Iran national football team

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

The Iranian Football Federation was founded in 1920.[9] In 1926 Tehran XI (selected players from Tehran Club, Toofan F.C. and Armenian Sports Club) traveled across the border to Baku, USSR, this was the first away football match for an Iranian team. This Tehran Select team is the predecessor of Iran's national football team.

The first match that Team Melli played was on 23 August 1941, away at Kabul in a 1–0 win against British India while Iran's first FIFA international match was on 25 August 1941, away at Afghanistan.[4] Iran won the Asian Cup three consecutive times (1968, 1972, 1976) to which the team has not been able to add since.

Dunai and Ghelichkhani at the 1972 Summer Olympics

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

Additional information: 1978 FIFA World Cup – Group 4

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

In 1978, Iran made its first appearance in the World Cup after defeating Australia in Tehran. Iran lost two of three group stage matches against the Netherlands and Peru.[10] Team Melli managed to surprise some in the footballing community[11] by securing one point in its first ever World Cup appearance against Scotland which saw Iraj Danaeifard cancel out an own goal scored by Andranik Eskandarian for the 1–1 draw.[12]

After the 1979 Revolution, football was somewhat neglected and cast aside. During the 1980s, the Iranian national team did not feature in World Cup competitions due to the Iran–Iraq War (1980–88) and domestic football embraced the inevitable effects of conflict. The national team withdrew from the Asian qualifiers for the 1982 World Cup and refused to participate in the qualifiers for the 1986 World Cup because of having to play on neutral ground. The war and political upheavals left Iran without major club competitions until 1989 when the Qods League was established. A year later, the Qods League was renamed the Azadegan League. Despite failing to qualify for either the 1990 or the 1994 World Cups, it was said that during this period, a number of quality players burst onto the Iranian football scene laying the foundation for third place in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup (victories in that tournament included a 3–0 victory against Saudi Arabia and a 6–2 victory against South Korea) and their second stab at World Cup glory in 1998.[13]

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

Additional information: 1998 FIFA World Cup – Group F

In November 1997, Iran qualified for the 1998 World Cup after eliminating Australia in a close playoff series. Both games finished undecided but Iran managed to qualify due to the away goals rule. Iran held Australia to a 1–1 draw at home, and a 2–2 draw in Melbourne; however, since Iran had scored more away goals, they were able to qualify for the Cup.[14]

At their first game of the Group F at the 1998 FIFA World Cup against Yugoslavia, Iran lost 1–0 to a free kick goal by Siniša Mihajlović.[13] Iran recorded their first World Cup victory in the second game[12] beating the United States 2–1 with Hamid Estili and Mehdi Mahdavikia scoring goals for Iran. The Iran vs USA World Cup match was preheated with 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.[15] Following defeat against Iran, the United States was eliminated from the World Cup.[16]

Iran played against Germany in the third game. The game was lost 2–0. The goals were scored by Oliver Bierhoff and Jürgen Klinsmann.[17] The one win and two losses meant Iran came third in the final group standing and failed to make it to the next round.[18] (Farhad Majidi and Mehdi Fonounizadeh were some of the absentees in the tournament.)

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

Additional information: 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

Iran failed to qualify for World Cup 2002 after an aggregate defeat to the Republic of Ireland, losing 2–0 in Dublin and winning 1–0 in Tehran. The elimination saw manager Miroslav Blažević step down from the top spot to be replaced by his assistant Branko Ivanković who stepped up from assistant coach.

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

Additional information: 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

Additional information: 2006 FIFA World Cup Group D

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

On 8 June 2005, Iran together with Japan became the first country to qualify for the 2006 World Cup making it Iran's 3rd appearance on the world stage of football. The qualification round both in 2001 and 2004–05 resulted in celebrations, hysteria and rioting causing internal chaos and unrest between youth and government officials. The Iran versus Japan leg of the 2006 World Cup qualifiers in Tehran played on 24 March 2005 was the highest attended qualifying match among all confederations. The match ended with 5 fans killed and several others injured as they left the Azadi Stadium at the end of the match.[19]

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

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

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

In November 2006, Iran was suspended by FIFA from all participation in international football on the grounds of governmental interference in the national football association.[20] The ban lasted less than a month[21] and as a dispensation was given to allow the Iran under-23 team to participate in the football competition of the 2006 Asian Games,[22] fixtures were unaffected.

Additional information: 2007 AFC Asian Cup Group C

IRIFF appointed Amir Ghalenoei as head coach of the Iran national football team on 17 July 2006 to succeed Branko Ivanković. After finishing first in the qualifying round 2 points ahead of South Korea and then finishing first in the group stage of the final tournament in Malaysia, Iran lost to South Korea in a penalty shoot-out of the quarterfinal match and was eliminated from the 2007 Asian Cup. Ghalenoei was criticized by the press. After a period of discussion in the Iranian football federation, his contract was not renewed and Team Melli was left with a caretaker manager for several months.

Additional information: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

Ali Daei was chosen to become the new coach after Spanish coach Javier Clemente had been closer to signing on as Iran's national team manager but talks collapsed when he refused to live full-time in the country.[23] Iran was in the same FIFA World Cup qualifying group as Kuwait, Syria and United Arab Emirates in the third round. They played home and away against each of the other three teams in group 5. In the middle of the fourth round, Ali Daei was let go from his position as the Iranian national coach on 29 March 2009.[24] He was replaced by Afshin Ghotbi. Iran failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup after ranking 4th overall in its group.[25]

During the final game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against South Korea in Seoul on 17 June 2009, seven members of the team, Javad Nekounam, Ali Karimi, Hossein Kaebi, Masoud Shojaei, Mohammad Nosrati, Vahid Hashemian and captain Mehdi Mahdavikia wore green wristbands in support of the Iranian Green Movement during the 2009 Iranian election protests. Initial rumors and false reports were that all seven players were banned for life by the Iranian Football Federation, however, state-run media claimed that all seven had "retired".[26][27] 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.[28] As of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, some of the above players have played again for the national team notably Javad Nekounam, Masoud Shojaei, Mehdi Mahdavikia and Ali Karimi.

Additional information: 2011 AFC Asian Cup Group D

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

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

During the final qualification match against South Korea, several Iranian players started the match wearing green armbands or wristbands, a symbol of protest at the outcome of the Iranian presidential election.[29] Most removed them at half-time. The newspaper Iran reported that Ali Karimi, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Hosein Kaebi and Vahid Hashemian had received life bans from the Iranian FA for the gesture.[30] 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."[31] Head coach Afshin Ghotbi also confirmed that it was a rumour and Iranian FA "has not taken any official stand on this issue."[32]

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

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.[33] Under Queiroz, Iran began their World Cup qualification campaign successfully defeating the Maldives 4–0 in the first leg of their second round of qualifiers. After winning 5–0 on aggregate, Iran advanced to the third round of qualifiers where they were drawn with Indonesia, Qatar and Bahrain. Iran highlighted their position at the top of their group by defeating Bahrain 6–0 at home in the Azadi Stadium as well as inviting former German youth international Ashkan Dejagah who scored twice on his debut against Qatar. After a 4–1 win at Indonesia, Iran qualified for the final round of direct qualifiers, the fourth round. In the fourth round, Iran was drawn with South Korea, Qatar, Uzbekistan and Lebanon in their group. Queiroz made new foreign-based additions to his squad, adding players such as Reza Ghoochannejhad to his team. Iran started their fourth round of Asian qualifiers with a 1–0 win in Uzbekistan. Team Melli then drew Qatar and lost in Lebanon before defeating South Korea at the Azadi on 16 October with a goal from captain Javad Nekounam. After a 1–0 loss in Tehran against Uzbekistan, Iran defeated Qatar 1–0 in Doha and Lebanon 4–0 at home. In their last qualification match, Iran defeated South Korea 1–0 in Ulsan Munsu with a goal from Ghoochannejhad resulting in their qualification to the 2014 FIFA World Cup as group winners with 16 points. Thus, Iran became the third team that Queiroz has managed to qualify for the World Cup, having reached the 2002 edition with South Africa and the 2010 edition with Portugal, leading the latter to a knockout stage finish. Iran continued their winning streak, securing qualification to the 2015 Asian Cup months later as well.[34]

Since Queiroz's role as manager of the Iranian national team, he has been renowned for introducing players from the Iranian diaspora to the national squad. These players include German-Iranians Daniel Davari and Ashkan Dejagah, Dutch-Iranian Reza Ghoochannejhad, Swedish-Iranians Omid Nazari and Saman Ghoddos, and Iranian-American Steven Beitashour among others.[35][36]

Additional information: 2014 FIFA World Cup – Group F

Iran vs. Argentina, 2014 FIFA World Cup

Iran qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup as group winners and competed in Group F alongside Argentina, Nigeria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The sold out Argentina match tickets were among the eight most purchased for this edition of the tournament.[37] On 1 June 2014, Queiroz announced his 23-man squad.[38] Prior to the tournament, they founded the Central Asian Football Association.[39]

In the opening match of the tournament on 16 June, Iran drew Nigeria 0–0 making it their first clean sheet of the FIFA World Cup.[40] In their next match, Iran was defeated by Argentina 1–0 with a late goal from Lionel Messi and received praise after holding Argentina for 90 minutes while creating some attacking opportunities of their own.[41] Iran was eliminated from the tournament in their next game, a 3–1 defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Iran's lone goal was scored by Reza Ghoochannejhad.[42] 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.[43]

Additional information: 2015 AFC Asian Cup Group C

Iran qualified for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup as group winners where Team Melli were the highest ranked seed.[44] Iran faced Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE in Group C. Queiroz announced his squad on 30 December 2014.[45]

With the second highest number of fans in the tournament after hosts Australia, the Iranians defeated Bahrain 2–0 with limited preparations.[46][47] 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.[48][49]

In the quarter-finals Iran faced Iraq who they had beaten weeks prior in a friendly match. Having received a controversial red card in the first half, Iran competed with ten men, managing to score goals late in extra time to draw the match 3–3. In the ensuing penalty shootout, Iran lost 7–6 in sudden death.[50][51]

Additional information: 2018 FIFA World Cup Group B

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

Iran vs Spain at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Iran began their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign with friendly matches against Chile and Sweden in March 2015.[52][53][54] Queiroz resigned from his managerial post thereafter due to disagreements with the Iranian Football Federation.[55] On 14 April 2015, Iran were drawn with Oman, India, Turkmenistan and Guam in the second round of qualifiers.[56] 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[57] after a 2–0 win at home over Uzbekistan on 12 June 2017.[58] They also clinched 1st place in their qualification group after South Korea's defeat to Qatar.[59]

Iran won the first match against Morocco after Aziz Bouhaddouz scoring an own goal.[60] The second match Iran lost against Spain with a goal scored by Diego Costa.[61] The third match against Portugal ended in a draw after the penalty scored by Karim Ansarifard[62] and because Morocco could only manage a 2–2 draw to Spain, Iran was eliminated.[63] However, this has become Iran's best performance in the World Cup to date, when they achieved four points.

Additional information: 2019 AFC Asian Cup Group D

Having qualified for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup earlier, Iran was drawn into group D, where they shared fate with Iraq, Vietnam and Yemen, the two latter was the first time Iran faced up. 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.[64] A 2–0 win over the Vietnamese side gave Iran direct qualification to the knockout stage.[65] Iran ended their group stage with a goalless draw over neighbor Iraq and took the first place of the group.[66] After the group stage, Iran encountered Oman, a defending mistake almost cost Iran's chance but Ahmed Mubarak Al-Mahaijri's penalty was saved by Alireza Beiranvand. After the early scare, Iran once again proved its dominance over Oman, beating Oman 2–0 to reach the last eight.[67] In the quarter-finals against a defensive China, Iran outclassed the Chinese 3–0 to meet Japan in the semi-finals.[68] Iran missed the opportunity to reach the final once again when they fell 0–3 with all goals scored in second half.[69] Following the elimination, Queiroz left the Team Melli.

Iran was the highest-ranked team to be seeded in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification. Iran was drawn into the second round where they would have to deal with two Arab rivals, Iraq and Bahrain, along with Cambodia and Hong Kong. Iran, under new manager Marc Wilmots, began with a 2–0 win over Hong Kong away; before a 14–0 win over Cambodia, the latter game was historic as women were allowed to enter the stadium for the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.[70][71] Their next away encounters against Bahrain and Iraq, went on to be consecutive defeats which Iran lost 0–1 and 1–2, respectively.[72][73] Following by two consecutive draws between Iraq and Bahrain, Iran was left with the possibility of losing any chance to reach the World Cup outright in the second round and this led to the sacking of Marc Wilmots as coach.[74] However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the remaining fixtures to be played without spectators in June 2021, thus this forced Iran to play their remaining games in Bahrain under new coach Dragan Skočić; but with Bahrain losing its home support as an advantage, and Iraq assured a place in the final phase, Iran was able to stage a comeback, finally took the first place and, together with Iraq, progressed to the final phase.[75]

The Iranian national team has received several nicknames by supporters and media. The most common one used is "Team Melli" (Persian: تیم ملی‎), meaning "The National Team" in Persian language. Although the Iranian supporters have popularized "Team Melli",[76][77] other nicknames for the team include "Persian Stars"[78][79][80] (entitled since the World Cup 2006) "Shiran e Iran",[81][82] meaning "The Iranian Lions" or "The Lions of Persia",[83] "Shirdelan", "Lion Hearts" and "Princes of Persia"[84][85] (used since AFC Asian Cup 2011).[86] Iran's slogan for the 2014 FIFA World Cup was Honour of Persia, selected in an internet poll held by FIFA.[87][88] 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".[89]

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

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

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

Kit supplier	Period	Notes
Adidas	1978
Puma[90]	1980
Amini[91]	1981–1993
Shekari	1993–1998
Puma	1998–2000
Shekari	2000–2003
Daei Sport	2003–2006
Puma	2006–2007
Merooj	2007–2008
Daei Sport	2008–2009
Legea	2009–2012
Uhlsport[89]	2012–2016
Givova[92]	2016
Adidas[93]	2016–2019
Uhlsport	2019–present

Primary sponsors include Adidas, Bank Pasargad, 9090, Golrang, Oila and Kaspid.[94]

On 1 February 2014, Iran announced the addition of the endangered Asiatic cheetah on their 2014 FIFA World Cup kits in order to bring attention to its conservation efforts.[89]

Iran and South Korea are sporting rivals[95][96] and have played against each other officially since 1958, totally 32 matches as of October 2021, including eight World Cup qualifiers. These two teams were among the strongest Asian national football teams (in a specific aspect) during the 1960s and 1970s. Since then, the teams have developed one of Asia's greatest rivalries.[97] Although the teams only had one chance to play against each other in the final match of the AFC Asian Cup in 1972, they faced each other five consecutive times at the quarterfinals stage from 1996 to 2011.[98][99] Iran leads the series with 13 wins, 10 draws and 9 losses.

Iran and Saudi Arabia are rivals.[100] The game has been ranked 9th in Bleacher Report's "International Football's 10 Most Politically-Charged Football Rivalries"[101] and 8th in Goal.com's "Football's 10 Greatest International Rivalries".[102] All of their matches have been competitive and they have never played a friendly match. The first match was played on 24 August 1975, with Iran defeating Saudi Arabia 3–0. Iran leads the series with 5 wins, 6 draws and 4 losses.

Iran and Iraq are neighboring countries, 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.[103][104][105][106][107] In 2001, for the first time in decades, an Iran-Iraq match was not held at a neutral venue.[105] The rivalry was escalated after Iraq knocked Iran out of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in controversial circumstances.[108][109] Iran leads the series with 17 wins, 7 draws and 6 losses.

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

  Win   Draw   Loss

Date	Venue	Opponent	Competition	Result	Iranian scorers	Captain
2021
30 March 2021	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	Syria	Friendly	3–0 W	Kanaanizadegan  6' Azmoun  38' Ansarifard  72'	Hajsafi
3 June 2021	Al Muharraq Stadium, Arad	Hong Kong	2022 WC qualification and 2023 AC qualification	3–1 W	Gholizadeh  23' Amiri  61' Ansarifard  84'	Jahanbakhsh
7 June 2021	Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa	Bahrain	2022 WC qualification and 2023 AC qualification	3–0 W	Azmoun  54', 61' Taremi  79'	Hajsafi
11 June 2021	Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa	Cambodia	2022 WC qualification and 2023 AC qualification	10–0 W	Jahanbakhsh  16' (pen.) Khalilzadeh  22' Taremi  27' Sor Rotana  32' (o.g.) Mohammadi  58' Pouraliganji  64' Ansarifard  77' (pen.) Rezaei  80', 87' Ghayedi  84'	Jahanbakhsh
15 June 2021	Al Muharraq Stadium, Arad	Iraq	2022 WC qualification and 2023 AC qualification	1–0 W	Azmoun  35'	Hajsafi
2 September 2021	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	Syria	2022 WC qualification	1–0 W	Jahanbakhsh  56'	Jahanbakhsh
7 September 2021	Khalifa International Stadium, Doha	Iraq	2022 WC qualification	3–0 W	Jahanbaksh  2' Taremi  69' Gholizadeh  90'	Jahanbakhsh
7 October 2021	Zabeel Stadium, Dubai	United Arab Emirates	2022 WC qualification	1–0 W	Taremi  71'	Jahanbakhsh
12 October 2021	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	South Korea	2022 WC qualification	1–1 D	Jahanbakhsh  76'	Jahanbakhsh
11 November 2021	Saida International Stadium, Sidon	Lebanon	2022 WC qualification	2–1 W	Azmoun  91' Nourollahi  95'	Jahanbakhsh
16 November 2021	King Abdullah II Stadium, Amman	Syria	2022 WC qualification	3–0 W	Azmoun  33' Hajsafi  42' Gholizadeh  89'	Hajsafi

Date	Venue	Opponent	Competition
2022
27 January 2022	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	Iraq	2022 WC qualification
1 February 2022	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	United Arab Emirates	2022 WC qualification
24 March 2022		South Korea	2022 WC qualification
29 March 2022	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	Lebanon	2022 WC qualification

^*FIFA International match days 2020–2024[114]

The following players have been called up for 2022 WC qualification against  Syria on 16 November 2021.[115]
Caps and goals correct as of 16 November 2021, after the match against  Syria.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Alireza Beiranvand	(1992-09-12) 12 September 1992	49	0	Boavista
12	1GK	Payam Niazmand	(1995-04-06) 6 April 1995	1	0	Portimonense
22	1GK	Amir Abedzadeh	(1993-04-26) 26 April 1993	6	0	Ponferradina
2	2DF	Sadegh Moharrami	(1996-03-24) 24 March 1996	15	0	Dinamo Zagreb
3	2DF	Ehsan Hajsafi (Captain)	(1990-02-25) 25 February 1990	117	7	AEK Athens
4	2DF	Shojae Khalilzadeh	(1989-05-31) 31 May 1989	21	1	Al-Rayyan
5	2DF	Milad Mohammadi	(1993-09-29) 29 September 1993	43	1	AEK Athens
7	2DF	Omid Noorafkan	(1997-04-09) 9 April 1997	8	0	Sepahan
13	2DF	Hossein Kanaanizadegan	(1994-03-23) 23 March 1994	28	2	Al-Ahli
15	2DF	Saleh Hardani	(1998-09-14) 14 September 1998	1	0	Foolad
19	2DF	Majid Hosseini	(1996-06-20) 20 June 1996	14	0	Kayserispor
6	3MF	Saeid Ezatolahi	(1996-10-01) 1 October 1996	41	1	Vejle
8	3MF	Ahmad Nourollahi	(1993-01-02) 2 January 1993	20	3	Shabab Al-Ahli
11	3MF	Vahid Amiri	(1988-04-02) 2 April 1988	63	2	Persepolis
14	3MF	Saman Ghoddos	(1993-09-06) 6 September 1993	29	2	Brentford
16	3MF	Mehdi Torabi	(1994-09-10) 10 September 1994	33	6	Persepolis
17	3MF	Ali Gholizadeh	(1996-03-10) 10 March 1996	19	6	Charleroi
18	3MF	Milad Sarlak	(1995-03-26) 26 March 1995	6	0	Persepolis
9	4FW	Allahyar Sayyadmanesh	(2001-06-29) 29 June 2001	4	1	Zorya Luhansk
10	4FW	Karim Ansarifard	(1990-04-03) 3 April 1990	90	29	AEK Athens
20	4FW	Sardar Azmoun	(1995-01-01) 1 January 1995	60	39	Zenit Saint Petersburg
21	4FW	Kaveh Rezaei	(1992-04-05) 5 April 1992	18	4	OH Leuven
23	4FW	Mehdi Ghayedi	(1998-12-05) 5 December 1998	8	2	Shabab Al-Ahli

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

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Hossein Hosseini	(1992-05-30) 30 May 1992	4	0	Esteghlal	Tehran training camp, August 2021
GK	Mohammad Reza Akhbari	(1993-02-15) 15 February 1993	1	0	Tractor	Tehran training camp, August 2021
GK	Hamed Lak	(1990-11-24) 24 November 1990	3	0	Persepolis	v.  Syria, 30 March 2021
GK	Rashid Mazaheri	(1989-05-18) 18 May 1989	3	0	Esteghlal	v.  Syria, 30 March 2021 PRE
DF	Siavash Yazdani	(1992-02-27) 27 February 1992	0	0	Esteghlal	v.  Syria, 16 November 2021 PRE
DF	Jafar Salmani	(1997-01-12) 12 January 1997	2	0	Esteghlal	v.  Iraq, 7 September 2021
DF	Aref Aghasi	(1997-01-02) 2 January 1997	0	0	Esteghlal	v.  Iraq, 7 September 2021
DF	Saeid Aghaei	(1995-02-09) 9 February 1995	5	0	Persepolis	Tehran training camp, August 2021
DF	Mohammad Hossein Moradmand	(1993-06-22) 22 June 1993	0	0	Esteghlal	Tehran training camp, August 2021
DF	Armin Sohrabian	(1995-07-26) 26 July 1995	0	0	Gol Gohar	Tehran training camp, August 2021
DF	Mehdi Tikdari	(1996-06-13) 13 June 1996	0	0	Gol Gohar	Tehran training camp, August 2021
DF	Morteza Pouraliganji INJ	(1992-04-19) 19 April 1992	44	3	Shenzhen	v.  Iraq, 15 June 2021
DF	Siamak Nemati	(1994-04-17) 17 April 1994	3	0	Persepolis	v.  Cambodia, 11 June 2021
DF	Danial Esmaeilifar	(1993-02-26) 26 February 1993	0	0	Sepahan	v.  Cambodia, 11 June 2021
DF	Aref Gholami	(1997-04-23) 23 April 1997	0	0	Esteghlal	v.  Cambodia, 11 June 2021
DF	Abolfazl Jalali	(1998-06-26) 26 June 1998	1	0	Esteghlal	v.  Syria, 30 March 2021
MF	Soroush Rafiei	(1990-03-24) 24 March 1990	4	0	Sepahan	v.  Syria, 16 November 2021 PRE
MF	Alireza Jahanbakhsh SUS	(1993-08-11) 11 August 1993	58	11	Feyenoord	v.  Lebanon, 11 November 2021
MF	Yasin Salmani	(2002-02-27) 27 February 2002	0	0	Sepahan	v.  Lebanon, 11 November 2021
MF	Zobeir Niknafs	(1993-04-12) 12 April 1993	0	0	Esteghlal	v.  Iraq, 7 September 2021
MF	Mohammad Karimi	(1996-06-20) 20 June 1996	0	0	Sepahan	v.  Syria, 2 September 2021
MF	Farshad Ahmadzadeh	(1992-09-23) 23 September 1992	0	0	Sepahan	Tehran training camp, August 2021
MF	Farshid Esmaeili	(1994-02-23) 23 February 1994	0	0	Al-Arabi	Tehran training camp, August 2021
MF	Ahmad Reza Zendehrouh	(1992-07-09) 9 July 1992	0	0	Fajr Sepasi	Tehran training camp, August 2021
MF	Kamal Kamyabinia	(1989-01-18) 18 January 1989	5	1	Persepolis	v.  Hong Kong, 3 June 2021
MF	Omid Ebrahimi	(1987-09-16) 16 September 1987	52	0	Al-Wakrah	v.  Syria, 30 March 2021
MF	Ali Karimi	(1994-02-11) 11 February 1994	13	0	Kayserispor	v.  Syria, 30 March 2021
FW	Mehdi Taremi	(1992-07-18) 18 July 1992	54	26	Porto	v.  South Korea, 12 October 2021
FW	Mehdi Abdi	(1998-11-30) 30 November 1998	0	0	Persepolis	Tehran training camp, August 2021
FW	Shahriyar Moghanlou	(1994-12-21) 21 December 1994	0	0	Sepahan	Tehran training camp, August 2021
FW	Amir Arsalan Motahari	(1993-03-10) 10 March 1993	0	0	Esteghlal	Tehran training camp, August 2021
FW	Sajjad Shahbazzadeh	(1990-01-23) 23 January 1990	0	0	Sepahan	v.  Syria, 30 March 2021
INJ Withdrew due to injury PRE Preliminary squad / standby RET Retired from the national team SUS Serving suspension WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

1900 – 1904 club team.

1908 – 1964 national football team.

1968 – 1988 national amateur football team.

1992 – present national under-23 football team.

Summer Olympic Games Record											Qualifications record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1900–1960	Did not enter										Did not enter
1964	Group Stage	12th	3	0	1	2	1	6	Squad		6	4	1	1	14	3
1968	Did not enter										Did not enter
1972	Group Stage	12th	3	1	0	2	1	9	Squad		5	3	2	0	6	0
1976	Quarter-finals	7th	3	1	0	2	4	5	Squad		4	3	1	0	8	1
1980	Boycotted the event										5	3	2	0	18	2
1984											Did not enter
1988	Did not qualify										2	1	0	1	2	2
1992–present	See Iran national under-23 team										See Iran national under-23 team
Total	Quarter-finals	4 / 17	9	2	1	6	6	20	—		22	14	6	2	48	8

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

¹ Iran played their B team in this tournament

As of 16 November 2021, the 10 players with the most matches as captain:

• Asian Cup

Champions: 1968, 1972, 1976

Third place: 1980, 1988, 1996, 2004

Fourth place: 1984

Semi-finals: 2019

• Asian Games

Gold Medal: 1974, 1990, 1998, 2002

Silver Medal: 1951, 1966

• West Asian Football Federation Championship

Champions: 2000, 2004, 2007*, 2008

Runners-up: 2010

Third place: 2002

• West Asian Games: 1 Champions, 1 Runners-up, 1 Third place
• ECO Cup

Champions: 1965, 1970, 1993

Runners-up: 1967, 1969, 1974

^* as B Team

• AFC/OFC Challenge Cup

Champions: 2003

• Afro-Asian Cup of Nations

Runners-up: 1991

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