# Iran national under-23 football team

Iran national under-23 football team, also known as Iran U-23 or Iran Olympic Team; represents Iran in international football competitions in Olympic Games, Asian Games and AFC U-22 Asian Cup, as well as any other under-23 international football tournaments. It is controlled by the Iran Football Federation.

## History

The winner of the gold medal at the 2002 Asian Games, the team was prepared to defend its championship title at the football tournament of the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. Despite a suspension by FIFA, preventing Iran to enter any international football competition, the Iran under-23 team was given special permission to participate in the Asian Games, where they won the bronze medal.

### Wild cards

Football at the Asian Games has required that under-23 players enter the competitions, but they have allowed three over-age players can be included in the squad. Iran used three players, known as the "Wild cards", in three versions of the games in 2002, 2006, 2010 And 2022:
| Competition | Wild card 1 | Wild card 2 | Wild card 3 |
| 2002 Asian Games | Ali Daei (C) | Yahya Golmohammadi | Ebrahim Mirzapour (GK) |
| 2006 Asian Games | Hassan Roudbarian (C/GK) | Arash Borhani | Jalal Hosseini |
| 2010 Asian Games | Mehdi Rahmati (C/GK) | Gholamreza Rezaei | Jalal Hosseini |
| 2022 Asian Games | Hossein Hosseini (C/GK) | Amir Arsalan Motahari |

## Results and fixtures
### Legend

Win  Draw  Loss  Fixture

### 2023
## Coaching staff
### Current coaching staff

    As of 05 September 2023
| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Eurico Pinhal |
| Assistant coaches | Javad Manafi Mohammad Hassan Rajabzadeh Meisam Rezapour Milton Mendes |
| Goalkeeping coach | Mohammad Amin Sanayaei |
| Fitness coach | Salar Amini |
| analyzer | Majid Karimi |
| Team Supervisor | Mehran Farghani |
| Physiotherapist | |
| Team doctor | |
| Team manager | Habib Kashani |

### Manager history

* Hassan Habibi (1991–1994)
* Enver Hadžiabdić (1994)
* Hans-Jürgen Gede (1994–1995)
* Hassan Habibi (1995)
* Ebrahim Ghasempour (1997–1999)
* Egon Coordes (1999)
* Mehdi Monajati (1999–2002)
* Branko Ivanković (2002–2003)
* Mohammad Mayeli Kohan (2003–2004)
* Renê Simões (2005–2006)
* Vinko Begović (2006–2007)
* Nenad Nikolić (2007–2008)
* Gholam Hossein Peyrovani (2009–2010)
* Human Afazeli (2010–2011)
* Ali Reza Mansourian (2011–2014)
* Human Afazeli (2014)
* Nelo Vingada (2014)
* Mohammad Khakpour (2014–2016)
* Amir Hossein Peiravani (2017)
* Zlatko Kranjčar (2018–2019)
* Farhad Majidi (2019)
* Hamid Estili (2019–2021)
* Mehdi Mahdavikia (2021–2022)
* Reza Enayati (2023)
* Eurico Pinhal (2023–)

## Players
### Current squad
#### 2022 Asian Games squad

The following 22 players were called up for the 2022 Asian Games.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Club |
| 1 | 1GK | Hossein Hosseini* | (1992-06-30) 30 June 1992 (age 32) | Esteghlal |
| | 1GK | Alireza Rezaei | (1999-12-11) 11 December 1999 (age 25) | Nassaji |
| | 1GK | Sina Saeidifar | (2001-04-12) 12 April 2001 (age 23) | Esteghlal |
| 2 | 2DF | Saman Touranian | (2001-12-12) 12 December 2001 (age 23) | Esteghlal |
| 3 | 2DF | Hossein Goudarzi | (2001-05-04) 4 May 2001 (age 23) | Shams Azar |
| 4 | 2DF | Saman Fallah | (2001-05-12) 12 May 2001 (age 23) | Gol Gohar |
| 14 | 2DF | Amir Jafari | (2002-01-18) 18 January 2002 (age 23) | Gol Gohar |
| | 2DF | Sina Shahabbasi | (2001-04-14) 14 April 2001 (age 23) | Foolad |
| | 2DF | Majid Nasiri | (2000-05-14) 14 May 2000 (age 24) | Mes |
| | 2DF | Mohammad Reza Bordbar | (2004-08-26) 26 August 2004 (age 20) | Malavan |
| | 3MF | Mohammad Hossein Eslami | (2001-04-13) 13 April 2001 (age 23) | Zob Ahan |
| | 3MF | Omid Hamedifar | (2000-08-19) 19 August 2000 (age 24) | Esteghlal |
| | 3MF | Mohammad Khodabandelou | (1999-09-07) 7 September 1999 (age 25) | Persepolis |
| | 3MF | Mohammad Omri | (2000-03-11) 11 March 2000 (age 24) | Malavan |
| | 3MF | Yasin Salmani | (2002-02-27) 27 February 2002 (age 23) | Persepolis |
| | 3MF | Gholamreza Sabet Imani | (2000-04-06) 6 April 2000 (age 24) | Paykan |
| | 3MF | Fardin Yousefi | (2000-10-13) 13 October 2000 (age 24) | Zob Ahan |
| | 3MF | Mehdi Mamizadeh | (2000-04-15) 15 April 2000 (age 24) | Gol Gohar |
| | 3MF | Mohammad Reza Ghobeishavi | (2000-01-24) 24 January 2000 (age 25) | Foolad |
| | 4FW | Amir Arsalan Motahari* | (1993-03-10) 10 March 1993 (age 31) | Tractor |
| 11 | 4FW | Aria Barzegar | (2002-10-10) 10 October 2002 (age 22) | Nassaji |
* Over-aged player

#### 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification squad

The following 24 players were called up for the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Club |
| 1 | 1GK | Mohammad Reza Khaledabadi | (2001-04-30)30 April 2001 (aged 22) | Esteghlal |
| 12 | 1GK | Sina Saeidifar | (2001-04-12)12 April 2001 (aged 22) | Shams Azar |
| 22 | 1GK | Payam Parsa | (2002-07-22)22 July 2002 (aged 20) | Sanat Naft |
| 2 | 2DF | Saman Touranian | (2001-12-12)12 December 2001 (aged 21) | Esteghlal |
| 3 | 2DF | Hossein Goudarzi | (2001-05-04)4 May 2001 (aged 22) | Shams Azar |
| 4 | 2DF | Daniel Airy | (2003-10-26)26 October 2003 (aged 19) | Zob Ahan |
| 5 | 2DF | Amin Hazbavi | (2003-05-06)6 May 2003 (aged 20) | Al Sadd |
| 13 | 2DF | Aria Yousefi | (2002-04-22)22 April 2002 (aged 21) | Sepahan |
| 14 | 2DF | Amir Jafari | (2002-01-18)18 January 2002 (aged 21) | Gol Gohar |
| 17 | 2DF | Mohammad Mehdi Ahmadi | (2001-01-10)10 January 2001 (aged 22) | Persepolis |
| 21 | 2DF | Sina Ghasemi | (2004-03-17)17 March 2004 (aged 19) | KIA |
| 23 | 2DF | Mohammadreza Bordbar | (2004-08-26)26 August 2004 (aged 18) | Malavan |
| | 2DF | Saman Fallah | (2001-05-12)12 May 2001 (aged 22) | Gol Gohar |
| 6 | 3MF | Alireza Bavieh | (2002-08-21)21 August 2002 (aged 20) | Foolad |
| 8 | 3MF | Mohammad Javad Hosseinnejad | (2003-10-26)26 October 2003 (aged 19) | Sepahan |
| 10 | 3MF | Yasin Salmani (captain) | (2001-12-20)20 December 2001 (aged 21) | Persepolis |
| 11 | 3MF | Aria Barzegar | (2002-11-10)10 November 2002 (aged 20) | Nassaji |
| 16 | 3MF | Mohammad Ghorbani | (2001-05-21)21 May 2001 (aged 22) | Sepahan |
| 18 | 3MF | Ali Asghar Sadeghi | (2001-02-01)1 February 2001 (aged 22) | Mes Rafsanjan |
| 19 | 3MF | Ali Pourdara | (2001-11-21)21 November 2001 (aged 21) | Kuwait |
| 7 | 4FW | Mohammadhossein Eslami | (2001-04-13)13 April 2001 (aged 22) | Zob Ahan |
| 9 | 4FW | Allahyar Sayyadmanesh | (2001-06-20)20 June 2001 (aged 21) | Hull City |
| 15 | 4FW | Mohammad Taha Tabatabaei | (2002-05-02)2 May 2002 (aged 21) | Saipa |
| 20 | 4FW | Mehdi Hashemnejad | (2001-10-27)27 October 2001 (aged 21) | Tractor |

## Previous squads
### AFC U-23 Asian Cup

* 2013 AFC U-23 Championship squad
* 2016 AFC U-23 Championship squad
* 2020 AFC U-23 Championship squad
* 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup squads

### Asian Games

* 2002 Asian Games Squad
* 2006 Asian Games Squad
* 2010 Asian Games Squad
* 2014 Asian Games Squad
* 2018 Asian Games Squad
* 2022 Asian Games Squad

## Honours
### Continental

* Asian Games$^†$
    Gold Medal (1): 2002
    Bronze Medal (1): 2006
    4th place (1): 2010
$^†$U-23 teams were favoured by AFC and the IOC since 2002 Asian Games.The Senior team competed in the games before 2002.

### Regional

* WAFF U-23 Championship
    Winners (1): 2015
    Runners-up (1): 2023
* West Asian Games
    Champions (1): 1997.
    Runners-up (1): 2002.
    3rd place (1): 2005.

### Other

* Semi-finalists in 1999 Dunhill Cup
* 1st place in 2006 VTV-T&T Cup (Spring Cup)
* 3rd place in 2008 Turkmenistan President's Cup
* 1st place in 2010 Velayat Cup
* 2nd place in 2010 Ho Chi Minh City Cup
* 1st place in 2013 International Friendship Youth Tournament
* 1st place in Antalya Tournament

## Competitive record
### Olympic Games

| Summer Olympic Games Record | Summer Olympic Games Record | Summer Olympic Games Record | Summer Olympic Games Record | Summer Olympic Games Record | Summer Olympic Games Record | Summer Olympic Games Record | Summer Olympic Games Record | Summer Olympic Games Record | Qualification record | Qualification record | Qualification record | Qualification record | Qualification record | Qualification record |
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| 1908–1988 | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | See Iran national team |
| 1992 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 6 |
| 1996 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 |
| 2000 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 2004 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 9 |
| 2008 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 |
| 2012 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 2016 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 9 |
| 2020 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 4 |
| 2024 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| 2028 | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined |
| 2032 | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined |
| Total | — | 0/7 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 46 | 21 | 9 | 16 | 90 | 50 |

### AFC U-23 Asian Cup

| AFC U-23 Asian Cup record | AFC U-23 Asian Cup record | AFC U-23 Asian Cup record | AFC U-23 Asian Cup record | AFC U-23 Asian Cup record | AFC U-23 Asian Cup record | AFC U-23 Asian Cup record | AFC U-23 Asian Cup record | AFC U-23 Asian Cup record | Qualification record | Qualification record | Qualification record | Qualification record | Qualification record | Qualification record |
| Year | Result | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA | Squad | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
| 2014 | Group Stage | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | Squad | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 |
| 2016 | Quarter-finals | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | Squad | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 2 |
| 2018 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2020 | Group stage | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | Squad | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 2022 | Group stage | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | Squad | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| 2024 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| 2026 | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | | | | | | |
| Total | 4/5 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 19 | — | 20 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 52 | 11 |
    *Denotes draws which include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

### Asian Games

Asian Games record :
| Year | Round | PLD | W | D | L | GS | GA | Squad |
| 1951 to 1998 | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | See Iran national team |
| 2002 | Champions | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 2 | Squad |
| 2006 | Third Place | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 6 | Squad |
| 2010 | Fourth Place | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 8 | Squad |
| 2014 | Group Stage | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | Squad |
| 2018 | Round of 16 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Squad |
| 2022 | Quarter-finals | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1 | Squad |
| 2026 | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined |
| 2030 | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined |
| 2034 | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined |
| Total | 6/6 | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 54 | 26 | — |

### WAFF U-23 Championship

WAFF U-23 Championship record :
| Year | Result | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
| 2015 | Champions | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 |
| 2021 | Not a WAFF member | Not a WAFF member | Not a WAFF member | Not a WAFF member | Not a WAFF member | Not a WAFF member | Not a WAFF member |
| 2022 | Not a WAFF member | Not a WAFF member | Not a WAFF member | Not a WAFF member | Not a WAFF member | Not a WAFF member | Not a WAFF member |
| 2023 | Runners-up | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| Total | 2/4 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 6 |
* ↑ Not a WAFF member, participated as invitee.

### West Asian Games

West Asian Games record :
| Year | Round | PLD | W | D | L | GS | GA |
| 1997 | Champions | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 |
| 2002 | Runners-up | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
| 2005 | Third place | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 |
| Total | 3/3 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 23 | 10 |

### Islamic Solidarity Games

Islamic Solidarity Games record :
| Year | Round | PLD | W | D | L | GS | GA |
| 2005 | See Iran B national team | See Iran B national team | See Iran B national team | See Iran B national team | See Iran B national team | See Iran B national team | See Iran B national team |
| 2010 | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 2013 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2017 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2021 | Group Stage | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| 2025 | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined |
| Total | 1/4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
* ↑ Iran withdrew before the start of the tournament. However, all results were announced as 3–0 in favor of Iran's opponents.