Iran’s Football History :
Iran’s national football team, governed by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran represents the country in international football tournaments. The team is also known by the nickname Team Melli and is considered one of the strongest teams in Asia. Azadi Stadium is the home ground of the Iran national football team. They rank 1st in Asia and 45th in the world according to World Football Rankings (September 2013).
Their highest world ranking was 15 in July, 2005. World Football Cup participation started in the year 1978 and since then Iran has appeared five times in the mega tournament. Asian Cup participation began in 1956. In the Asian Games, the Iranian football team started contesting from 1951 and has been quite successful in the tournament so far. The team also participated in the West Asian Football Federation Championship in 2010 and finished second.
Iran’s Olympic record is not that satisfactory and it participated only once in 1976 when they entered the quarter-finals. The team played till 1988 and then the authorities decided that football competitors must be under-23 years old. Thus from 1992, the under-23 team has been participating in Olympic Games. Iran’s national football team also participated in other regional tournaments like RCD Cup and became champions three times, and in the West Asian Games winning the title in 1997.
Iran’s success story :
The World Football Cup record of the team is unimpressive so far but in the Asian Cup the team has garnered critical acclaim by winning three titles consecutively from 1968, 1972 and 1976, entered the quarter-finals thrice and finished at 3rd place four times. They have a similar success story for the Asian Games where it grabbed the title four times, finished runners-up twice and entered the quarter-finals twice. In the West Asian Football Federation Championship, their record is again superb, grabbing four titles out of which it won three titles consecutively (2004, 2007, 2008) and one in 2000. Iran with its excellent performance has now qualified for the upcoming World Football Cup scheduled to be held in Brazil.
Iran squad |
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| Goalkeepers: | Daniel Davari (Eintracht Braunschweig/GER) Rahman Ahmadi (Sepahan Isfahan) Alireza Haqiqi (Sporting da Covilha/POR) Sosha Makani (Foolad) Ali Reza Biranvand (Naft Tehran) |
Defenders: | Hossein Mahini (Persepolis) Jalal Hosseini (Persepolis) Ehsan Hajsafi (Sepahan Isfahan) Amir Hossein Sadeqi (Esteghlal) Hashem Beykzadeh (Esteghlal) Khosrow Heidari (Esteghlal) Ahmad Alenemeh (Naft Tehran) Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh (Zob Ahan Isfahan) Pejman Montazeri (Umm Salal SC/QAT) Steven Beitashour (Vancouver Whitecaps FC/CAN) |
| Midfielders: | Mehrdad Pouladi (Persepolis) Reza Haghighi (Persepolis) Andranik Teymourian (Esteghlal) Ghasem Hadadifar (Zob Ahan Isfahan) Bakhtiar Rahmani (Foolad) Javad Nekounam (Kuwait SC/KUW) Ashkan Dejagah (Fulham/ENG) Masoud Shojaei (UD Las Palmas/ESP) |
Forwards: | Mohammad Reza Khalatbari (Persepolis) Mehdi Sharifi (Sepahan Isfahan) Karim Ansarifard (Tractor Sazi) Reza Ghoochannejhad (Charlton Athletic/ENG) Alireza Jahanbakhsh (NEC/NED) Sardar Azmoun (FC Rubin Kazan/RUS) Reza Norouzi (Naft Tehran) |
Iran’s performance in all World Football Cups :
| World Football Cup Year | World Football Cup Hosting Nation | World Football Cup Qualification | Quarter Final Birth | Semi Final Birth | Third Place Secured | Reached Final | Title Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | South Africa | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2006 | Germany | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 2002 | South Korea | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1998 | France | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1994 | United States | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1990 | Italy | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1986 | Mexico | Disqualified | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1982 | Spain | Withdrew | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1978 | Argentina | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1974 | West Germany | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1970 | Mexico | Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1966 | England | Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1962 | Chile | Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1958 | Sweden | Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1954 | Switzerland | Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1950 | Brazil | Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1938 | France | Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1934 | Italy | Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1930 | Uruguay | Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 19 World Football Cups | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
