Iran national football team

General

Kit history

Iran
Nickname(s)	تیم ملی (Team Melli - The National Team) شیران ایران (Shirane Iran - The Iranian Lions) شاهزادگان پارسی (Shahzadehgane Parsi - The Princes of Persia) ستارگان پارسی (Setarehgane Parsi - The Persian Stars)
Association	Football Federation of Iran (FFIRI)
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Head coach	Marc Wilmots
Captain	Masoud Shojaei
Most caps	Javad Nekounam (151)
Top scorer	Ali Daei (109)
Home Stadium	Azadi Stadium
FIFA code	IRN
FIFA ranking	37 1 (7 June 2018)
Highest FIFA ranking	15 (August 2005)
Lowest FIFA ranking	122 (May 1996)
Elo ranking	21 1 (20 June 2018)
Highest Elo ranking	15 (May 2005)
Lowest Elo ranking	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	Round 1, 1978, 1998, 2006
Asian Cup appearances	14 (First in 1968)
Best result	Winners; 1968, 1972, 1976

The Iran national football team is the national association football team of Iran and is controlled by the Iran Football Federation, the governing body for football in Iran. The team plays its own games at Azadi Stadium in Tehran, and their current manager is Carlos Queiroz.

History

Main article:History of the Iran national football team

Results and fixtures

      Win       Draw       Loss

2017=

2018 FWC Q 31 August 2017	South Korea	0–0	Iran	Seoul, South Korea
21:00 UTC+9		Report (FIFA) Report (AFC)		Stadium: World Cup Stadium Attendance: 63,124 Referee: Peter Green (Australia)

2018 FWC Q 5 September 2017	Iran	2–2	Syria	Tehran, Iran
19:30 UTC+4:30	Azmoun  45', 64'	Report (FIFA) Report (AFC)	Haj Mohamad  13' Al-Somah  90+3'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 62,165 Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

Friendly 5 October 2017	Iran	2–0	Togo	Tehran, Iran
18:30 UTC+4:30	Ansarifard  51', 60'	Report		Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Yaqoob Abdulbaki (Oman)

Friendly 10 October 2017	Russia	1–1	Iran	Kazan, Russia
19:00 UTC+3	Poloz  74'	Report	Azmoun  57'	Stadium: Kazan Arena Attendance: 33,270 Referee: Milorad Mažić (Serbia)

Friendly 9 November 2017	Iran	2–1	Panama	Graz, Austria
19:30 UTC+1	Dejagah  15' (pen.) Ghoddos  18'	Report	Torres  38' (pen.)	Stadium: Liebenauer Stadium Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Manuel Schüttengruber (Austria)

Friendly 13 November 2017	Venezuela	0–1	Iran	Nijmegen, Netherlands
13:00 UTC+1		Report	Jahanbakhsh  57'	Stadium: Stadion de Goffert Attendance: 100 Referee: Pol van Boekel (Netherlands)

2018

Friendly 17 March 2018	Iran	4–0	Sierra Leone	Tehran, Iran
15:30 UTC+4:30	Khanzadeh  14' Gholizadeh  15', 47' Rezaei  35'	Report		Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Mooud Bonyadifard (Iran)

Friendly 23 March 2018	Tunisia	1–0	Iran	Radès, Tunisia
19:15 UTC+1	Mohammadi  71' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Stade Olympique de Radès Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Ibrahim Nour El-Din (Egypt)

Friendly 27 March 2018	Iran	2–1	Algeria	Graz, Austria
18:00 UTC+2	Azmoun  11' Taremi  19'	Report	Chafaï  56'	Stadium: Liebenauer Stadium Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Julian Weinberger (Austria)

Friendly 19 May 2018	Iran	1–0	Uzbekistan	Tehran, Iran
21:00 UTC+4:30	Cheshmi  17'	Report		Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Saoud Al-Athbah (Qatar)

Friendly 28 May 2018	Turkey	2–1	Iran	Istanbul, Turkey
21:15 UTC+3	Tosun  6', 50'	Report	Dejagah  90+2' (pen.)	Stadium: Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Valentin Kovalenko (Uzbekistan)

Friendly 6 June 2018	Iran	1–0	Lithuania	Moscow, Russia
18:15 UTC+3	Ansarifard  88'	Report		Stadium: Otkritie Training Arena Attendance: 0 Referee: Aleksei Eskov (Russia)

2018 FWC GS 15 June 2018	Morocco	0–1	Iran	Saint Petersburg, Russia
18:00 UTC+3		Report (FIFA) Report (BBC)	Bouhaddouz  90+5' (o.g.)	Stadium: Krestovsky Stadium Attendance: 62,548 Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)

2018 FWC GS 20 June 2018	Iran	0–1	Spain	Kazan, Russia
21:00 UTC+3		Report (FIFA) Report (BBC)	Costa  54'	Stadium: Kazan Arena Attendance: 42,718 Referee: Andrés Cunha (Uruguay)

2018 FWC GS 25 June 2018	Iran	v	Portugal	Saransk, Russia
21:00 UTC+3		Report		Stadium: Mordovia Arena

2019

2019 AAC GS 7 January 2019 (2019-01-07)	Iran	v	Yemen	Abu Dhabi, UAE
20:00 UTC+4		Report		Stadium: Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium

2019 AAC GS 12 January 2019 (2019-01-12)	Vietnam	v	Iran	Abu Dhabi, UAE
15:00 UTC+4		Report		Stadium: Al Nahyan Stadium

2019 AAC GS 16 January 2019 (2019-01-16)	Iran	v	Iraq	Dubai, UAE
20:00 UTC+4		Report		Stadium: Al-Maktoum Stadium

Players

Current squad

The following 23 players have been called up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Caps and goals are correct as of: 20 June 2018 after match against Spain.

#	Pos	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Alireza Beiranvand	21 September 1992 (1992-09-21)	24	0	Persepolis
12	1GK	Mohammad Mazaheri	18 May 1989 (1989-05-18)	3	0	Zob Ahan
22	1GK	Amir Abedzadeh	26 April 1993 (1993-04-26)	1	0	Marítimo
4	2DF	Rouzbeh Cheshmi	24 July 1993 (1993-07-24)	11	1	Esteghlal
5	2DF	Milad Mohammadi	29 September 1993 (1993-09-29)	20	0	Akhmat Grozny
8	2DF	Morteza Pouraliganji	19 April 1992 (1992-04-19)	29	2	Al-Sadd
13	2DF	Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh	11 May 1991 (1991-05-11)	11	1	Padideh
15	2DF	Pejman Montazeri	6 September 1983 (1983-09-06)	46	2	Esteghlal
19	2DF	Majid Hosseini	20 June 1996 (1996-06-20)	3	0	Esteghlal
23	2DF	Ramin Rezaeian	21 March 1990 (1990-03-21)	30	2	Oostende
2	3MF	Mehdi Torabi	10 September 1994 (1994-09-10)	17	4	Saipa
3	3MF	Ehsan Hajsafi	25 February 1990 (1990-02-25)	92	6	Olympiacos
6	3MF	Saeid Ezatolahi	1 October 1996 (1996-10-01)	26	1	Amkar Perm
7	3MF	Masoud Shojaei (Captain)	9 June 1984 (1984-06-09)	75	8	AEK Athens
9	3MF	Omid Ebrahimi	16 September 1987 (1987-09-16)	32	0	Esteghlal
11	3MF	Vahid Amiri	2 April 1988 (1988-04-02)	37	1	Persepolis
14	3MF	Saman Ghoddos	6 September 1993 (1993-09-06)	10	1	Östersund
18	3MF	Alireza Jahanbakhsh	11 August 1993 (1993-08-11)	40	4	AZ
21	3MF	Ashkan Dejagah (Vice-Captain)	5 July 1986 (1986-07-05)	45	9	Nottingham Forest
10	4FW	Karim Ansarifard	3 April 1990 (1990-04-03)	63	16	Olympiacos
16	4FW	Reza Ghoochannejhad	20 September 1987 (1987-09-20)	44	16	Heerenveen
17	4FW	Mehdi Taremi	18 July 1992 (1992-07-18)	29	11	Al-Gharafa
20	4FW	Sardar Azmoun	1 January 1995 (1995-01-01)	35	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 30 June 1992 (1992-06-30) 2 0 Esteghlal 2018 FIFA World Cup PRE, May 2018 GK Hamed Lak 24 November 1990 (1990-11-24) 3 0 Foolad v. Sierra Leone, 17 March 2018 GK Mohammad Reza Akhbari 15 February 1993 (1993-02-15) 1 0 Saipa Tehran training camp, November 2017 GK Alireza Haghighi 2 May 1988 (1988-05-02) 23 0 Unattached v. Russia, 10 October 2017 DF Jalal Hosseini 3 February 1982 (1982-02-03) 116 8 Persepolis 2018 FIFA World Cup PRE, May 2018 DF Vouria Ghafouri 20 September 1987 (1987-09-20) 20 0 Esteghlal 2018 FIFA World Cup PRE, May 2018 DF Steven Beitashour 1 February 1987 (1987-02-01) 6 0 Los Angeles 2018 FIFA World Cup PRE, May 2018 DF Saeid Aghaei 9 February 1995 (1995-02-09) 5 0 Sepahan 2018 FIFA World Cup PRE, May 2018 DF Mohammad Ansari 23 September 1991 (1991-09-23) 4 0 Persepolis 2018 FIFA World Cup PRE, May 2018 DF Omid Noorafkan 9 April 1997 (1997-04-09) 1 0 Charleroi 2018 FIFA World Cup PRE, May 2018 DF Hossein Kanaanizadegan 23 March 1994 (1994-03-23) 3 0 Saipa Tehran training camp, November 2017 DF Danial Mahini 25 September 1993 (1993-09-25) 1 0 Saipa Tehran training camp, November 2017 DF Milad Zakipour 23 November 1995 (1995-11-23) 0 0 Esteghlal Tehran training camp, November 2017 DF Ezzatollah Pourghaz 21 March 1987 (1987-03-21) 8 0 Sepahan v. Syria, 5 September 2017 DF Hossein Mahini 16 September 1986 (1986-09-16) 23 0 Persepolis v. Uzbekistan, 12 June 2017 MF Ali Karimi 11 February 1994 (1994-02-11) 9 0 Sepahan 2018 FIFA World Cup PRE / INJ, May 2018 MF Soroush Rafiei 24 March 1990 (1990-03-24) 5 0 Al-Khor 2018 FIFA World Cup PRE, May 2018 MF Ahmad Abdollahzadeh 6 May 1993 (1993-05-06) 4 0 Foolad 2018 FIFA World Cup PRE, May 2018 MF Kamal Kamyabinia 18 January 1989 (1989-01-18) 5 1 Persepolis v. Sierra Leone, 17 March 2018 MF Akbar Imani 21 March 1992 (1992-03-21) 3 0 Zob Ahan v. Venezuela, 13 November 2017 MF Farshid Esmaeili 23 February 1994 (1994-02-23) 0 0 Esteghlal Tehran training camp, November 2017 MF Morteza Tabrizi 6 January 1991 (1991-01-06) 0 0 Zob Ahan Tehran training camp, November 2017 FW Ali Gholizadeh 10 March 1996 (1996-03-10) 2 2 Charleroi 2018 FIFA World Cup PRE, Jun 2018 FW Kaveh Rezaei 5 April 1992 (1992-04-05) 9 1 Charleroi 2018 FIFA World Cup PRE, May 2018 FW Ali Alipour 23 September 1994 (1994-09-23) 1 0 Persepolis v. Sierra Leone, 17 March 2018 FW Sasan Ansari 4 May 1991 (1991-05-04) 0 0 Sepahan Tehran training camp, November 2017 Notes INJ Player withdrawn from the squad due to an injury. PRE Preliminary squad. RC Player suspended for yellow or red card accumulation. RET Player retired from the national team. SUS Player suspended. Current coaching staff Alumni Former players Main article:List of Iranian international players Managers Main article:List of Iran international managers Honours Continental Asian Cup Champions (3): 1968, 1972, 1976 Third Place (4): 1980, 1988, 1996, 2004 Asian Games † Champions (4): 1974, 1990, 1998, 2002 Runners-Up(2): 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 (4): 2000, 2004, 2007*, 2008 Runners-Up(1): 2010 ECO Cup Champions (3): 1965, 1970, 1993 Runners-Up(2): 1967, 1969 * as B Team Intercontinental AFC/OFC Challenge Cup Champions (1): 2003 Afro-Asian Cup of Nations Runners-Up(1): 1991 Other LG Cup Champions (3):2001, 2002, 2002 External links Iran Iranian competitions · Iranian Coaches · Iranian players · Iranian Stadiums National football teams of Asia (AFC) Afghanistan · Australia · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Bhutan · Brunei · Cambodia · China PR · Chinese Taipei · Guam · Hong Kong · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Japan · Jordan · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Lebanon · Macau · Malaysia · Maldives · Mongolia · Myanmar · Nepal · North Korea · Northern Mariana Islands† · Oman · Pakistan · Palestine · Philippines · Qatar · Saudi Arabia · Singapore · South Korea · Sri Lanka · Syria · Tajikistan · Thailand · Timor-Leste · Turkmenistan · United Arab Emirates · Uzbekistan · Vietnam · Yemen † Associate member - Not a member of FIFA Iran – 2014 FIFA World Cup – Group stage 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. Pouladi Manager:   Carlos Queiroz Iran – 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 Manager:   Carlos Queiroz Iran – 2018 FIFA World Cup – Group stage 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 Manager:   Carlos Queiroz