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Iran's participation in the World Cup (5)
1930–1978
In 1973, Iran sought to qualify for the World Cup for the first time, but narrowly failed to beat Australia 3-2 in the second qualifying round - first leg (0-3) and second leg (2-0).
Just four years later, the team qualified for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. The team clearly prevailed over its opponents South Korea, Australia and Kuwait. In the second round, Iran won six out of eight matches and drew twice. The matches against Australia, which Iran won 1-0, and against Kuwait, which Iran also won, were particularly noteworthy. In their last encounter, Iran faced Kuwait, who were coached by Mário Zagallo at the time. Iran fielded their U19 side and defeated the home side 2-1, and after their qualifying success, Iran looked like a madhouse. The country celebrated this historic success.
At the World Cup finals, Iran had to face the Netherlands, Peru and the selection of Scotland in Group 4. The team first played the Netherlands, runners-up at the 1974 World Cup in Germany four years earlier. The Oranje Elftal were too big for Heshmat Mohajerani's men. Iran lost heavily 3-0, with top Dutch striker Rob Rensenbrink scoring a hat-trick. In the next match, however, Iran pulled off a surprise. In the match against the then strong national team of Scotland, Iran played lively and defied the Scots for a point. It was in this match that Iraj Danaeifard scored Iran's first goal in a World Cup. In the final group match, Iran faced Peru, who with their top stars Cubillas and La Rosa gave Team Melli no chance and won the match 4-1. Iran ended up last in the group with only one point and was eliminated in the preliminary round.
1982–1998
The Islamic Revolution and the first Gulf War brought football in Iran to a virtual standstill in the 1980s. In 1981, Team Melli withdrew and did not qualify for the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
Four years later in 1985, FIFA suspended Iran for refusing to play its home matches on neutral ground during qualifying for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
The team also did not qualify for the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Iran failed to qualify in the first round - China ended up finishing first in the World Cup qualifying Asia Group 5 and qualified for the second round. In 1993, the Iranian national football team made another attempt to qualify for a World Cup; this time the Iranians were eliminated in the final qualifying round. Saudi Arabia and South Korea represented Asia at the 1994 World Cup in the USA.
It was not until 1997 that Team Melli qualified for a World Cup again. The team started the first qualifying phase with a bang, beating the Maldives 17-0 in their first group game to finish top of their group with 16 points from six games and a goal difference of +36 (39-3). - In the second qualifying round, the success-hungry Iranians came out swinging again, beating China 4-2 away from home, with Mehdi Mahdavikia scoring two goals. The Chinese were also beaten 4-1 in Tehran. However, they ran out of steam at the end of the second round, losing 0-0 to Kuwait and 2-0 to Qatar, the two teams that finished bottom of the table behind Saudi Arabia. - Under the qualifying system, the two runners-up from the second round had to play a decider on neutral territory, the winner of which also qualified for the 1998 World Cup. In that relegation match, Iran lost 3-2 to Japan after extra time and were thus forced into an intercontinental relegation against Oceania winners Australia to determine the final World Cup participant. The first play-off match was played in front of 100,000 spectators at the sold-out Azadi Stadium and ended 1-1. In the second leg, the Australians led 2-0 after 75 minutes of play and looked like certain winners before Karim Bagheri and Khodadad Azizi scored twice in five minutes to plunge the Aussies into deep mourning. After 98 minutes, Hungarian referee Sándor Puhl ended the game and Team Melli qualified for a World Cup after 20 years. The Iranians celebrated their great triumph worldwide. The highlight of all the celebrations was the arrival of the so-called "Heroes of Melbourne", who were enthusiastically welcomed by more than 100,000 spectators in the completely packed Azadi Stadium.
At the 1998 World Cup, the national team faced Germany, Yugoslavia and the USA. Already in the first group match, the signature of former national coach Tomislav Ivić was clearly visible. The team combined confidently and had the game in hand. The Yugoslavs, who fielded a host of football stars including Vladimir Jugović, Dragan Stojković, Darko Kovačević, Siniša Mihajlović, Predrag Mijatović and Savo Milošević, could not find a way to break down the Iranian defence. In the 72nd minute, however, they surprisingly scored the only goal of the game after Iranian goalkeeper Nima Nakissa made a mistake and failed to save Mihajlović's free-kick. The victory of the national team of Yugoslavia was flattering in the view of many experts. - In the second match, the "historic and explosive duel" against the USA, Team Melli achieved its first victory in a World Cup. Prior to the match, there was still a state of alert, as the organizers feared riots. However, both teams made it clear that they were not competing with the intention of fighting each other politically, but to play football: Before kickoff, the Iranian national players presented the U.S. boys with bouquets of flowers, while the coaches of both teams greeted each other amicably. A great idea was due to the spontaneity of both teams, who lined up side by side intermixed for a joint team picture. This symbolic picture later went around the world and made positive headlines. The Iranians played a strong game but missed many opportunities to get a better result than a narrow 2-1. The man of the day was young whirlwind Mehdi Mahdavikia, who put in an outstanding performance throughout the game and scored to make it 2-0 and lead Iran to their biggest ever win at a World Cup. Karim Bagheri, Hamid Reza Estili, the scorer of the first goal, Mehrdad Minavand and Javad Zarincheh also put in fine performances. - In the final group match, the team faced the DFB team. Before the tournament, Iran were planning on losing to Germany, but after their spirited performance against the USA, the team would have none of it. The Iranians held their own in the first half of the game, but the Germans turned it up after the restart and won the game 2-0 after goals from Bierhoff and Klinsmann. Team Melli finished third in the standings at the end of the group stage and were eliminated from the tournament. After the 1998 World Cup, many European clubs were interested in Iranian internationals. Mehdi Mahdavikia moved to the Bundesliga to VfL Bochum and later to Hamburger SV. Mehrdad Minavand moved to SK Sturm Graz, Mehdi Pashazadeh to Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Alireza Mansourian to Skoda Xanthi and Nima Nakissa to AO Kavala. Ali Daei already played in the Bundesliga for Arminia Bielefeld, but announced his move to FC Bayern Munich on the Isar before the World Cup finals. Karim Bagheri, who the Ostwestfalen signed with Ali Daei for the 1997/1998 season, remained loyal to the Arminen.
2002–2010
After the successful World Cup 1998 for Iran, Team Melli wanted to qualify for the next World Cup finals three years later, which took place in South Korea and Japan. Team Melli had to play Guam, Tajikistan and Myanmar in the first round. Even before the first group match, Myanmar withdrew from the qualification. In their first match, the Iranians faced Guam's selection, whom they played dizzily and defeated by a clear margin of 19-0. They also beat Tajikistan 2-0 in their second group game and the first round ended after that match as no second legs were played. - Iran advanced to the second round in style. There they met the eternal opponent Saudi Arabia and the national teams from Bahrain, Iraq and Thailand. Before the first match in the World Cup qualifying Asia Group A was played, the Iranian Football Federation kept its word and hired an experienced European football coach: Miroslav "Ćiro" Blažević, who had surprisingly finished third with Croatia at the 1998 World Cup finals. The IRIFF left Ćiro to choose his assistant coaches, which included Branko Ivanković. The first group match took place in front of 100,000 spectators at Tehran's Azadi Stadium, with Saudi Arabia as the opponents. The signature of Ćiro was visible, Iran played a football worth watching. The defence stood firm, the midfield combined fluidly and the attackers' running routes were well thought out. This modern European style of play was not up to the selection of Saudi Arabia. Team Melli won convincingly 2-0, with Ali Daei scoring both goals. Ćiro's side played a strong qualifying campaign and led the table until their final group game. They conceded their first defeat in their last match against Bahrain, of all teams. Since Saudi Arabia defeated the national team of Thailand at the same time with 4:1, Iran still ended up on the second place in the table on the last matchday and thus missed the direct qualification for the World Cup 2002. - Thus, the Iranians had to go to the relegation again. Two relegation matches between Iran and the V.A. Emirates, the runners-up from Group B, were to determine the team that would then have to play a European country in the intercontinental relegation to determine the final World Cup participant. The Iranian national football team won both matches against the V.A. Emirates and faced Ireland in the final round. In two games, the Irish prevailed 2-1 - first leg 2-0 and second leg 0-1.
After Team Melli failed to qualify for South Korea/Japan 2002, a mudslinging began. People were looking for the culprit or culprits for the failure. While some officials publicly fought each other, Miroslav Blažević resigned from his post. Many players and the vast majority of Iranian football fans and pundits still regret his resignation today, as the team made enormous progress under his direction and the style of play and overall concept gave hope for a successful future.
The 2006 World Cup was held in Germany. Iran beat Laos, Jordan as well as Qatar in the second round, and in the third round Iran qualified directly for the 2006 World Cup behind Japan and ahead of Bahrain as well as the selection of North Korea. - Iran played an overall disappointing World Cup finals and was eliminated in the preliminary round as the last team in Group D with only one point. There were two reasons for Team Melli's poor showing: Internal rank struggles among the leading players and political pressure from the West on the Islamic government - rallies against Tehran's rulers were held before every group match. There was no team spirit, the team played haphazardly and listlessly. The World Cup quarter resembled a holiday resort. The players were more preoccupied with themselves and the many player agents who besieged the quarters every day than with conscientiously preparing for the respective matches. There are numerous video clips on various websites about this. Shortly after the last match, in which Iran drew with much effort against Angola (1-1), Branko Ivanković, who had led Iran to the 2006 World Cup, drew the consequences for the poor results and resigned from his post. - Even before the team returned to Iran, the president of the association was sacked under pressure from the Islamic government, prompting FIFA and later the AFC to intervene and demand that the Iranian Football Association take a stand on Mohammad Dadkan's ouster.
In the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the team beat V.A. Emirates, Kuwait and Syria in the third round of the Asia Zone in Group 5 with much effort and little glamour and moved into the fourth round as top of the table with the runners-up, V.A. Emirates. There, Team Melli faced perennial rivals Saudi Arabia and South Korea in Group 2, as well as North Korea and their group opponents from the third round, the United Arab Emirates. However, they failed to qualify for South Africa. Iran finished the qualifying phase in fourth place in their group and were eliminated.
The Iranian national football team's preparations for the 2010 World Cup were anything but promising. Already announced matches against English or Spanish professional clubs and/or national teams were cancelled by the possible or fixed opponents. The reasons given so far have been a lack of professionalism on the part of the Iranian Football Association - matches were announced even though there was no official confirmation of the desired opponent (e.g. Charlton Athletic) - or political pressure from the respective states on the clubs or national associations - Iran's missile tests not only snubbed the West (e.g. Egypt).
2014
The Iranian national football team managed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup by defeating South Korea 1-0 away in Ulsan on 18 June 2013. In the group stage of the finals, Iran faced Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Nigeria for the first time at a World Cup. A lackluster and scoreless draw against Nigeria was followed by a very respectable performance against Argentina. Despite Iran having a greater share of the game, especially in the second half, Argentina won the match 1-0 with a goal in stoppage time. In the final match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran could not build on their good performance against Argentina. The deserved 3-1 defeat also meant elimination from the group in 2014.
2018
On June 12, 2017, Iran qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia by beating Uzbekistan 2-0 at home. At the World Cup finals, the team certainly knew how to please. After a fortunate opening win over Morocco through an own goal in injury time, Team Melli narrowly lost 1-0 to Spain and still had every chance of reaching the last 16 for the first time before their final group game. A respectable 1-1 draw against Portugal was not enough to advance.
World Cup goalscorer
| Rank | Players | World Cup games | Gates | Participations |
| 1 | Iraj Danaeifard | 2 | 1 | 1978 |
| Yahya Golmohammadi | 2 | 1 | 2006 |
| Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh | 2 | 1 | 2006 |
| Hassan Rowshan | 3 | 1 | 1978 |
| Hamid Estili | 3 | 1 | 1998 |
| Reza Ghoochannejad | 3 | 1 | 2014 |
| Karim Ansarifard | 4 | 1 | 2014, 2018 |
| Mehdi Mahdavikia | 6 | 1 | 1998, 2006 |
Status: 25 June 2018
Iran's participation in the Asian Football Championship (12)
Iran and South Korea are the record holders in Asia with 12 appearances each in the Asian Football Championships, with Team Melli topping the all-time table. Only Iran, Japan and Saudi Arabia have won three tournaments each, but Team Melli are the only national football team on the Asian continent to have won three titles in a row without losing or drawing.
Iran has been the top scorer or scorers in six Asian Football Championships, with Homayoun "Sar talaie" Behzadi (1968), Hossein Ali "Motor talaei" Kalani and Ali Jabbari (1972), Nasser Nouraei and Gholam Hossein Mazloomi (1976), Behtash Fariba (1980), Nasser Mohammadkhani and Shahrokh Baiyani (1984), Ali Daei (1996) and Ali Karimi (2004). Ali Daei still holds the record for the most goals, scoring eight in the 1996 Asian Football Championship in the UAE, a record that still stands today. Iran's second highest scorer at a finals is Behtash Fariba with seven goals (1980).
Iran did not participate in the first edition, the 1956 Asian Football Championship in Hong Kong.
In 1960, the second Asian Cup was held in South Korea. Iran did not, however, qualify for the final round. In the so-called West Zone of the qualifying round they met Israel, Pakistan and India. An unnecessary home defeat against the bottom of the table, Team India, cost Iran their participation in the Asian Cup. The team ended up second behind Israel, against whom Iran won 3-0 at home and drew 1-1 away.
In 1963, Iran refused to play India in the qualifiers for the 1964 Asian Football Championship, which was held in Israel, for political reasons. Since Pakistan also declined, India qualified for the finals.
Iran hosted their fourth Asian Cup in 1968. In their first match, the hosts beat Taiwan 4-0. Their second match, against Hong Kong, also went according to plan, with a 2-0 win. They continued their winning ways in the heated encounter against Burma, the final score 3-1. In the last match, Israel were beaten by Iran. Goals from Homayoun Behzadi and Parviz Ghelichkhani secured Team Melli their first Asian Championship. Homayoun Behzadi became the tournament's record goalscorer with two Israeli players also scoring four goals each.
Thailand was the fifth host of the Asian Cup in 1972. Iran automatically qualified for this finals as the reigning Asian football champions. Iran again won all their matches - 2-0 against Cambodia, 3-0 against Iraq, 3-2 against Thailand, 2-1 in the semi-finals against Cambodia and 2-1 in the final against South Korea - and became the Football Asian Champions for the second year in a row. Iran's top scorers at the finals were Hossein Ali Kalani and Ali Jabbari.
The sixth Asian Championship in 1976 was originally to be hosted by Lebanon. Due to the civil war, the tournament was held in Iran. Iran also won this final tournament with aplomb: 2-0 against Iraq, 8-0 against South Yemen, 2-0 in the semifinals against China and 1-0 in the final against the selection of Kuwait. Iran became the Asian football champion for the third time in a row. Iranian attackers Nasser Nouraei and Gholam Hossein Mazloomi and Kuwaiti Fatehi Kamil were the tournament's top scorers with three goals each. Iranian midfielder Ali Parvin, who scored the winning goal in the final against Kuwait in front of 100,000 spectators at the sold-out Aryamehr Stadium, was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the sixth Asian Football Championship.
With the Islamic Revolution, the big wins came to an end for the time being. At the seventh edition of the 1980 Asian Cup in Kuwait, the reigning Asian champions got off to a weak start, drawing 0-0 with Syria in their first group match. They also failed to win their second preliminary round match against China, the final score 2-2. In their third group match against Bangladesh, Team Melli showed some of their class of earlier days, dispatching the South Asians 7-0. The final group match against North Korea ended in a 3-2 win for Iran, securing their place in the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, the hosts awaited with a few scores to settle with Iran. Carlos Alberto Parreira, who led Brazil to the 1994 World Cup title in the USA and coached Kuwait alongside Mario Zagallo from the mid-1970s, remembered the defeats to Iran well: qualifying for the 1978 World Cup and the 1976 Asian Cup final. The then new head coach of the Kuwaiti national team and his team ended Team Melli's 12-year dominance with a narrow 2-1 victory over Iran. Although Iran beat North Korea 3-0 in the 3rd place match, the team looked tired and unfocused. All goals were conceded between the 60th and 90th minute of the match. Iranian striker Behtash Fariba did have one small success, scoring seven goals to set a new Asian Championships record that would not be broken until 16 years later.
The eighth Asian Cup was held in Singapore in 1984. Iran beat Bangladesh (5-0), Syria (3-1), Thailand (5-0), Indonesia (1-0), Philippines (7-1) and Syria (1-0) to book their place at the Singapore tournament. In contrast to 1980, Team Melli got off to a good start in the finals, beating the V.A. Emirates 3-0 in their opening game and China 2-0 in their second preliminary round match. Two convincing performances were unexpectedly followed by two draws against bottom-placed India (0-0) and Singapore (1-1). Iran thus missed the opportunity to finish the preliminary round at the top of the table. As a result, they had to play the first team in Group 1, Saudi Arabia, in the semi-finals as the runners-up in Group 2. Iran led 1-0 until the 87th minute of the match and had one foot in the final of the eighth Asian Championship before young Iranian defender Shahin Bayani made a momentous mistake that led to the Saudis scoring. Bayani's own goal sent the game into extra time and after 120 minutes of play, both teams had to decide the finalist in a penalty shootout. Carlos Alberto Parreira's side, who beat Iran in the semi-finals of the seventh Asian Cup four years earlier with Kuwait, won the shootout 5-4, meaning Iran missed out on a place in the final for the second year in a row. In the third-place match, the team again lost 5-3 on penalties to Kuwait. Nasser Mohammadkhani and Shahrokh Baiyani (both Iran) and Jia Xiuquan (China) were the tournament's top scorers with three goals apiece.
In 1988, Qatar hosted the ninth Asian Football Championship. The Iranians qualified for the tournament (2-0 against Hong Kong, 1-1 against Syria, 0-0 against North Korea, and 3-0 against Nepal) and faced Qatar, South Korea, Japan, and the U.A. Emirates in the preliminary Group A. While they won their first and third games against the Persian Gulf states Qatar 2-0 and the V.A. Emirates 1-0 with relative ease, the Iranians did not cope at all with the style of play of the East Asian representatives. In their second group game, they managed a meagre 0-0 draw against Japan. Iran advanced to the semifinals of the Asian Cup for the fifth consecutive year, despite losing 3-0 to South Korea in their final preliminary match. Thus, history repeated itself as the team finished second in its group, as it had four years earlier, against the first of the other group, the national team of Saudi Arabia, in the semifinals. In the 1970s, Carlos Alberto Parreira, as assistant coach to Mario Zagallo, lost all his international matches against Iran. This tournament, however, was the third successive Asian Cup semi-final win over Iran, with the final score 1-0. Team Melli were again left with only the third-place match, which they won 3-0 on penalties against China.
Japan hosted the tenth Asian Football Championship in 1992. Iran easily qualified for the tournament, dispatching Pakistan 7-0 and India 3-0, but the final round was possibly the biggest disappointment in the long history of Iranian football. Team Melli were eliminated in the preliminary round of the Asian Cup for the first and, to date, last time. It all started well, with the team beating North Korea 2-0 in their first game. In the second match, which ended 0-0 against the V.A. Emirates, the Iranian national team was also convincing. In their final match of the preliminary round, they faced the hosts, who they stood up to for almost the entire match. However, Japan were lucky to win the game, with the only goal of the match coming in the 87th minute. In the remaining minutes, the Iranians tried hard to find an equaliser but failed to do so.
The eleventh Asian Football Championship was held in the U.A. Emirates in December 1996. Team Melli played a convincing qualifier by winning all their matches against Nepal (8-0 and 4-0), Sri-Lanka (7-0 and 4-0) and Oman (2-0 and 2-1). In the UAE, the team first had to face Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Thailand. While the opener against the Iraqis was a moderate 2-1 defeat, the team quickly found its form and defeated Thailand 3-1 and perennial rivals Saudi Arabia 3-0, a small revenge for the two bitter defeats in the 1980s against the neighbouring state. With the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) increasing the number of finalists from eight to 12 ahead of the tournament, a quarter-final was played for the first time. Iran faced another eternal rival in this round, the national team of South Korea. In this match, Iran made their biggest comeback in a game: after being 2-1 down to South Korea at half-time, Mohammad Mayeli Kohan's side turned it on and played a memorable second half, scoring five goals (4× Ali Daei) and reaching the semi-finals with a 6-2 thumping victory. The semifinals again saw a clash between neighboring Iran and Saudi Arabia. The Saudis played a completely destructive game for 90 minutes. Iran nevertheless created a few good scoring opportunities, but the strong Saudi goalkeeper Mohammad ad-Daʿayyaʿ thwarted them with skill and, on a few occasions, a lot of luck. After 90 minutes, the game went into extra time and the picture did not change. Iran attacked and Saudi Arabia defended with all their might. So the team had to play again in an important and decisive match against Saudi Arabia in a penalty shootout, which Team Melli lost according to tradition, final score: 3:4. At this tournament the Iranians cultivated further traditions: After losing the semi-final to Saudi Arabia, they met Kuwait again in the 3rd place match, as in 1984, and the outcome of this match was traditionally known only after the penalty shootout. This time the Iranian team won 3-2. Ali Daei scored eight goals in the tournament, breaking the record set by his compatriot Behtash Fariba in 1980, a record which no one has yet beaten.
Lebanon hosted the twelfth Asian Football Championship in 2000. Iran beat Maldives (8-0 and 3-0), Syria (1-0 and 1-1) and Bahrain (0-1 and 3-0) to qualify for the tournament. As expected, Iran won the group (Group A). The team came away with a convincing 4-0 win over the hosts, a 1-1 draw with Thailand and a 1-0 win over Iraq. Their quarter-final opponents were again South Korea, as they had been at the last finals in the UAE. Both teams groped at each other for long stretches, which is why there was a lack of scoring opportunities. However, in the 71st minute of the match, Iran took a 1-0 lead through Karim Bagheri's stunning long-range shot and by the 94th minute of the match, Iran looked like the sure winners. Unexpectedly, South Korea equalised in the last minute of injury time and the match went into extra time. Before the tournament, the AFC introduced the golden goal rule, which they abolished after this final round. The first golden goal came in Iran's match against South Korea, when Lee Dong-gook scored in the 99th minute to give South Korea a 2-1 lead and knock Iran out of the tournament. Within five minutes, Iran squandered their spot in the semifinals, so there was a lot of disappointment after the game. Jalal Talebi, the Iranian national coach, consequently resigned from his post.
The thirteenth Asian Football Championship was held in China in the summer of 2004. Iran qualified for the tournament almost effortlessly, winning 4-1 and losing 3-2 to Jordan, beating North Korea 3-1 and 1-0, and beating Lebanon 3-0 and 1-0 to secure their place at the finals in China. In Group 4, Iran first faced Thailand, whom they beat 3-0. In their second match against the Persian Gulf state of Oman, Iran struggled. Oman almost pulled off a sensation before Mohammad Nosrati's stoppage-time goal levelled the scores and saved Iran at least a point. In the final group match against Japan, both teams were tactical and the match ended goalless. Iran progressed to the quarter-finals behind Japan and for the third successive time their opponents were South Korea. Ali Karimi almost single-handedly dispatched the South Koreans. He scored three goals to help his side to a 4-3 win over their perennial East Asian rivals. Team Melli reached the semi-finals of the Asian Cup again after 1996, where they met the hosts in a memorable match with many questionable decisions by the Lebanese referee, who showed Iranian players Sattar Zare (48th) and Mohammad Alavi (83rd) the red card. After 120 minutes, there was no winner, and the finalist was again determined in a penalty shootout. The Iranians, in keeping with tradition, failed in the penalty shootout and were beaten 4-3 by the Chinese. In the match for third place, Bahrain were defeated 4-2. Ali Karimi and a Bahraini international were the top scorers at the Asian Championship with five goals apiece.
Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam jointly hosted the fourteenth edition of the Asian Football Championship in 2007. The Iranian national team faced Syria, South Korea and Taiwan in the qualifiers for this tournament. They played both Syria and South Korea 1-1 in the first leg and won the second leg 2-0, and managed another 2-0 win against Taiwan to finally qualify. Iran failed to convince in any of their matches at the tournament. In the opinion of many Iranian football experts, the team, despite its many stars (including Mehdi Mahdavikia, Wahid Hashemian, Javad Nekounam, Rahman Rezaei, Anderanik Teymourian, Ferydoon Zandi, etc.), was not well-rehearsed, looked tired and behaved in a tactically unwise manner. Iran won their opening game 2-1 against Uzbekistan, fought back to draw 2-2 with China in the second half of their second preliminary round encounter and defeated co-hosts Malaysia 2-0 in their final group game, but all their successes were largely down to the skilful individual efforts of expatriate stars such as Nekounam, Teymourian and Zandi. In the quarter-finals, Iran faced South Korea for the fourth time in a row, who sent a relatively young and inexperienced side into the tournament. Iran, with their many stars, were left wanting. In 120 minutes of play, they could not find a recipe to break down the inexperienced South Korean defence. In the end, both teams faced each other in a penalty shootout, which South Korea won 4-2. The Iranians failed once again in the penalty shootout. After the finals, coach Amir Ghalenoei initially did not resign and regularly gave new reasons for the national team's failure, which were incomprehensible to many experts, fans and even the federation (e.g. too much humidity). However, he never admitted his own mistakes in terms of preparation, squad composition, tactics, etc. After a few weeks, however, he resigned from his post.
At the 2011 Asian Cup, which was held in Qatar, Iran's team also reached the quarter-finals. Once again, their insurmountable opponents were South Korea. And, as four years earlier, 120 minutes of play were needed to determine a winner. But before another penalty shoot-out could be called, Yoon Bit-garam scored the winning goal for the South Koreans.
Iran's participation in the Olympic Games (3)
Iran qualified for the Olympic Games three times (1964, 1972, 1976).
Team Melli did not participate in the 1900-1960 Olympics or the 1968 Olympics.
In 1964 the team qualified for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The team played in group A against Germany, Romania and Mexico. With only a draw against Mexico, the team finished last in the group and started their journey home.
In Munich 1972 they met Hungary, Denmark and Brazil in Group 3. The games against Hungary and Denmark they lost high with 0:5 (Hungary) and 0:4 (Denmark). A respectable success was the first ever victory in an Olympic tournament against the selection of Brazil, which Iran defeated 1-0. Majid Halvai scored the winning goal in the 63rd minute of the match. In the end, Iran were eliminated from the tournament in third place, ahead of Brazil.
At the Olympic Games of the year 1976 in Montréal the team ended up in Group C. The group opponents were Poland, Cuba and Ghana, from which Ghana withdrew before the tournament. Iran won its first group match against Cuba 1-0 (Mazloomi, 28th). In their second match against Poland, Iran took a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute through Parvin, but ended up losing the match 3-2. The team qualified for the quarter-finals as runners-up behind Poland, where Iran met the Soviet Union and lost 2-1.
In 1980 Iran boycotted the games in Moscow, although they managed to qualify for the tournament. The official reason was the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan.
The 1984 Olympic Games, held in Los Angeles, were also boycotted for political reasons.
They did not boycott the 1988 Seoul Olympics, but failed in the first qualifying round.
Since FIFA's 1992 rule that only professionals no older than 23 and a maximum of three older players can compete at the Olympics, Iran, like many other nations, has had an under-23 squad that has yet to qualify for any tournament. Iran also missed out on participation in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in 2007.
Iran's participation in the Asian Games (14)
In 1951, India hosted the first Asian Games in New Delhi. Iran took part in a major tournament (World Cup/Asian Championship, Olympic Games) for the first time ever. The team led by captain Amir Masoud Boroumand narrowly missed out on the gold medal. In the first match they beat Burma with 2:0, in the second match they played a 0:0 against Japan and in the third match they defeated Japan with 3:2. Only the last match against the hosts the team lost with 0:1 and thus won "only" silver.
The Iranian national team did not take part in the 1954 Asian Games in Manila (Philippines).
The third Asian Games were held in Tokyo, Japan in 1958. The Iranian national football team participated in these games, but was eliminated in the preliminary round. The team was clearly defeated by 0:4 against Israel and 0:5 against South Korea.
Jakarta (Indonesia) hosted the fourth Asian Games in 1962. Team Melli decided not to participate in these games.
The fifth Asian Games were held in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1966. Iran entered a young team and won the silver medal for the second time since 1951. The team led by Homayoun Behzadi and Hamid "Pa talaei" Shirzadegan beat Malaysia 2-0 in their opening match. This was followed by a 3-1 loss to Japan, a 4-1 win over India, a narrow 1-0 win over Indonesia, a 1-0 loss to Burma, a 1-0 win over Japan and another 1-0 loss to Burma in the final match.
Bangkok (Thailand) also hosted the sixth Asian Games in 1970. Team Melli, like at the 1958 Asian Games in Japan, was eliminated in the preliminary round after a 2-2 draw with Indonesia and a 1-0 defeat by South Korea.
Iran hosted the seventh Asian Games in Tehran in 1974. The team played a perfect tournament and won all their matches. In their opening match, they thrashed Pakistan 7-0 in front of 70,000 spectators at the Aryamehr Stadium after Gholam Hossein Mazloomi opened the scoring in the fourth minute of the match. In the second match, they beat Burma 2-1 and the third match was played in front of 10,000 spectators at Tehran's old national stadium, Amjadieh Stadium. Their opponents were Bahrain, who went down 6-0 to an Iranian side hungry for success. Iran won the fourth match 1-0 with a goal from Ali Parvin in the 17th minute of the match. On the way to the gold medal even South Korea could not give Iran a leg up. Team Melli prevailed with a 2-0 win over the East Asians. In the penultimate match, they beat neighbours Iraq 1-0 and Iran met Israel in the final. In front of 100,000 spectators at the Aryamehr Stadium, the Iranians did not let anything go and won 1-0 thanks to Itzhak Shum's own goal in the 30th minute of the match. The team of the English coach Frank O'Farrell thus won its first gold medal at the Asian Games.
In 1978 the eighth Asian Games took place again in Bangkok (Thailand). Due to the political unrest in Iran - which ultimately led to the IranianRevolution - the event was not held.
The ninth edition of the Asian Games in 1982 was held in New Delhi, India. After losing 1-0 to Japan in the preliminary round, defeating South Korea 1-0 and beating Yemen 2-0, the team advanced to the quarter-finals, which Kuwait won 1-0 only in extra time.
Seoul, South Korea, hosted the tenth Asian Games in 1986 and Iran got off to a good start, beating Japan 2-0 and Bangladesh 4-0 before losing their third preliminary round encounter 1-0 to Kuwait. After a goal festival against Nepal, whom Iran overran 6-0, the team reached the knockout round. In the quarter-finals they met the hosts, who Iran lost 4-5 on penalties - the score after 120 minutes: 1-1. As four years before, the quarter-finals were the final stop for Iran.
At the eleventh Asian Games in 1990 in Beijing, China, Iran won the gold medal after 16 years. Coach Ali Parvin's team played a perfect tournament, as they had done 16 years earlier at home, winning all their matches. Farshad Pyous, a gifted attacker of the time, single-handedly dispatched Malaysia's selection in the first match. He scored a hat-trick to help his team to a 3-0 win over the South Asians. Pyous also added another goal in the second game in a 2-1 win over North Korea. Iran continued to stay focused in the tournament, beating Japan and South Korea 1-0 in each of their next two matches, and Iran once again faced North Korea in the final match of the eleventh Asian Games. After the game remained goalless after extra time, it went to penalties, which Iran won 4-1.
Iran were eliminated in the preliminary round at the twelfth edition of the Asian Games, held in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1994, after playing only two tired draws against then football underdogs Bahrain (0-0) and Turkmenistan (1-1). Croatian coach Stanko Poklepović's side also stumbled over China, edging out the Iranians 1-0. Their only win at the tournament came in a 4-0 victory over Yemen.
Iran won its third gold medal at the thirteenth Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1998. The Iranians again played a perfect tournament. The team around captain Ali Daei and other stars (among others Karim Bagheri, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Wahid Hashemian, Ali Karimi etc.) won in the preliminary round against Kazakhstan (2:0), Laos (6:2), Oman (4:2), Tajikistan (5:0) and China (2:1). In the quarter-finals, they eliminated Uzbekistan with a 4-0 win. Iran played the semi-finals against the Chinese, whom Team Melli defeated 1-0. In the final, Karimi and Bagheri scored for a 2-0 win over Kuwait. Ali Daei was the tournament's top scorer with nine goals.
The fourteenth Asian Games were held in Busan, South Korea, from 29 September to 14 October 2002. After a decision of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) the countries participating in the football tournament were allowed to send only their U23 national teams into the race for the medals, as at the Olympic Games. Iran's U23 side won gold at the Asian Games for the fourth time overall and the second time in a row. In Doha (Qatar), at the fifteenth edition of the Asian Games, they won the bronze medal.
At the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Iran advanced to the semi-finals, where they lost 2-0 to hosts Qatar. However, they made amends in the form of a bronze medal in the third-place match (1-0 defeat of South Korea).
In 2010, Iran's team again reached the semi-finals, where Japan proved too much of a hurdle (1:2). Again they had to make do with the small final, where again South Korea was waiting. This time it was not enough for a medal, Iran lost with 3:4.
Iran's participation in the Football West Asia Championships (5)
The West Asian Football Championship is a competition of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), which has been played since 2000. Seven tournaments have been held so far, with Iran becoming West Asian champions four times (2000, 2004, 2007, 2008), runners-up once (2010) and third once (2002). In the first edition, they defeated Syria 1-0 in the final, and finished the second tournament by beating Syria 4-2 (on penalties). The third championship was held in Tehran. Iran won the final 4-1 against Syria. In the fourth edition in Jordan, Iran defeated Iraq 2-1 in the final. The fifth Football West Asia Championship was held by Iran. The host team defeated the national team of Jordan 2-1 in the final. In the sixth edition held in Jordan, they lost the final 2-1 to Kuwait. The seventh edition in 2012 was held in Kuwait, where Iran failed at the group stage.
