Iran national football team - wikipedia Iran national football team This article is about Iran 's national men 's team. For the women 's team, see Iran women 's national football team. `` Team Melli '' redirects here. For other national teams, see Category : National sports teams of Iran. Iran Nickname ( s ) Team Melli تیم ملی other nicknames Association Football Federation of Iran ( FFIRI ) Fedrāsion - e Futbāll - e Irān Confederation AFC ( Asia ) Sub-confederation CAFA ( Central Asia ) Head coach Carlos Queiroz Captain Masoud Shojaei Most caps Javad Nekounam ( 151 ) Top scorer Ali Daei ( 109 ) Home stadium Azadi Stadium ( 78,116 ) FIFA code IRN First colours Second colours FIFA ranking Current 37 1 ( 7 June 2018 ) Highest 15 ( August 2005 ) Lowest 122 ( May 1996 ) Elo ranking Current 20 1 ( 9 July 2018 ) Highest 15 ( May 2005 ) Lowest 73 ( January 1964 ) First international Afghanistan 0 -- 0 Iran ( Kabul, Afghanistan ; 25 August 1941 ) Biggest win Iran 19 -- 0 Guam ( Tabriz, Iran ; 24 November 2000 ) Biggest defeat Turkey 6 -- 1 Iran ( Istanbul, Turkey ; 28 May 1950 ) South Korea 5 -- 0 Iran ( Tokyo, Japan ; 28 May 1958 ) World Cup Appearances 5 ( first in 1978 ) Best result 14th ( Round 1 ), 1978 Asian Cup Appearances 14 ( first in 1968 ) Best result Champions ( 1968, 1972, 1976 ) Olympic Games Appearances 4 ( first in 1968 ) Best result Quarter - finals ( 1976 ) 1980 Syria ( replaces Iran ) The Iran national football team ( Persian : تیم ملی فوتبال ایران ‎, translit. Tīm - e Melli - e Fūtbāl - e Īrān ), also known as Team Melli ( Persian : تیم ملی ‎, translit. Tīm - e Melli, lit. ' the national team ' ), represents Iran in international football competitions and is governed by the Iran Football Federation. From December 2014 until May 2018, the national football team of Iran remained the highest - ranked team in Asia, representing the longest continuous period of time a team has been top of the continent in the rankings. Iran is one of the most successful national teams in Asia with three Asian Cup championships ( 1968, 1972, and 1976 ). Iran 's best performance at the Olympics was reaching the quarterfinals in the 1976 Montreal Games. Iran has qualified for the World Cup five times ( 1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, and 2018 ) but has never advanced past the group stage. They have, however, won two matches in the World Cup, one against the United States in 1998, and their opener against Morocco in 2018. Contents 1 History 1.1 Early years 1.2 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina 1.3 After the Revolution 1.4 1998 FIFA World Cup in France 1.5 2000 AFC Asian Cup 1.6 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 1.7 2004 AFC Asian Cup 1.8 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany 1.9 Temporary suspension 1.10 2007 AFC Asian Cup 1.11 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification 1.12 2011 AFC Asian Cup 1.13 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil 1.13. 1 Qualification 1.13. 2 Foreign - based call - ups 1.13. 3 Finals 1.14 2015 AFC Asian Cup 1.15 2018 FIFA World Cup 2 Political protests 2.1 Presidential election protests, 2009 3 Team image 3.1 Kits and crest 3.2 Nicknames 4 Rivalries 5 Stadiums 6 Sponsorship 6.1 Asiatic cheetah 7 Tournament Records 7.1 World Cup 7.2 Asian Cup 7.3 Olympic Games 7.4 Asian Games 7.5 West Asian Games 7.6 West Asian Championship 7.7 Central Asian Championship 7.8 RCD Cup / ECO Cup 8 Results and fixtures 8.1 Previous matches 8.2 Forthcoming matches 9 Records versus other nations 10 Coaching staff 11 Players 11.1 Current squad 11.2 Recent call - ups 11.3 Previous squads 11.3. 1 World Cups 11.3. 2 Olympic Games 11.3. 3 Asian Cups 12 Records 12.1 Most capped players 12.2 Most capped goalkeepers 12.3 Top goalscorers 13 Iran captains 13.1 Most matches as captain 13.2 Iran World Cup captains 13.3 Iran Asian Cup captains 14 Honours 14.1 Continental 14.2 Regional 14.3 Intercontinental 15 See also 16 References 17 External links History See also : Football in Iran This article or section appears to be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective and add more content related to non-recent events. ( June 2016 ) Early years The very first Iran selection football team that traveled to Baku in 1926. The Iranian Football Federation was founded in 1920. 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. Iran won the Asian Cup three consecutive times ( 1968, 1972, 1976 ), to which the team has not been able to add since. 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina Additional information : 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification ( AFC and OFC ) Additional information : 1978 FIFA World Cup -- Group 4 Iran 's squad playing in ' 78 World Cup match against Scotland in Cordoba, Estadio Cordoba, Argentina on 7 June 1978 ( 16 : 45 ) In 1978, Iran made its first appearance in the World Cup after defeating Australia in Tehran. Iran lost two of three group stage matches against the Netherlands and Peru. Team Melli managed to surprise the footballing community 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. After the revolution After the 1979 Revolution, football was somewhat neglected and cast aside. During the 1980s, the Iranian national team did not feature in World Cup competitions due to the Iran -- Iraq War ( 1980 -- 88 ) and domestic football suffered the inevitable effects of conflict. The national team withdrew from the Asian qualifiers for the 1982 World Cup, and refused to participate in the qualifiers for the 1986 World Cup because of having to play on neutral ground. The war and political upheavals left Iran without major club competitions until 1989 when the Qods League was established. A year later, the Qods League was renamed the Azadegan League. Despite failing to qualify for either the 1990 or the 1994 World Cups, it was during this period that a number of quality players burst onto the Iranian football scene, laying the foundation for third place in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup ( memorable victories in that tournament included a 3 -- 0 victory against Saudi Arabia and an impressive 6 -- 2 victory against South Korea ) and their second stab at World Cup glory in 1998. 1998 FIFA World Cup in France Additional information : 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification ( AFC -- OFC play - off ) Additional information : 1998 FIFA World Cup -- Group F In November 1997, Iran qualified for the 1998 World Cup after eliminating Australia in a close playoff series. Both games finished undecided, but Iran managed to qualify due to the away goals rule. Iran held Australia to a 1 -- 1 draw at home, and a 2 -- 2 draw in Melbourne ; however, since Iran had scored more away goals, they were able to qualify for the Cup. At their first game of the Group F at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Iran played well against Yugoslavia, losing narrowly 1 -- 0, only to a free kick goal by Siniša Mihajlović. Iran recorded their first World Cup victory in the second game, beating the United States 2 -- 1, with Hamid Estili and Mehdi Mahdavikia scoring goals for Iran. The Iran vs USA World Cup match was preheated with much excitement because of each country 's political stance after the Iranian revolution and the Iran hostage crisis. However, in an act of defiance against all forms of hatred or politics in sports, both sides presented one another with gifts and flowers and took ceremonial pictures before the match kickoff. Following defeat against Iran, the United States was eliminated from the World Cup. Iran played against Germany in the third game. The game was lost 2 -- 0. The goals were scored by Oliver Bierhoff and Jürgen Klinsmann. The one win and two losses meant Iran came third in the final group standing and failed to make it to the next round. ( Farhad Majidi and Mehdi Fonounizadeh were important absents in the tournament. ) 2000 AFC Asian Cup Main article : 2000 AFC Asian Cup Iran finished first in the group stage of the tournament, but lost to South Korea in the quarter - finals. 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification Additional information : 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification ( AFC ) Iran failed to qualify for World Cup 2002 after an aggregate defeat to the Republic of Ireland, losing 2 -- 0 in Dublin and winning 1 -- 0 in Tehran. The elimination saw manager Miroslav Blažević step down from the top spot to be replaced by his assistant Branko Ivanković, who stepped up from assistant coach. 2004 AFC Asian Cup Main article : 2004 AFC Asian Cup After qualifying to the Asian Cup 2004, Iran was drawn with Thailand, Oman, and Japan in the tournament. Iran finished second in this group. In quarter - final clash against South Korea, Iran won 4 -- 3 in normal time. In the semi-final, Iran lost to the host, China on penalty kicks. Iran won against Bahrain 4 -- 2 to finish third place in the tournament. 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany Main article : Iran at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Additional information : 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification ( AFC ) Additional information : 2006 FIFA World Cup Group D Iran score against Angola during a 2006 FIFA World Cup match. On 8 June 2005, Iran together with Japan became the first country to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, making it Iran 's 3rd appearance on the world stage of football. The qualification round both in 2001 and 2004 -- 05 resulted in mass celebrations, hysteria and rioting, causing internal chaos and unrest between youth and government officials. The Iran versus Japan leg of the 2006 World Cup qualifiers in Tehran, played on 24 March 2005, was the highest attended qualifying match among all confederations. The match ended in tragedy with 5 fans killed and several others injured as they left the Azadi Stadium at the end of the match. Iran started their 2006 FIFA World Cup appearance with high expectations from fans and media. Their first match was against Mexico in Group D. The game was level 1 -- 1 at the half - time, but Iran lost at the end because of a defensive mistake. The final score, 3 -- 1, was brought about by goals from Omar Bravo and Zinha for Mexico, with Yahya Golmohammadi scoring the only Iran goal. Iran played against Portugal in the second game. The game was lost 2 -- 0. The goals were scored by Deco and Cristiano Ronaldo ( penalty ). The two losses meant Iran was eliminated from the competition, before their third and final game against Angola. Iran drew 1 -- 1 with Angola on 21 June 2006, Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh scoring the Iran goal. Temporary suspension Iran 's squad in August 2006 against Syria, Manager : Amir Ghalenoei Standing left to right : Nekounam, Enayati, Nikbakht, Shakouri, Fekri, Sadeghi Sitting left to right : Taleblou, Madanchi, Khatibi, Teymourian, Mahdavikia In November 2006, Iran was suspended by FIFA from all participation in international football, on the grounds of governmental interference in the national football association. The ban lasted less than a month, and as a dispensation was given to allow the Iran under - 23 team to participate in the football competition of the 2006 Asian Games, fixtures were unaffected. 2007 AFC Asian Cup Main article : 2007 AFC Asian Cup Additional information : 2007 AFC Asian Cup Group C IRIFF appointed Amir Ghalenoei as head coach of the Iran national football team on 17 July 2006 to succeed Branko Ivanković. After finishing first in the qualifying round 2 points ahead of South Korea and then finishing first in the group stage of the final tournament in Malaysia, Iran lost to South Korea in a penalty shoot - out of the quarterfinal match and was eliminated from the 2007 Asian Cup. Ghalenoei was heavily criticized by the press. After a period of discussion in the Iranian football federation, his contract was not renewed and Team Melli was left with a caretaker manager for several months. 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Additional information : 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification ( AFC ) Ali Daei was chosen to become the new coach after Spanish coach Javier Clemente had been close to signing on as Iran 's national team manager but talks collapsed when he refused to live full - time in the country. 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. He was replaced by Afshin Ghotbi. Iran failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup after ranking 4th overall in its group. 2011 AFC Asian Cup Main article : 2011 AFC Asian Cup Additional information : 2011 AFC Asian Cup Group D Iran 's squad in July 2011 against Maldives, Manager : Carlos Queiroz Standing left to right : Aghili, Hosseini, Haddadifar, Ansarifard, Zare, Pooladi Sitting left to right : Heydari, Norouzi, Rahmati, Khalatbari, Karimi Iran renewed the contract with Afshin Ghotbi until the end of 2011 AFC Asian Cup and the team qualified to the tournament with 13 points as the group winners. During the final qualification match against South Korea, several Iranian players started the match wearing green armbands or wristbands, a symbol of protest at the outcome of the Iranian presidential election. 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. 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. '' Head coach Afshin Ghotbi also confirmed that it was a rumour and Iranian FA `` has not taken any official stand on this issue. '' Afshin Ghotbi was able to qualify for 2011 Asian Cup and finished second in West Asian Football Federation Championship 2010 just a few months before the 2011 Asian Cup. Iran was able to gain all nine points in the group stage of the 2011 Asian Cup but after an extra time goal from South Korea, Iran was yet again unable to get to the semifinals of the competition. 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil Iran national football team -- October 2012 Qualification Main article : 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification ( AFC ) 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. 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. Foreign - based call - ups Since Queiroz 's role as manager of the Iranian national team, he has been renowned for introducing players from the Iranian diaspora to the national squad. These players include German - Iranians Daniel Davari and Ashkan Dejagah, Dutch - Iranian Reza Ghoochannejhad, Swedish - Iranians Omid Nazari and Saman Ghoddos, and Iranian - American Steven Beitashour among others. Finals Main article : 2014 FIFA World Cup 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. On 1 June 2014, Queiroz announced his 23 - man squad. Prior to the tournament, they founded the Central Asian Football Association. 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. 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. 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. 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. 2015 AFC Asian Cup Main article : 2015 AFC Asian Cup Additional information : 2015 AFC Asian Cup Group C Iran qualified for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup as group winners, where Team Melli were the highest ranked seed. Iran faced Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE in Group C. Queiroz announced his squad on 30 December 2014. With the second highest number of fans in the tournament after hosts Australia, the Iranians defeated Bahrain 2 -- 0 with limited preparations. A defensive minded Iran then defeated Qatar 1 -- 0 thanks to a Sardar Azmoun goal before defeating the UAE by the same scoreline to reach the top of their group. 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. 2018 FIFA World Cup Main article : 2018 FIFA World Cup Additional information : 2018 FIFA World Cup Group B Iran 's squad in October 2016 against South Korea Iran 's squad against Morocco in St. Petersburg at the 2018 World Cup on 15 June 2018, Uzomedia Iran began their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign with friendly matches against Chile and Sweden in March 2015. Queiroz resigned from his managerial post thereafter due to disagreements with the Iranian Football Federation. On 14 April 2015, Iran were drawn with Oman, India, Turkmenistan, and Guam in the second round of qualifiers. On 26 April, Queiroz announced that he will continue as the manager of Iran for their 2018 World Cup campaign. Iran became the second team to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, after a 2 -- 0 win at home over Uzbekistan on 12 June 2017. They also clinched 1st place in their qualification group after South Korea 's defeat to Qatar. Iran won the first match against Morocco after Aziz Bouhaddouz scoring an own goal. The second match Iran lost against Spain with a goal scored by Diego Costa. The third match against Portugal ended in a draw after the penalty scored by Karim Ansarifard, and because Morocco could only manage a 2 -- 2 draw to Spain, Iran was eliminated for the fifth times. However, this has become Iran 's best performance in the World Cup, when they achieved four points. Political protests Presidential election protests, 2009 During the final game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against South Korea in Seoul on 17 June 2009, seven members of the team, Javad Nekounam, Ali Karimi, Hossein Kaebi, Masoud Shojaei, Mohammad Nosrati, Vahid Hashemian, and captain Mehdi Mahdavikia wore green wristbands in support of the Iranian Green Movement during the 2009 Iranian election protests. Initial rumors and false reports were that all seven players were banned for life by the Iranian Football Federation, however, state - run media claimed that all seven had `` retired ''. 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. As of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, many of the above players have played again for the national team, notably Javad Nekounam, Masoud Shojaei, Mehdi Mahdavikia, and Ali Karimi. Team image Kits and crest Main article : Iran national football team kit history Nicknames The Iranian national team has received several nicknames by supporters and media. The most common one used is `` Team Melli '', which literally means `` The National Team '' in Persian language. Although the Iranian supporters have popularized `` Team Melli '', other nicknames for the team include `` Persian Stars '' ( entitled since the World Cup 2006 ) `` Shiran e Iran '', meaning `` The Iranian Lions '' or `` The Lions of Persia '', `` Shirdelan '', `` Lion Hearts '' and `` Princes of Persia '' ( used since AFC Asian Cup 2011 ) have been used in media as well. Iran 's slogan for the 2014 FIFA World Cup was Honour of Persia, selected in an internet poll held by FIFA. A recently used nickname, due to the presence of the Asiatic cheetah on the 2014 World Cup jersey, is Youzpalangan which means ' The Cheetahs ' ( Persian : یوزپلنگان ). Rivalries South Korea national football team Main article : Iran -- South Korea football rivalry Iran and South Korea are sporting rivals and have played against each other officially since 1958, totally 29 matches as of October 2016, including eight World Cup qualifiers. These two teams were among the strongest Asian national football teams during the 1960s and 1970s. Since then, the teams have developed one of Asia 's greatest rivalries. Although the teams only had one chance to play against each other in the final match of the AFC Asian Cup, in 1972, they faced each other five consecutive times at the quarterfinals stage from 1996 -- 2011. Iran leads the series with 13 wins, 7 draws and 9 losses. Saudi Arabia national football team Main article : Iran -- Saudi Arabia football rivalry Iran and Saudi Arabia are rivals. The game has been ranked 9th in Bleacher Report 's `` International Football 's 10 Most Politically - Charged Football Rivalries '' and 8th in Goal. com 's `` Football 's 10 Greatest International Rivalries ''. Iran and Saudi Arabia have had 15 matches so far. All of their matches have been competitive and they have never played a friendly match. The first match was played on 24 August 1975, with Iran defeating Saudi Arabia 3 -- 0. Iran leads the series with 5 wins, 6 draws and 4 losses. Iraq national football team Main article : Iran -- Iraq football rivalry According to the Malay Mail, `` Emotions are always high when Iran and Iraq meet on the football pitch ''. The rivalry is not such a football - inspired ill - feeling between the two, but more of geography, religion and history. Iran and Iraq are neighboring countries, sharing a long history. In the contemporary era, especially during the reign of Saddam Hussein, the two countries had bad relations and fought the Iran -- Iraq War for 8 years. In 2001, for the first time in decades, an Iran - Iraq match was not held at a neutral venue. The rivalry was escalated after Iraq knocked Iran out of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in controversial circumstances ; Iran lodged a complaint to the AFC that one of Iraq 's players had submitted a positive doping test months before, hoping to see Iraq removed from the tournament and themselves reinstated in their place, but the complaint was rejected. Iran leads the series with 14 wins, 7 draws and 5 losses. Stadiums Azadi Stadium Main article : Iran national football team records § Home record Since 1972, Iran 's national stadium is Tehran 's Azadi Stadium with a nominal capacity of 78,116 spectators. Azadi Stadium is the 23rd largest association football stadium in the world, 7th in Asia and 1st in West Asia. A record was set in Azadi for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Australia with over 128,000 in attendance. The government restricts Iranian women from entering the stadiums. From 1942 to 1972, Amjadieh Stadium was Iran 's national stadium. The other stadiums that Iran has been played international games are Yadegar Emam Stadium ( Tabriz ), Takhti Stadium ( Tehran ) and Enghelab Stadium ( Karaj ). The Iran National Football Camp is home to Iran 's trainings. Sponsorship Primary sponsors include Adidas, Bank Pasargad, 9090, Golrang, Oila and Kaspid. Asiatic cheetah On 1 February 2014, Iran announced the addition of the endangered Asiatic cheetah on their 2014 FIFA World Cup kits in order to bring attention to its conservation efforts. Tournament records Further information : Iran national football team records Further information : Iran national football team results Further information : Iran B national football team World Cup Main article : Iran at the FIFA World Cup World Cup finals World Cup qualifications Hosts / Year Result Position GP D * GS GA Squad GP D * GS GA 1930 to 1970 Did not enter - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Did not qualify - - - - - - - - 8 5 9 6 1978 Round 1 14th 0 8 Squad 12 10 0 20 1982 Withdrew - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1986 Disqualified - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1990 Did not qualify - - - - - - - - 6 5 0 12 5 1994 - - - - - - - - 11 5 23 13 1998 Group Stage 20th 0 Squad 17 8 6 57 17 2002 Did not qualify - - - - - - - - 14 9 36 9 2006 Group Stage 25th 0 6 Squad 12 9 29 7 Did not qualify - - - - - - - - 14 5 8 15 9 2014 Group Stage 28th 0 Squad 16 10 30 7 2018 18th Squad 18 12 6 0 36 5 Total Round 1 5 / 21 15 9 9 24 - 128 78 34 16 267 81 Asian Cup AFC Asian Cup finals AFC Asian Cup qualification Hosts / Year Result Position GP D * GS GA GP D * GS GA 1956 Withdrew - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1960 Did not qualify - - - - - - - 6 12 10 1964 Withdrew - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1968 Champions 1st 0 0 11 Automatic qualification as hosts 1972 Champions 1st 5 5 0 0 12 Automatic qualification as champions 1976 Champions 1st 0 0 13 0 Automatic qualification as hosts and as champions 1980 Third place 3rd 6 16 6 Automatic qualification as champions 1984 Fourth place 4th 6 0 8 5 5 0 0 21 1988 Third place 3rd 6 0 6 1992 Round 1 5th 0 0 10 0 Third place 3rd 6 14 6 6 6 0 0 27 2000 Quarterfinals 5th 7 6 16 Third place 3rd 6 0 14 8 6 5 0 16 5 2007 Quarterfinals 5th 0 6 6 0 12 2011 Quarterfinals 5th 0 6 6 11 2015 Quarterfinals 6th 0 7 6 5 0 18 5 2019 Qualified 8 6 0 26 Total 3 titles 14 / 17 62 37 18 7 119 45 61 46 10 5 175 33 * Denotes draws which include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. * * Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil. Olympic Games Summer Olympic Games Record Qualifications record Year Result Position Pld GF GA Pld GF GA 1908 -- 1960 Did not enter - - - - - - 1964 Group Stage 12th 0 6 6 14 1968 Did not enter - - - - - - 1972 Group Stage 12th 0 9 5 0 6 0 1976 Quarter - finals 7th 0 5 0 8 1980 Boycotted the event 5 0 18 1984 - - - - - - 1988 Did not qualify 0 1992 -- present See Iran national under - 23 team Total Quarter - finals 4 / 17 9 6 6 20 22 14 6 48 8 Asian Games Host nation ( s ) / year Round Pld D * GS GA Dif Pts 1951 Runners - up 0 + 1 6 1954 Did not enter - - - - - - - - 1958 Round 1 0 0 0 9 − 9 0 1962 Did not enter - - - - - - - - 1966 Runners - up 7 0 9 6 + 3 12 1970 Round 1 0 − 1 Champions 7 7 0 0 20 + 19 21 1978 Withdrew - - - - - - - - 1982 Quarterfinals 0 + 1 6 1986 Quarterfinals 5 13 + 11 10 1990 Champions 5 0 7 + 6 13 1994 Round 1 5 + 3 5 1998 Champions 8 7 0 25 7 + 18 21 2002 -- present See Iran national under - 23 team Total 10 / 13 47 30 5 12 86 34 + 52 95 West Asian Games Host nation ( s ) / year Round Pld D * GS GA Dif Pts Champions ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 2002 Runners - up 0 5 + 1 6 2005 Third place 0 10 + 8 10 Total 3 / 3 8 0 15 6 + 9 16 West Asian Championship Host nation ( s ) / year Round Pld D * GS GA Dif Pts 2000 Champions 5 0 7 + 6 13 2002 Third place + 1 5 Champions 0 0 17 + 14 12 2007 Champions 0 5 + 4 10 2008 Champions 0 0 13 + 11 12 Runners - up 8 5 + 3 7 2012 Group Stage 0 + 1 5 Total 7 / 8 28 19 7 56 16 + 40 64 Central Asian Championship Host nation ( s ) / year Round Pld D * GS GA Dif Pts 2018 - - - - - - - - - Total - - - - - - - - - RCD Cup / ECO Cup Host nation ( s ) / year Round Pld D * GS GA Dif Pts 1965 Champions 0 + 3 1967 Runners - up 0 + 1 1969 Runners - up 0 6 − 2 1970 Champions 0 8 + 7 Runners - up 0 0 1993 Champions 0 0 10 + 9 12 Total 6 / 6 14 9 30 12 + 18 29 Results and fixtures Further information : Iran national football team results Further information : Iran national football team results ( 2010 -- 19 ) Previous matches Win Draw Loss Date Venue Opponent Competition Result Iranian scorers Captain 2017 31 August 2017 Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul South Korea 2018 FIFA World Cup Q 0 -- 0 D Report Dejagah 5 September 2017 Azadi Stadium, Tehran Syria 2018 FIFA World Cup Q 2 -- 2 D Report Azmoun 45 ', 64 ' Dejagah 5 October 2017 Azadi Stadium, Tehran Togo Friendly 2 -- 0 W Ansarifard 51 ', 60 ' Hajsafi 10 October 2017 Kazan Arena, Kazan Russia Friendly 1 -- 1 D Azmoun 57 ' Hosseini 9 November 2017 Liebenauer Stadium, Graz Panama Friendly 2 -- 1 W Dejagah 15 ' Ghoddos 18 ' Dejagah 13 November 2017 Stadion de Goffert, Nijmegen ( Behind closed - doors ) Venezuela Friendly 1 -- 0 W Jahanbakhsh 57 ' Hosseini 2018 17 March 2018 Azadi Stadium, Tehran Sierra Leone Friendly 4 -- 0 W Khanzadeh 14 ' Gholizadeh 15 ', 46 ' Rezaei 33 ' Ebrahimi 23 March 2018 Stade Olympique de Radès, Rades Tunisia Friendly 0 -- 1 L Shojaei 27 March 2018 Liebenauer Stadium, Graz Algeria Friendly 2 -- 1 W Azmoun 11 ' Taremi 19 ' Hajsafi 19 May 2018 Azadi Stadium, Tehran Uzbekistan Friendly 1 -- 0 W Cheshmi 17 ' Hajsafi 28 May 2018 Fatih Terim Stadium, Istanbul Turkey Friendly 1 -- 2 L Dejagah 90 + 1 ' Shojaei 8 June 2018 Spartak Training Ground, Moscow Lithuania Friendly 1 -- 0 W Ansarifard 88 ' Shojaei 15 June 2018 Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg Morocco 2018 FIFA World Cup 1 -- 0 W Bouhaddouz 90 + 5 ' ( o.g. ) Shojaei 20 June 2018 Kazan Arena, Kazan Spain 2018 FIFA World Cup 0 -- 1 L Hajsafi 25 June 2018 Mordovia Arena, Saransk Portugal 2018 FIFA World Cup 1 -- 1 D Ansarifard 90 + 3 ' ( pen. ) Hajsafi Forthcoming matches Date Competition Location Opponent 2018 3 September 2018 Friendly TBD, TBD TBD 11 September 2018 Friendly TBD, TBD TBD 8 October 2018 2018 CAFA Championship TBD, TBD TBD 12 October 2018 2018 CAFA Championship TBD, TBD TBD 16 October 2018 2018 CAFA Championship TBD, TBD TBD 12 November 2018 Friendly TBD, TBD TBD 20 November 2018 Friendly TBD, TBD TBD 2019 7 January 2019 2019 AFC Asian Cup Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Yemen 12 January 2019 2019 AFC Asian Cup Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi Vietnam 16 January 2019 2019 AFC Asian Cup Al - Maktoum Stadium, Dubai Iraq FIFA International match days 2018 -- 2024 AFC Calendar of Competitions 2016 -- 2018 Records versus other nations Main article : Iran national football team all - time record Coaching staff Carlos Queiroz, the head coach Main article : List of Iran national football team managers Manager Carlos Queiroz Assistant coach Oceano da Cruz Markar Aghajanyan Rodolfo Miguens Goalkeeping coach Alexandre Lopes Fitness coaches Mick McDermott Diego Giacchino Sebastião Mendes Macias Mikko Kujala Physiotherapist Micael Moreira Alireza Shahab Translator Aryan Ghasemi Analyst Miguel Saraiva Team Doctor Dr. Parham Khanlari Masseuse Mohammad Saber Ehsan Sadathosseini IT and Media Consultant Filipe Santos Reference Players Current squad The following 23 players have been called up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Caps and goals are correct as of : 25 June 2018 after match against Portugal. No. Pos. Player Date of birth ( age ) Caps Goals Club 1GK Alireza Beiranvand ( 1992 - 09 - 21 ) 21 September 1992 ( age 25 ) 25 0 Persepolis 12 1GK Mohammad Mazaheri ( 1989 - 05 - 18 ) 18 May 1989 ( age 29 ) 0 Zob Ahan 22 1GK Amir Abedzadeh ( 1993 - 04 - 26 ) 26 April 1993 ( age 25 ) 0 Marítimo 2DF Rouzbeh Cheshmi ( 1993 - 07 - 24 ) 24 July 1993 ( age 24 ) 11 Esteghlal 5 2DF Milad Mohammadi ( 1993 - 09 - 29 ) 29 September 1993 ( age 24 ) 21 0 Akhmat Grozny 8 2DF Morteza Pouraliganji ( 1992 - 04 - 19 ) 19 April 1992 ( age 26 ) 30 Al - Sadd 13 2DF Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh ( 1991 - 05 - 11 ) 11 May 1991 ( age 27 ) 11 Padideh 15 2DF Pejman Montazeri ( 1983 - 09 - 06 ) 6 September 1983 ( age 34 ) 46 Esteghlal 19 2DF Majid Hosseini ( 1996 - 06 - 20 ) 20 June 1996 ( age 22 ) 0 Esteghlal 23 2DF Ramin Rezaeian ( 1990 - 03 - 21 ) 21 March 1990 ( age 28 ) 31 Oostende 3MF Mehdi Torabi ( 1994 - 09 - 10 ) 10 September 1994 ( age 23 ) 17 Saipa 3MF Ehsan Hajsafi ( Third - Captain ) ( 1990 - 02 - 25 ) 25 February 1990 ( age 28 ) 97 6 Olympiacos 6 3MF Saeid Ezatolahi ( 1996 - 10 - 01 ) 1 October 1996 ( age 21 ) 27 Rostov 7 3MF Masoud Shojaei ( Captain ) ( 1984 - 06 - 09 ) 9 June 1984 ( age 34 ) 75 8 AEK Athens 9 3MF Omid Ebrahimi ( 1987 - 09 - 16 ) 16 September 1987 ( age 30 ) 33 0 Al Ahli 11 3MF Vahid Amiri ( 1988 - 04 - 02 ) 2 April 1988 ( age 30 ) 38 Persepolis 14 3MF Saman Ghoddos ( 1993 - 09 - 06 ) 6 September 1993 ( age 24 ) 11 Östersund 18 3MF Alireza Jahanbakhsh ( 1993 - 08 - 11 ) 11 August 1993 ( age 24 ) 41 AZ 21 3MF Ashkan Dejagah ( Vice-Captain ) ( 1986 - 07 - 05 ) 5 July 1986 ( age 32 ) 45 9 Nottingham Forest 10 4FW Karim Ansarifard ( 1990 - 04 - 03 ) 3 April 1990 ( age 28 ) 64 17 Olympiacos 16 4FW Reza Ghoochannejhad ( 1987 - 09 - 20 ) 20 September 1987 ( age 30 ) 44 16 Heerenveen 17 4FW Mehdi Taremi ( 1992 - 07 - 18 ) 18 July 1992 ( age 25 ) 30 11 Al - Gharafa 20 4FW Sardar Azmoun ( 1995 - 01 - 01 ) 1 January 1995 ( age 23 ) 36 23 Rubin Kazan Recent call - ups The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months. Pos. Player Date of birth ( age ) Caps Goals Club Latest call - up GK Hossein Hosseini ( 1992 - 06 - 30 ) 30 June 1992 ( age 26 ) 0 Esteghlal 2018 FIFA World Cup, May 2018 GK Hamed Lak ( 1990 - 11 - 24 ) 24 November 1990 ( age 27 ) 0 Foolad v. Sierra Leone, 17 March 2018 GK Mohammad Reza Akhbari ( 1993 - 02 - 15 ) 15 February 1993 ( age 25 ) 0 Saipa Tehran training camp, November 2017 GK Alireza Haghighi ( 1988 - 05 - 02 ) 2 May 1988 ( age 30 ) 23 0 Unattached v. Russia, 10 October 2017 DF Jalal Hosseini ( 1982 - 02 - 03 ) 3 February 1982 ( age 36 ) 116 8 Persepolis 2018 FIFA World Cup, May 2018 DF Vouria Ghafouri ( 1987 - 09 - 20 ) 20 September 1987 ( age 30 ) 20 0 Esteghlal 2018 FIFA World Cup, May 2018 DF Steven Beitashour ( 1987 - 02 - 01 ) 1 February 1987 ( age 31 ) 6 0 Los Angeles 2018 FIFA World Cup, May 2018 DF Saeid Aghaei ( 1995 - 02 - 09 ) 9 February 1995 ( age 23 ) 5 0 Sepahan 2018 FIFA World Cup, May 2018 DF Mohammad Ansari ( 1991 - 09 - 23 ) 23 September 1991 ( age 26 ) 0 Persepolis 2018 FIFA World Cup, May 2018 DF Omid Noorafkan ( 1997 - 04 - 09 ) 9 April 1997 ( age 21 ) 0 Charleroi 2018 FIFA World Cup, May 2018 DF Hossein Kanaanizadegan ( 1994 - 03 - 23 ) 23 March 1994 ( age 24 ) 0 Saipa Tehran training camp, November 2017 DF Danial Mahini ( 1993 - 09 - 25 ) 25 September 1993 ( age 24 ) 0 Saipa Tehran training camp, November 2017 DF Milad Zakipour ( 1995 - 11 - 23 ) 23 November 1995 ( age 22 ) 0 0 Esteghlal Tehran training camp, November 2017 DF Ezzatollah Pourghaz ( 1987 - 03 - 21 ) 21 March 1987 ( age 31 ) 8 0 Sepahan v. Syria, 5 September 2017 MF Ali Karimi ( 1994 - 02 - 11 ) 11 February 1994 ( age 24 ) 9 0 Sepahan 2018 FIFA World Cup, May 2018 MF Soroush Rafiei ( 1990 - 03 - 24 ) 24 March 1990 ( age 28 ) 5 0 Al - Khor 2018 FIFA World Cup, May 2018 MF Ahmad Abdollahzadeh ( 1993 - 05 - 06 ) 6 May 1993 ( age 25 ) 0 Foolad 2018 FIFA World Cup, May 2018 MF Kamal Kamyabinia ( 1989 - 01 - 18 ) 18 January 1989 ( age 29 ) 5 Persepolis v. Sierra Leone, 17 March 2018 MF Akbar Imani ( 1992 - 03 - 21 ) 21 March 1992 ( age 26 ) 0 Zob Ahan v. Venezuela, 13 November 2017 MF Farshid Esmaeili ( 1994 - 02 - 23 ) 23 February 1994 ( age 24 ) 0 0 Esteghlal Tehran training camp, November 2017 MF Morteza Tabrizi ( 1991 - 01 - 06 ) 6 January 1991 ( age 27 ) 0 0 Zob Ahan Tehran training camp, November 2017 FW Ali Gholizadeh ( 1996 - 03 - 10 ) 10 March 1996 ( age 22 ) Charleroi 2018 FIFA World Cup, Jun 2018 FW Kaveh Rezaei ( 1992 - 04 - 05 ) 5 April 1992 ( age 26 ) 9 Charleroi 2018 FIFA World Cup, May 2018 FW Ali Alipour ( 1994 - 09 - 23 ) 23 September 1994 ( age 23 ) 0 Persepolis v. Sierra Leone, 17 March 2018 FW Sasan Ansari ( 1991 - 05 - 04 ) 4 May 1991 ( age 27 ) 0 0 Sepahan Tehran training camp, November 2017 Iran national team group picture on 30 May 2014 in a friendly match against Angola in Hartberg, Austria. Manager : Carlos Queiroz Standing left to right : Mahini, Davari, Ansarifard, Alenemeh, Khanzadeh, Nekounam Sitting left to right : Hajsafi, Beitashour, Haddadifar, Azmoun, Dejagah Notes Player withdrawn from the squad due to an injury. Preliminary squad. Player suspended for yellow or red card accumulation. Player retired from the national team. Player suspended. Previous squads World Cups World Cup 2018 squad World Cup 2014 squad World Cup 2006 squad World Cup 1998 squad World Cup 1978 squad Olympic Games 1964 Olympic Games 1972 Olympic Games 1976 Olympic Games Asian Cups 2019 AFC Asian Cup squads Asian Cup 2015 squad Asian Cup 2011 squad Asian Cup 2007 squad Asian Cup 2004 squad Asian Cup 2000 squad Asian Cup 1996 squad Asian Cup 1992 squad Asian Cup 1988 squad Asian Cup 1984 squad Asian Cup 1980 squad Asian Cup 1976 squads Asian Cup 1972 squads Asian Cup 1968 squads See also Category : Iran international footballers Asian Games 1998 Asian Games squad 1994 Asian Games squad 1990 Asian Games squad 1986 Asian Games squad 1982 Asian Games squad 1974 Asian Games squad Since 2002, the Asian Games has been part of the under - 23 team 's record. Records Main article : Iran national football team records Most capped players Javad Nekounam is the most capped player in the history of Iran with 151 caps. Ali Karimi of Iran with 127 caps and 38 goals. As of 19 May 2018, the 10 players with the most caps : # Name Career Caps Goals Javad Nekounam 2000 -- 2015 151 39 Ali Daei 1993 -- 2006 149 109 Ali Karimi 1998 -- 2012 127 38 Jalal Hosseini 2007 -- 116 8 5 Mehdi Mahdavikia 1996 -- 2009 110 13 6 Andranik Teymourian 2005 -- 2016 101 9 7 Ehsan Hajsafi 2008 -- 97 6 8 Karim Bagheri 1993 -- 2010 87 50 9 Hossein Kaebi 2002 -- 2010 84 10 Hamid Reza Estili 1990 -- 2000 82 12 Most capped goalkeepers Iranian iconic goalkeeper, Ahmadreza Abedzadeh is the most capped goalkeeper in the history of Iran with 79 caps. As of 7 June 2016, the 5 goalkeepers with the most caps : # Name Career Caps Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh 1987 -- 1998 79 Mehdi Rahmati 2004 -- 2012 76 Ebrahim Mirzapour 2001 -- 2011 71 Nasser Hejazi 1968 -- 1980 62 5 Behzad Gholampour 1990 -- 1999 28 6 Alireza Beiranvand 2015 -- 24 7 Alireza Haghighi 2012 -- 23 The records are collected based on data from FIFA and RSSSF. Bold names denote a player still playing or available for selection. Top goalscorers Ali Daei is the world 's all - time leading goalscorer in international matches, having scored 109 goals in 149 matches As of 19 May 2018, the 10 players with the most goals : # Name Career Goals Caps Avg / game Ali Daei ( list ) 1993 -- 2006 109 149 0.73 Karim Bagheri 1993 -- 2010 50 87 0.57 Javad Nekounam 2000 -- 2015 39 151 0.26 Ali Karimi 1998 -- 2012 38 127 0.30 5 Sardar Azmoun 2014 -- 23 33 0.70 6 Gholam Hossein Mazloumi 1969 -- 1977 19 40 0.48 7 Farshad Pious 1984 -- 1994 18 34 0.53 8 Reza Ghoochannejhad 2012 -- 17 43 0.40 8 Karim Ansarifard 2009 -- 17 64 0.27 10 Hamid Alidoosti 1977 -- 1986 15 27 0.56 The records are collected based on data from FIFA, RSSSF & Varzesh3. Bold names denote a player still playing or available for selection. Iran captains As of 20 June 2018 after match against Spain # Reign Player Caps ( goals ) Years active Matches as captain ( goals ) 1965 -- 1967 Mohammad Ranjbar 23 ( 0 ) 1959 -- 1967 9 ( 0 ) 1967 -- 1970 Hassan Habibi 31 ( 0 ) 1958 -- 1970 10 ( 0 ) 1970 -- 1972 Mostafa Arab 48 ( 2 ) 1959 -- 1972 13 ( 0 ) 1972 -- 1977 Parviz Ghelichkhani 64 ( 12 ) 1964 -- 1977 26 ( 7 ) 5 1977 -- 1980 Ali Parvin 76 ( 13 ) 1970 -- 1980 31 ( 2 ) 6 1980 Nasser Hejazi 62 ( 0 ) 1968 -- 1980 7 ( 0 ) 7 1980 -- 1984 Mehdi Dinvarzadeh 26 ( 0 ) 1977 -- 1984 9 ( 0 ) 8 1984 -- 87 1989 -- 91 Mohammad Panjali 45 ( 0 ) 1978 -- 1991 27 ( 0 ) 9 1987 -- 89 1991 -- 93 Sirous Ghayeghran 43 ( 6 ) 1986 -- 1993 22 ( 3 ) 10 1993 Hamid Derakhshan 41 ( 9 ) 1980 -- 1993 12 ( 3 ) 11 1993 -- 1994 Farshad Pious 35 ( 19 ) 1984 -- 1994 4 ( 1 ) 12 Mojtaba Moharrami 37 ( 5 ) 1988 -- 1996 2 ( 0 ) 13 1996 -- 1998 Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh 79 ( 0 ) 1988 -- 1998 38 ( 0 ) 14 1998 -- 1999 Nader Mohammadkhani 64 ( 4 ) 1988 -- 1999 9 ( 1 ) 15 1999 -- 2000 Javad Zarincheh 80 ( 1 ) 1987 -- 2000 8 ( 0 ) 16 2000 -- 2006 Ali Daei 149 ( 109 ) 1993 -- 2006 80 ( 44 ) 17 2006 -- 2009 Mehdi Mahdavikia 110 ( 13 ) 1996 -- 2009 17 ( 1 ) 18 2009 -- 2015 Javad Nekounam 151 ( 39 ) 2000 -- 2015 56 ( 18 ) 19 2015 -- 2016 Andranik Teymourian 101 ( 9 ) 2005 -- 2016 8 ( 1 ) 20 2016 -- 2017 Ashkan Dejagah 42 ( 7 ) 2012 -- 8 ( 2 ) 21 2017 -- Masoud Shojaei 75 ( 8 ) 2004 -- 6 ( 0 ) Most matches as captain As of 7 June 2016, the 10 players with the most matches as captain : # Player Caps Years active Matches as captain Ali Daei 149 1993 -- 2006 80 Javad Nekounam 151 2000 -- 2015 56 Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh 79 1988 -- 1998 38 Ali Parvin 76 1970 -- 1980 31 5 Mohammad Panjali 45 1978 -- 1991 27 6 Parviz Ghelichkhani 64 1964 -- 1977 26 7 Sirous Ghayeghran 43 1986 -- 1993 22 8 Mehdi Mahdavikia 110 1996 -- 2009 17 9 Ali Karimi 127 1998 -- 2012 16 10 Mostafa Arab 48 1959 -- 1972 13 Iran World Cup captains # Matches as captain Player World Cup played as captain ( goals ) Years active Caps ( goals ) 3 ( 0 ) Ali Parvin Argentina 1978 1970 -- 1980 76 ( 13 ) 1 ( 0 ) Nader Mohammadkhani France 1998 1988 -- 1999 64 ( 4 ) 2 ( 0 ) Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh 1987 -- 1998 79 ( 0 ) 2 ( 0 ) Ali Daei Germany 2006 1993 -- 2006 149 ( 109 ) 5 1 ( 0 ) Yahya Golmohammadi 1993 -- 2006 74 ( 5 ) 6 3 ( 0 ) Javad Nekounam Brazil 2014 2000 -- 2015 151 ( 39 ) 7 1 ( 0 ) Masoud Shojaei Russia 2018 2004 -- 75 ( 8 ) 8 2 ( 0 ) Ehsan Hajsafi 2008 -- 92 ( 6 ) Iran Asian Cup captains # Matches as captain Player Asian Cup played as captain Years active Caps ( goals ) 4 ( 0 ) Hassan Habibi Iran 1968 1958 -- 1970 31 ( 0 ) 4 ( 0 ) Mostafa Arab Thailand 1972 1959 -- 1972 48 ( 2 ) 3 ( 0 ) Parviz Ghelichkhani Iran 1976 1964 -- 1977 64 ( 12 ) 5 ( 0 ) Nasser Hejazi Kuwait 1980 1968 -- 1980 62 ( 0 ) 5 6 ( 0 ) Mohammad Panjali Singapore 1984 1978 -- 1991 45 ( 0 ) 6 6 ( 0 ) Sirous Ghayeghran Qatar 1988 1986 -- 1992 40 ( 6 ) 7 3 ( 0 ) Japan 1992 8 2 ( 0 ) Mojtaba Moharrami UAE 1996 1988 -- 1996 37 ( 5 ) 9 4 ( 3 ) Ali Daei Lebanon 2000 1993 -- 2006 149 ( 109 ) 10 6 ( 3 ) China 2004 11 4 ( 0 ) Mehdi Mahdavikia Asian Cup 2007 1996 -- 2009 110 ( 13 ) 12 3 ( 0 ) Javad Nekounam Qatar 2011 2000 -- 2015 151 ( 39 ) 13 4 ( 0 ) Australia 2015 Honours Iran 's squad against South Korea in 1978 World Cup qualification, Tehran, 11 November 1977 Continental Asian Cup Champions : 1968, 1972, 1976 Third place : 1980, 1988, 1996, 2004 Asian Games Gold Medal : 1974, 1990, 1998, 2002 Silver Medal : 1951, 1966 Young teams were favoured by AFC and the IOC, and since 2002 male competitors must be under 23 years old, with three over-23 players allowed per squad. Regional West Asian Football Federation Championship Champions : 2000, 2004, 2007 *, 2008 Runners - up : 2010 Third place : 2002 ECO Cup Champions : 1965, 1970, 1993 Runners - up : 1967, 1969 as B Team Intercontinental AFC / OFC Challenge Cup Champions : 2003 Afro - Asian Cup of Nations Runners - up : 1991 Canada Cup Runners - up : 1999 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 References Jump up ^ Veo, Valerio ( 23 November 2014 ). `` Team Melli looked excellent in defeat ''. ESPNFC.com. Retrieved 11 January 2015. Jump up ^ FIFA.com. `` The FIFA / Coca - Cola World Ranking - Ranking Table - FIFA.com ''. 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Jump up ^ `` Mikko Kujala valmentaa jalkapallon MM - kisoissa maata, jossa naiset eivät katsomoihin pääse : `` Katsotaan, miten ajat muuttuvat '' '' ( in Finnish ). 1 December 2017. Jump up ^ ( ( cite web url = http://www.ffiri.ir/en/national-football-team/NationalTeamAdult/Introduction-of-national-team-officials/cadr/ ^ Jump up to : `` کادر تمام پرتغالی روی نیمکت تیم ملی ''. Varzesh3.com. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Jump up ^ `` Ehsan Haji Safi profile in Fifa.com ''. Fifa.com. 26 June 2018. Jump up ^ FIFA.com ( 26 May 2011 ). `` Iran says farewell to ' The Legend ' ''. Jump up ^ `` Statistics : Iran ( Team Melli ) ''. Jump up ^ `` Statistics : Iran ( Team Melli ) ''. Jump up ^ `` بیشترین کاپیتانی ''. تبیان. 24 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` کاپیتان های تیم ملی چطور خداحافظی کردند / ازحبیبی ، قلیچ خانی ، پروین و دایی تا نکونام - ''. khabaronline. Jump up ^ `` de beste bron van informatie over sport. Deze website is te koop ! ''. parssport.ir. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2010. Jump up ^ `` de beste bron van informatie over sport. Deze website is te koop ! ''. parssport.ir. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2010. Jump up ^ `` de beste bron van informatie over ورزشی. Deze website is te koop ! ''. parssport.ir. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2010. Jump up ^ `` de beste bron van informatie over ورزشی. Deze website is te koop ! ''. parssport.ir. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2010. Jump up ^ `` de beste bron van informatie over ورزشی. Deze website is te koop ! ''. parssport.ir. Archived from the original on 17 February 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010. Jump up ^ `` de beste bron van informatie over ورزشی. Deze website is te koop ! ''. parssport.ir. Archived from the original on 6 January 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010. Jump up ^ `` de beste bron van informatie over ورزشی. Deze website is te koop ! ''. parssport.ir. Archived from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010. Jump up ^ `` de beste bron van informatie over ورزشی. Deze website is te koop ! ''. parssport.ir. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2010. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Iran national football team. Official Website of IR Iran Football Federation FIFA profile Iran Football News, Iran Football League Iran Soccer News Iran Football News since 1997 Extensive archive of Team 's results, squads, campaigns and players Players Profile, Articles, Statistics and Gallery of National Team RSSSF archive of results 1941 -- RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers Iran 's archive of results and elo rating points Iran 's National Football Team : The Smaller Iranian Society Preceded by 1964 Israel Asian Champions 1968 ( first title ) 1972 ( second title ) 1976 ( third title ) Succeeded by 1980 Kuwait Preceded by Myanmar South Korea Asian Games Champions 1974 ( first title ) Succeeded by North Korea South Korea Preceded by South Korea Asian Games Champions 1990 ( second title ) Succeeded by Uzbekistan Preceded by Uzbekistan Asian Games Champions 1998 ( third title ) 2002 ( fourth title ) Succeeded by Qatar Preceded by Inaugural champions WAFF Champions 2000 ( first title ) Succeeded by 2002 Iraq Preceded by 2002 Iraq WAFF Champions 2004 ( second title ) 2007 ( third title ) 2008 ( fourth title ) Succeeded by 2010 Kuwait AFC Asian Cup Champions 1956 : South Korea 1960 : South Korea 1964 : Israel 1968 : Iran 1972 : Iran 1976 : Iran 1980 : Kuwait 1984 : Saudi Arabia 1988 : Saudi Arabia 1992 : Japan 1996 : Saudi Arabia 2000 : Japan 2004 : Japan 2007 : Iraq 2011 : Japan 2015 : Australia Asian Games football men 's tournament winners 1951 India 1954 Republic of China 1958 Republic of China 1962 India 1966 Burma 1970 Burma 1970 South Korea 1974 Iran 1978 North Korea 1978 South Korea 1982 Iraq 1986 South Korea 1990 Iran 1994 Uzbekistan 1998 Iran 2002 Iran 2006 Qatar 2010 Japan 2014 South Korea Olympics squads navigation boxes Iran squad -- 1964 Summer Olympics 1 Asli 2 Amirasefi 3 Mirzaei 4 Arab 5 Habibi 6 Latifi 7 Saedi 8 Jamali 9 Talebi 10 Nourian 11 Khodaparast 12 Nayyerloo 13 Fanaei 14 Esmaeili 15 Mostafavi 16 Ghelichkhani 17 Bayati Coach : Fekri Iran squad -- 1972 Summer Olympics 1 Ghoflsaz 2 Ashtiani 3 Kashani 4 Halvaei 5 Kargarjam 6 Ghelichkhani 7 Parvin 8 Jabbari 9 Sadeghi 10 Iranpak 11 Sharafi 12 Vafakhah 13 Ghorab 14 Khordbin 15 Lavasani 16 Azizi 17 Allahverdi 18 Monajati 19 Rashidi Coach : Ranjbar Iran squad -- 1976 Summer Olympics 1 Rashidi 2 Nazari 3 Eskandarian 4 Zolfagharnassab 5 Ghelichkhani 6 Ghasempour 7 Parvin 8 Abdollahi 9 Nouraei 10 Rowshan 11 Khorshidi 12 Nayebagha 13 Mazloumi 14 Mirfakhraei 15 Jahani 16 Azizi 17 Hejazi Coach : Mohajerani FIFA World Cup squads navigation boxes Iran squad -- 1978 FIFA World Cup 1 Hejazi 2 Danaeifard 3 Fariba 4 Bishkar 5 Allahverdi 6 Nayebagha 7 Parvin ( c ) 8 Ghasempour 9 Sadeghi 10 Rowshan 11 Ghashghaean 12 Mavaddat 13 Majd Teymouri 14 Nazari 15 Eskandarian 16 Nouraei 17 Jahani 18 Faraki 19 Shojaei 20 Abdollahi 21 Kazerani 22 Korbekandi Coach : Mohajerani Iran squad -- 1998 FIFA World Cup 1 Abedzadeh ( c ) 2 Mahdavikia 3 Saadavi 4 Khakpour 5 Peyrovani 6 Bagheri 7 Mansourian 8 Dinmohammadi 9 Estili 10 Daei 11 Azizi 12 Nakisa 13 Latifi 14 Mohammadkhani 15 Ostad - Asadi 16 Shahroudi 17 Zarincheh 18 Hamadani 19 Seraj 20 Pashazadeh 21 Minavand 22 Broumand Coach : Talebi Iran squad -- 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Mirzapour 2 Mahdavikia 3 Bakhtiarizadeh 4 Golmohammadi 5 Rezaei 6 Nekounam 7 Zandi 8 Karimi 9 Hashemian 10 Daei ( c ) 11 Khatibi 12 Roudbarian 13 Kaebi 14 Teymourian 15 Borhani 16 Enayati 17 Kazemian 18 Navidkia 19 Sadeghi 20 Nosrati 21 Madanchi 22 Talebloo 23 Shojaei Coach : Ivanković Iran squad -- 2014 FIFA World Cup 1 Ahmadi 2 Heydari 3 Hajsafi 4 Hosseini 5 Sadeghi 6 Nekounam ( c ) 7 Shojaei 8 R. Haghighi 9 Jahanbakhsh 10 Ansarifard 11 Haddadifar 12 A. Haghighi 13 Mahini 14 Teymourian 15 Montazeri 16 Ghoochannejhad 17 Alenemeh 18 Rahmani 19 Beikzadeh 20 Beitashour 21 Dejagah 22 Davari 23 Pooladi Coach : Queiroz Iran squad -- 2018 FIFA World Cup 1 Beiranvand 2 Torabi 3 Hajsafi 4 Cheshmi 5 Mohammadi 6 Ezatolahi 7 Shojaei ( c ) 8 Pouraliganji 9 Ebrahimi 10 Ansarifard 11 Amiri 12 Mazaheri 13 Khanzadeh 14 Ghoddos 15 Montazeri 16 Ghoochannejhad 17 Taremi 18 Jahanbakhsh 19 Hosseini 20 Azmoun 21 Dejagah 22 Abedzadeh 23 Rezaeian Coach : Queiroz AFC Asian Cup squads navigation boxes Iran squad -- 1976 AFC Asian Cup winners ( 3rd title ) GK Rashidi GK Asgarkhani DF Nazari DF Zolfagharnasab DF Abdollahi DF Eskandarian DF Nayebagha DF Mirfakhraei MF Parvin MF Ghelichkhani MF Ghasempour MF Sadeghi MF Azizi MF Shahbandari FW Khorshidi FW Nouraei FW Mazloomi FW Rowshan Coach : Mohajerani Iran squad -- 1984 AFC Asian Cup Fourth Place 1 Soltani 2 Shahin Bayani 3 Hajiloo 4 Sanjari 5 Panjali ( c ) 6 Arabshahi 7 Mohammadkhani 8 Shahrokh Bayani 9 Derakhshan 10 Alidousti 11 Changiz 12 Shakourzadeh 14 Ahadi 15 Mirakhori 16 Mokhtarifar 17 Fathabadi 18 Maragehchian 22 Tahouni Coach : Ebrahimi Iran squad -- 1992 AFC Asian Cup GK Abedzadeh DF Zarincheh DF Moharrami DF Hassanzadeh DF Mohammadkhani MF Fonoonizadeh MF Ghayeghran ( c ) MF Abtahi FW Shahmohammadi FW Kermani - Moghaddam FW Pious FW Marfavi FW Ashoori MF Bayani FW Modir Roosta MF Estili DF Khakpour GK Gholampour GK Ghelich Coach : Parvin Iran squad -- 1996 AFC Asian Cup Third Place 1 Abedzadeh 2 Saadavi 3 Ostad - Asadi 4 Bagheri 5 Peyrovani 6 Dinmohammadi 7 Mansourian 8 Moharrami ( c ) 9 Estili 10 Daei 11 Azizi 12 Mahdavikia 14 Khakpour 18 Falahatzadeh 19 Yousefi 20 Yazdani 21 Mousavi 22 Nakisa 24 Mirza - Ostovari 25 Minavand Coach : Mayeli Kohan Iran squad -- 2000 AFC Asian Cup 1 Vaezi 2 Mahdavikia 3 Hasheminasab 5 Bakhtiarizadeh 6 Bagheri 7 Kavianpour 8 Hamadani 9 Estili 10 Daei ( c ) 11 Azizi 12 Broumand 13 Seyed - Abbasi 14 Navazi 15 Halali 16 Hashemian 17 Emamifar 18 Yazdani 19 Karimi 20 Rahbarifar 22 Fanaei 25 Minavand 28 Mahdavi Coach : Talebi Iran squad -- 2004 AFC Asian Cup Third Place 1 Mirzapour 2 Mahdavikia 3 Amirabadi 4 Golmohammadi 5 Rezaei 6 Nekounam 7 Kavianpour 8 Karimi 10 Daei ( c ) 12 Roudbarian 13 Kaebi 14 Borhani 15 Taghipour 16 Enayati 17 Mobali 18 Badavi 19 Kameli 20 Nosrati 21 Rahmati 26 Alavi 27 Zare 29 Majidi Coach : Ivanković Iran squad -- 2007 AFC Asian Cup 1 Roudbarian 2 Mahdavikia ( c ) 3 A. Sadeghi 4 Teymourian 5 Rezaei 6 Nekounam 7 Zandi 8 Karimi 9 Hashemian 10 Khatibi 11 Madanchi 12 Hosseini 13 Kaebi 14 Mobali 15 Aghili 16 Enayati 17 Kazemian 18 Rajabzadeh 19 E. Sadeghi 20 Nosrati 22 Talebloo 24 Shojaei 30 Rahmati Coach : Ghalenoei Iran squad -- 2011 AFC Asian Cup 1 Rahmati 2 Heydari 3 Talebi 4 Hosseini 5 Aghili 6 Nekounam ( c ) 7 Rezaei 8 Shojaei 9 Khalatbari 10 Ansarifard 11 Hajsafi 12 Mirzapour 13 Bengar 14 Teymourian 15 Hadadifar 16 Norouzi 17 M. Nouri 18 P. Nouri 19 Gholami 20 Nosrati 21 Afshin 22 Gordan 23 Mobali Coach : Ghotbi Iran squad -- 2015 AFC Asian Cup 1 Haghighi 2 Heydari 3 Hajsafi 4 Hosseini 5 Sadeghi 6 Nekounam ( c ) 7 Shojaei 8 Pouraliganji 9 Ebrahimi 10 Ansarifard 11 Ghafouri 12 Forouzan 13 Amiri 14 Teymourian 15 Rezaeian 16 Ghoochannejhad 17 Rafiei 18 Jahanbakhsh 19 Khanzadeh 20 Azmoun 21 Dejagah 22 Beiranvand 23 Pooladi Coach : Queiroz Iran national football team General Football Federation of Iran History Managers Venues National stadiums : Azadi Stadium ( 1972 -- ), Amjadieh Stadium ( 1942 -- 1972 ) Trainings : National Football Camp Statistics All - time match results All - time record Records All - time goalscorers Players Players ( by caps ) Captains International players Expatriate players World Cup Finals 1978 1998 2006 2014 2018 Asian Cup Finals 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 2000 2007 2011 2015 2019 Other tournaments The Olympics Asian Games West Asian Championship ECO Cup Culture Kit history Iraq rivalry Saudi Arabia rivalry South Korea rivalry Iran -- Australia play - off Political protests Senior Men 's results 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Other Iran teams Women 's ( Results ) Men 's B Men 's U23 Men 's U20 Women 's U20 Men 's U17 Women 's U17 Men 's futsal Women 's futsal Men 's beach soccer National sports teams of Iran Baseball Basketball M U19 M U17 W U17 Beach soccer Boxing Cricket Field hockey Football MB M U23 M U20 M U17 W U20 W U17 Futsal Goalball Handball Ice hockey Inline hockey Kabaddi Rugby union M 7s W 7s Squash Tennis Davis Cup Fed Cup Hopman Cup Volleyball MU23 Volleyball ( sitting ) Water polo Wrestling FS GR Olympics Paralympics Asian Games Universiade Football in Iran League competitions Persian Gulf Pro League Azadegan League League 2 League 3 Provincial Leagues Kowsar league ( women 's ) Futsal Beach soccer Cup competitions Hazfi Cup Super Cup Defunct competitions Takht Jamshid Cup National teams Men 's B - team Women 's M U-23 M U-20 W U-20 M U-17 W U-17 M Futsal W Futsal M U-20 Futsal M Beach Lists and categories League system Champions Foreign players List of clubs List of venues List of managers Top goalscorers all - time by season Clubs in the AFC Champions League Iran Football Federation Iran Football League Organization Football Association of Iranian Club National football teams of Iran Senior Men 's results 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Women 's ( Results ) Men 's B Youth Men 's U23 Men 's U20 Women 's U20 Men 's U17 National men 's football teams of Asia ( AFC ) Southeast Asia ( AFF ) Australia Brunei Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Timor - Leste Vietnam Central Asia ( CAFA ) Afghanistan Iran Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan East Asia ( EAFF ) China PR Chinese Taipei Guam Hong Kong Japan Korea DPR Korea Republic Macau Mongolia Northern Mariana Islands South Asia ( SAFF ) Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka West Asia ( WAFF ) Bahrain Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria United Arab Emirates Yemen Defunct Malaya North Vietnam South Vietnam South Yemen Former Israel ( moved to UEFA in 1994 ) Kazakhstan ( moved to UEFA in 2002 ) New Zealand ( formed the OFC in 1966 ) Provisional Associate Member - Not a member of FIFA World Cup Finalists 1978 FIFA World Cup finalists Champions Argentina Runners - up Netherlands Third place Brazil Fourth place Italy Second group stage Austria Peru Poland West Germany First group stage France Hungary Iran Mexico Scotland Spain Sweden Tunisia 1998 FIFA World Cup finalists Champions France Runners - up Brazil Third place Croatia Fourth place Netherlands Quarter - finals Argentina Denmark Germany Italy Round of 16 Chile England Mexico Nigeria Norway Paraguay Romania FR Yugoslavia Group stage Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cameroon Colombia Iran Jamaica Japan Morocco Saudi Arabia Scotland South Africa South Korea Spain Tunisia United States 2006 FIFA World Cup finalists Champions Italy Runners - up France Third place Germany Fourth place Portugal Quarter - finals Argentina Brazil England Ukraine Round of 16 Australia Ecuador Ghana Mexico Netherlands Spain Sweden Switzerland Group stage Angola Costa Rica Ivory Coast Croatia Czech Republic Iran Japan South Korea Paraguay Poland Saudi Arabia Serbia and Montenegro Togo Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia United States 2014 FIFA World Cup finalists Champions Germany Runners - up Argentina Third place Netherlands Fourth place Brazil Quarter - finals Belgium Colombia Costa Rica France Round of 16 Algeria Chile Greece Mexico Nigeria Switzerland United States Uruguay Group stage Australia Bosnia and Herzegovina Cameroon Croatia Ecuador England Ghana Honduras Iran Italy Ivory Coast Japan Portugal Russia South Korea Spain 2018 FIFA World Cup finalists Champions France Runners - up Croatia Third place Belgium Fourth place England Quarter - finals Brazil Russia Sweden Uruguay Round of 16 Argentina Colombia Denmark Japan Mexico Portugal Spain Switzerland Group stage Australia Costa Rica Egypt Germany Iceland Iran Morocco Nigeria Panama Peru Poland Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia South Korea Tunisia Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iran_national_football_team&oldid=850209721 '' Categories : AFC Asian Cup - winning countries Asian national association football teams Iran national football team National sports teams of Iran Football in Iran Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links CS1 Spanish - language sources ( es ) CS1 Finnish - language sources ( fi ) Use dmy dates from June 2018 Wikipedia semi-protected pages Articles containing Persian - language text Articles containing explicitly cited English - language text Articles slanted towards recent events from June 2016 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2016 Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2015 All articles containing potentially dated statements Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2014 Talk View source Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Azərbaycanca تۆرکجه বাংলা Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Български Bosanski Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Қазақша Latina Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar मराठी მარგალური مصرى مازِرونی Bahasa Melayu Монгол မြန်မာဘာသာ Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Slovenčina کوردی Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska தமிழ் Татарча / tatarça ไทย Тоҷикӣ Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 吴语 粵語 中文 58 more Edit links This page was last edited on 14 July 2018, at 12 : 27 ( UTC ). 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Question: when was the last time iran went to world cup
Answer: 2018