||3||2||10||8||+2||{{#expr: 3/8 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|02|3–1}}||{{Sort|−1|0–1}} |-bgcolor=#FFFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|UGA}}||1||0||1||0||2||2||0||{{#expr: 0/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|0|X}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|UKR}}||1||1||0||0||1||0||+1||{{#expr: 1/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|01|1–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|UAE}}||18||14||3||1||26||4||+22||{{#expr: 14/18 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|03|3–0}}||{{Sort|−2|1–3}} |-bgcolor=#FFFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|USA}}||3||1||1||1||3||3||0||{{#expr: 1/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[CONCACAF]]||{{Sort|01|2–1}}||{{Sort|–1|0–1}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|URU}}||2||1||1||0||2||1||+1||{{#expr: 1/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[CONMEBOL]]||{{Sort|0|1–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|UZB}}||11||9||1||1||15||3||+12||{{#expr: 9/11 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|04|4–0}}||{{Sort|−1|0–1}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|VEN}}||3||2||1||0||3||1||+2||{{#expr: 2/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[CONMEBOL]]||{{Sort|01|1–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|VIE}}||1||1||0||0||2||0||+2||{{#expr: 1/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|02|2–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#FFFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|WAL}}||2||1||0||1||2||1||+1||{{#expr: 1/2 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[UEFA]]||{{Sort|02|2–0}}||{{Sort|−1|0–1}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|YEM}}||3||3||0||0||11||1||+10||{{#expr: 3/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|05|5–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|South Yemen|name=}}||3||3||0||0||12||0||+12||{{#expr: 3/3 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]||{{Sort|08|8–0}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |-bgcolor=#CCFFCC |align="left"|{{fb|ZAM}}||1||1||0||0||3||2||+1||{{#expr: 1/1 * 100 round 2}}% ||[[Confederation of African Football|CAF]]||{{Sort|01|3–2}}||{{Sort|0|X}} |- class="sortbottom" !Total (116) !582!!331!!139!!112!!1108!!457!!+651!!56.80% || - || - || - |} * [[FIFA]] considers Russia as the inheritor of the records of [[Soviet Union]]. * [[FIFA]] considers [[Serbia]] as the inheritor of the records of [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|SFR Yugoslavia]] and [[Serbia and Montenegro|FR Yugoslavia]]. * [[FIFA]] considers [[Czech Republic]] as the inheritor of the records of [[Czechoslovakia]]. ==FIFA World Rankings== [[File:Iran FIFA Ranking.png|thumb|300px|[[FIFA World Rankings]] for Iran, August 1993 – March 2018<ref name="fifatoo">[https://web.archive.org/web/20070604211258/http://fifa.com/associations/association=irn/ranking/gender=m/index.html fifa.com]</ref>]] Between December 2014 until May 2018, Iran was the highest-ranked team in [[Asian Football Confederation|Asia]], the longest continuous period of time that a team has held that distinction.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/associations/association=irn/ranking/gender=m/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070604211258/http://fifa.com/associations/association=irn/ranking/gender=m/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 June 2007 |title=Iran: FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking |publisher=FIFA.com |access-date=23 December 2016}}</ref> ; Highest FIFA ranking : '''15''' (July 2005)<ref name="fifa">{{cite news |date=17 June 2013 |title=Asia's finale sees three spots up for grabs |publisher=FIFA.com |url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=2111172/ |url-status=dead |access-date=19 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621052549/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=2111172/ |archive-date=21 June 2013}}</ref> ; Lowest FIFA ranking : '''122''' (May 1996)<ref name="fifa"/> ; Best mover : '''+65''' (July 1996)<ref name="fifa"/> ; Worst mover : '''–43''' (October 1995)<ref name="fifa"/> ''Last update was on 01 January 2022''<ref>{{cite web|title=Iran Mens ranking|url=https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/IRN|access-date=21 December 2020|archive-date=10 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210710004402/https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/IRN|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Need to update with valid reason and proof -->{{Update section|date= October 2022|reason=Include post-2021 rankings}} {{Color box|blue|border=darkgray}} '''Best Ranking'''&nbsp;&nbsp;{{Color box|gold|border=darkgray}} '''Worst Ranking'''&nbsp;&nbsp;{{Color box|green|border=darkgray}} '''Best Mover'''&nbsp;&nbsp;{{Color box|red|border=darkgray}} '''Worst Mover'''&nbsp;&nbsp; {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" |- ! colspan="11" style="background:white; border:3px solid #00A693", color:#DA0000;"|{{color|red|{{flagicon|IRN}} Iran's [[FIFA World Rankings|{{color|red|FIFA World Ranking}}]] History}} |- !rowspan=2 style="background-color: #00A693; color: #FFFFFF;|Rank !rowspan=2 style="background-color: #00A693; color: #FFFFFF;|Year !rowspan=2 style="background-color: #00A693; color: #FFFFFF;|Games<br />Played !rowspan=2 style="background-color: #00A693; color: #FFFFFF;|Won !rowspan=2 style="background-color: #00A693; color: #FFFFFF;|Drawn !rowspan=2 style="background-color: #00A693; color: #FFFFFF;|Lost !colspan=2 style="background-color: #00A693; color: #FFFFFF;|Best !colspan=2 style="background-color: #00A693; color: #FFFFFF;|Worst |- ! style="background-color: #00A693; color: #FFFFFF;|Rank ! style="background-color: #00A693; color: #FFFFFF;|Move ! style="background-color: #00A693; color: #FFFFFF;|Rank ! style="background-color: #00A693; color: #FFFFFF;|Move |- | 24 || 2022 ||11 ||6 ||1 ||4 | 20 ||align=left|{{increase}} 2 || 24 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 4 |- | 21 || 2021 ||11 ||10 ||1 ||0 | 21 ||align=left|{{increase}} 5 || 31 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 2 |- | 29 || 2020 ||2 ||2 ||0 ||0 | 29 ||align=left|{{increase}} 3 || 33 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 0 |- | 33 || 2019 ||12 ||7 ||2 ||3 | 20 ||align=left|{{increase}} 7 || 33 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 6 |- | 29 || 2018 ||15 ||9||3||3 | 28 ||align=left|{{increase}} 5 || 37 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 3 |- | 32 || 2017 ||11 ||7 ||3 ||1 | 23 ||align=left|{{increase}} 7 || 43 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 9 |- | 29 || 2016 ||10 ||8 ||2 ||0 | 27 ||align=left|{{increase}} 10 || 44 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 3 |- | 45 || 2015 ||15 || 10||4 ||1 | 38 ||align=left|{{increase}} 10 || 51 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 4 |- | 51 || 2014 ||10 ||3 ||4 ||3 | 34 ||align=left|{{increase}} 5 || 56 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 7 |- | 33 || 2013 ||9 ||7 ||1 ||1 | 33 ||align=left|{{increase}} 15 || 67 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 10 |- | 59 || 2012 ||14 ||4 ||7 ||3 | 44 ||align=left|{{increase}} 14 || 59 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 15 |- | 45 || 2011 ||15 ||12 ||2 ||1 | 42 ||align=left|{{increase}} 21 || 65 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 4 |- | 66 || 2010 ||12 ||8 ||2 ||2 | 57 ||align=left|{{increase}} 8 || 67 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 4 |- | 64 || 2009 ||21 ||7 ||8 ||6 | 42 ||align=left|{{increase}} 2 || 64 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 11 |- | 43 || 2008 ||21 ||12 ||7 ||2 | 37 ||align=left|{{increase}} 11 || 51 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 10 |- | 41 || 2007 ||13 ||8 ||4 ||1 | 32 ||align=left|{{increase}} 5 || 47 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 8 |- | 38 || 2006 ||15 ||8 ||5 ||2 | 19 ||align=left|{{increase}} 5 || 47 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 24 |- | 19 || 2005 ||11 ||8||1 ||2 | style="border: 3px solid blue"|15 ||align=left|{{increase}} 2 || 21 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 3 |- | 20 || 2004 ||18 ||13 || 3||2 | 17 ||align=left|{{increase}} 7 || 31 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 3 |- | 28 || 2003 ||11 ||6 ||1 ||4 | 28 ||align=left|{{increase}} 7 || 47 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 7 |- | 33 || 2002 ||10 || 4||4 ||2 | 29 ||align=left|{{increase}} 2 || 34 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 3 |- | 29 || 2001 ||20 ||11 || 4||5 | 29 ||align=left|{{increase}} 8 || 51 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 7 |- | 37 || 2000 ||26 ||15 ||7 ||4 | 37 ||align=left|{{increase}} 7 || 53 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 6 |- | 49 || 1999 ||6 ||2 ||4 ||0 | 44 ||align=left|{{increase}} 3 || 51 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 20 |- | 27 || 1998 ||18 || 9||2 ||7 | 27 ||align=left|{{increase}} 17 || 47 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 6 |- | 46 || 1997 ||22 ||11 ||7 ||4 | 46 ||align=left|{{increase}} 17 || 87 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 6 |- | 83 || 1996 ||21 ||13 ||5 ||3 | 57 ||style="border: 3px solid green" align=left|{{increase}} 65 || style="border: 3px solid gold"|122 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 7 |- | 108 || 1995 ||0||0||0||0 |63 ||align=left|{{increase}} 26 || 108 ||style="border: 3px solid red" align=left|{{decrease}} 43 |- | 75 || 1994 ||4||1 ||2||1 | 57 ||align=left|{{increase}} 2 ||75 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 9 |- | 59 || 1993 ||15 ||9 ||3 ||3 | 54 ||align=left|{{increase}} 7 || 59 ||align=left|{{decrease}} 4 |} ==Honours== ===Summary=== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" |- ! width=180|Event !scope="col" style="background:gold; width:55px;"|Gold !scope="col" style="background:silver; width:55px;"|Silver ! scope="col" style="background:#c96; width:55px;"|Bronze ! width=55|Total |- |align=left| [[FIFA World Cup]] || 0|| 0 || 0 || 0 |- |align=left| [[Olympic Games]] || 0 || 0|| 0 || 0 |- |align=left| [[AFC Asian Cup|Asian Cup]] || 3 || 0 || 4 || 7 |- |align=left| [[Football at the Asian Games|Asian Games]] || 3 || 2 || 0 || 5 |- |align=left| [[WAFF Championship|West Asian Championship]] || 4 || 1 || 1 || 6 |- |align=left| [[CAFA Championship]] || 1 || 0|| 0 || 0 |- |align=left| [[ECO Cup]] || 3 || 3 || 0 || 6 |- |align=left| [[LG Cup (association football)|LG Cup]] || 4 || 0 || 4 || 8 |- |align=left| [[Iran national football team records and statistics#Minor Tournament|Minor Tournament]] || 4 || 5 || 4 || 14 |- |align=left| [[AFC–OFC Challenge Cup]] || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 |- |align=left| [[Afro-Asian Cup of Nations]] || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1 |- ! Total !! 23|| 12 || 13 || 47 |} ===Continental=== *[[File:Coppa Asia.svg|20px]] '''[[AFC Asian Cup|Asian Cup]]''' :[[File:Gold medal asia.svg|15px]] Champions: [[1968 AFC Asian Cup|1968]], [[1972 AFC Asian Cup|1972]], [[1976 AFC Asian Cup|1976]] :[[File:Bronze medal asia.svg|15px]] Third place: [[1980 AFC Asian Cup|1980]], [[1988 AFC Asian Cup|1988]], [[1996 AFC Asian Cup|1996]], [[2004 AFC Asian Cup|2004]] :Fourth place: [[1984 AFC Asian Cup|1984]] :Semi-finals: [[2019 AFC Asian Cup|2019]] *'''[[Football at the Asian Games|Asian Games]]''' :[[File:Gold medal asia.svg|15px]] [[Gold Medal]]: [[Football at the 1974 Asian Games|1974]], [[Football at the 1990 Asian Games|1990]], [[Football at the 1998 Asian Games|1998]] :[[File:Silver medal asia.svg|15px]] [[Silver Medal]]: [[Football at the 1951 Asian Games|1951]], [[Football at the 1966 Asian Games|1966]] ===Regional=== *'''[[West Asian Football Federation Championship]]''' :{{gold1}} Champions: [[West Asian Football Federation Championship 2000|2000]], [[West Asian Football Federation Championship 2004|2004]], [[West Asian Football Federation Championship 2007|2007]]*, [[West Asian Football Federation Championship 2008|2008]] :{{Silver2}} Runners-up: [[2010 West Asian Football Federation Championship|2010]] :{{Bronze3}} Third place: [[2002 West Asian Football Federation Championship|2002]] *'''[[CAFA Championship]]''' :{{gold1}} Champions: [[2023 CAFA Nations Cup|2023]] *'''[[ECO Cup]]''' :{{gold1}} Champions: [[1965 RCD Cup|1965]], [[1970 RCD Cup|1970]], [[1993 ECO Cup|1993]] :{{silver2}} Runners-up: [[1967 RCD Cup|1967]], [[1969 RCD Cup|1969]], [[1974 RCD Cup|1974]]** ^* as [[Iran B national football team|B Team]]<br/> ^** as [[Malavan F.C.]] ===Intercontinental=== *'''[[AFC/OFC Challenge Cup]]''' :{{gold1}} Champions: [[AFC – OFC Challenge Cup#2003|2003]] *'''[[Afro-Asian Cup of Nations]]''' :{{silver2}} Runners-up: [[Afro-Asian Cup of Nations#1991 Afro-Asian Cup of Nations|1991]] ===Minor tournaments=== *'''[[LG Cup (association football)|LG Cup]]''':<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesl/lgcup.html| work=[[RSSSF]]|author=rsssf.com|title=LG Cup Four Nations Tournament |date=|access-date=6 November 2022}}</ref> {{gold1}} 4 Champions, {{bronze3}} 4 Third place *'''[[Iran national football team records and statistics#Minor Tournament|Minor Tournament]]''': {{gold1}} 4 Champions, {{silver2}} 5 Runners-up, {{bronze3}} 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]] ==Notes== {{notelist}} ==References== {{reflist|colwidth=30em}} ==External links== {{Commons category}} *{{Official Website}} {{in lang|fa|en}} *[https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/associations/IRN Iran profile] at FIFA.com *[http://www.teammelli.com/ Extensive archive of Team's results, squads, campaigns and players] *[http://www.parstimes.com/soccer/ Players Profile, Articles, Statistics and Gallery of National Team] *[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesi/iran-intres.html RSSSF archive of results since 1941] *[https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/iran-recintlp.html RSSSF archive of most capped players and top goalscorers] *[https://betting-online.ng/predictions/iran-group-b/ Iran Team Qatar 2022] {{s-start}} {{succession box | before = [[1964 AFC Asian Cup|1964]] {{fb-rt|Israel}} | title = [[AFC Asian Cup|Asian Champions]] | years = [[1968 AFC Asian Cup|1968]] (first title)<br />[[1972 AFC Asian Cup|1972]] (second title)<br />[[1976 AFC Asian Cup|1976]] (third title) | after = [[1980 AFC Asian Cup|1980]] {{fb-rt|Kuwait}} }} {{succession box | before = {{fb-big|Myanmar|1974}}<br />{{fb-big|South Korea}} | title = [[Football at the Asian Games|Asian Games Champions]] | years = 1974 (first title) | after = {{fb-big|North Korea}}<br />{{fb-big|South Korea}} }} {{succession box | before = {{fb-rt|South Korea}} | title = [[Football at the Asian Games|Asian Games Champions]] | years = 1990 (second title) | after = {{fb-big|Uzbekistan}} }} {{succession box | before = {{fb-rt|Uzbekistan}} | title = [[Football at the Asian Games|Asian Games Champions]] | years = 1998 (third title)<br />2002 (fourth title) | after = {{fb-big|Qatar}} }} {{succession box | before = Inaugural champions | title = [[West Asian Football Federation Championship|WAFF Champions]] | years = [[West Asian Football Federation Championship 2000|2000]](first title) | after = [[West Asian Football Federation Championship 2002|2002]] {{fb|Iraq|1991}} }} {{succession box | before = [[West Asian Football Federation Championship 2002|2002]] {{fb|Iraq|1991}} | title = [[West Asian Football Federation Championship|WAFF Champions]] | years = [[West Asian Football Federation Championship 2004|2004]] (second title)<br />[[West Asian Football Federation Championship 2007|2007]] (third title)<br />[[West Asian Football Federation Championship 2008|2008]] (fourth title) | after = [[West Asian Football Federation Championship 2010|2010]] {{fb|Kuwait}} }} {{s-end}} {{AFC Asian Cup winners}} {{Asian Games football men's tournament winners}} {{navboxes top|title = [[Football at the Summer Olympics|Olympics]] squads navigation boxes}} {{Iran football squad 1964 Summer Olympics}} {{Iran football squad 1972 Summer Olympics}} {{Iran football squad 1976 Summer Olympics}} {{navboxes bottom}} {{navboxes top|title = [[FIFA World Cup]] squads navigation boxes}} {{Iran squad 1978 FIFA World Cup}} {{Iran squad 1998 FIFA World Cup}} {{Iran squad 2006 FIFA World Cup}} {{Iran squad 2014 FIFA World Cup}} {{Iran squad 2018 FIFA World Cup}} {{Iran squad 2022 FIFA World Cup}} {{navboxes bottom}} {{navboxes top|title = [[AFC Asian Cup]] squads navigation boxes}} {{Iran squad 1968 AFC Asian Cup}} {{Iran squad 1972 AFC Asian Cup}} {{Iran squad 1976 AFC Asian Cup}} {{Iran squad 1980 AFC Asian Cup}} {{Iran squad 1984 AFC Asian Cup}} {{Iran squad 1988 AFC Asian Cup}} {{Iran squad 1992 AFC Asian Cup}} {{Iran squad 1996 AFC Asian Cup}} {{Iran squad 2000 AFC Asian Cup}} {{Iran squad 2004 AFC Asian Cup}} {{Iran squad 2007 AFC Asian Cup}} {{Iran squad 2011 AFC Asian Cup}} {{Iran squad 2015 AFC Asian Cup}} {{Iran squad 2019 AFC Asian Cup}} {{navboxes bottom}} {{Iran national football team}} {{National sports teams of Iran}} {{Football in Iran}} {{AFC teams}} {{Navboxes|title=World Cup Finalists|list1= {{1978 FIFA World Cup finalists}} {{1998 FIFA World Cup finalists}} {{2006 FIFA World Cup finalists}} {{2014 FIFA World Cup finalists}} {{2018 FIFA World Cup finalists}} {{2022 FIFA World Cup finalists}} }} {{Navboxes|title=Asian Cup Finalists|list1= {{1968 AFC Asian Cup finalists}} {{1972 AFC Asian Cup finalists}} {{1976 AFC Asian Cup finalists}} {{1980 AFC Asian Cup finalists}} {{1984 AFC Asian Cup finalists}} {{1988 AFC Asian Cup finalists}} {{1992 AFC Asian Cup finalists}} {{1996 AFC Asian Cup finalists}} {{2000 AFC Asian Cup finalists}} {{2004 AFC Asian Cup finalists}} {{2007 AFC Asian Cup finalists}} {{2011 AFC Asian Cup finalists}} {{2015 AFC Asian Cup finalists}} {{2019 AFC Asian Cup finalists}} }} [[Category:Iran national football team| ]] [[Category:AFC Asian Cup-winning countries]] [[Category:Asian national association football teams]] [[Category:Football in Iran]]'