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Iran
Nickname(s)	Team Melli ("The National Team")
Association	I.R.I.F.F.
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Head coach	vacant
Captain	Mehdi Mahdavikia
Most caps	Ali Daei (149)
Top scorer	Ali Daei (109)
Home stadium	Azadi Stadium
FIFA code	IRN
FIFA ranking	41
Highest FIFA ranking	15 (July 2005)
Lowest FIFA ranking	122 (May 1996)
Elo ranking	23
Highest Elo ranking	15 (May 2005)
Lowest Elo ranking	73 (January 1964)
Home colours 　 Away colours
First international
Afghanistan 0 - 0 Iran (Kabul, Afghanistan; January 1, 1941)
Biggest win
Iran 19 - 0 Guam (Tabriz, Iran; November 24, 2000)
Biggest defeat
Turkey 6 - 1 Iran (Istanbul, Turkey; May 28, 1950) South Korea 5 - 0 Iran (Tokyo, Japan; May 28, 1958) Hungary 5 - 0 Iran (Munich, Germany; August 27, 1972)
World Cup
Appearances	3 (First in 1978)
Best result	Round 1, 1978, 1998, 2006
AFC Asian Cup
Appearances	11 (First in 1968)
Best result	Winners, 1968, 1972, 1976

The Iran national football team (Persian: تیم ملی فوتبال ایران) represents Iran in international football competitions and is controlled by the Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation. The Iranian national football team is known as Team Melli. It is one of the strongest teams in Asia, the second highest ranking Asian team in FIFA's latest World Rankings. As of December 2007, Iran is ranked 41 in the FIFA World Rankings and 23 in the World Football Elo Ratings. Iran was, at its peak, ranked 15th in both FIFA and Elo world rankings.

Contents 1 History 1.1 1978: The first World Cup 1.2 After Revolution 1.3 1998 FIFA World Cup in France 1.4 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany 1.5 Temporarily Suspension 2 Stadium 3 Kit 4 Tournament records 4.1 World Cup record 4.2 Olympic Games record 4.3 Asian Cup record 4.4 Asian Games record 4.5 West Asian Football Federation Championship record 4.6 RCD Cup/ECO Cup record 5 Matches 5.1 Last matches 5.2 Next matches 6 Managers 7 Players 7.1 Current squad 7.1.1 Goalkeepers 7.1.2 Defenders 7.1.3 Midfielders 7.1.4 Forwards 7.2 Previous squads 7.2.1 Wrold Cups 7.2.2 Asian Cups 7.3 Notable past players 7.4 Most capped players 7.5 Top goalscorers 7.6 Iran World Cup captains 8 References 9 See also 10 Media coverage 11 External links

Iran have won the Asian Cup three consecutive times (1968, 1972, 1976) and have finished third four times. In 1978, Iran made its first appearance in the World Cup and lost two of their three group stage games against the Netherlands and Peru. However, they managed to create a surprise by drawing 1-1 against Scotland with a late Iraj Danaeifard goal.

After the 1979 Revolution, football was somewhat neglected and cast aside during the mid 1980s due to internal unrest and the Iran-Iraq War although rumors saying that Iran didn't play football during that time are untrue.^{[citation needed]} Football managed to make its revival in the early 1990s with new talents like Ali Daei, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Khodadad Azizi and Karim Bagheri.

ABEDZADEH BAGHERI PEYROVANI KHAKPOUR ZARINCHEH MAHDAVIKIA ESTILI MOHAMMADKHANI SHAHROUDI AZIZI DAEI

Iran lineup during the 1998 World Cup

Additional information: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (play-off AFC-OFC)

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 Mihajlović.

Iran recorded their first World Cup victory in the second game, beating the United States 2-1, with Estili and 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. 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.^{[citation needed]}

Iran played against Germany in the third game. The game was lost 2-0. The goals were scored by Bierhoff and Klinsmann. The one win and two losses meant Iran became third in the final group standing and failed to make it to the next round.

Additional information: 2006 FIFA World Cup - Group D

Additional information: 2006 FIFA World Cup seeding

On June 8, 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 was the highest attended qualifying match among all confederations.

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 Christiano 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 the 21st of June 2006, Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh scoring the Iran goal.

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.^[1] The ban lasted less than a month, ^[2] and as a dispensation was given to allow the Iran under-23 team to participate in the football competition of the 2006 Asian Games, ^[3] fixtures were unaffected.

Iran play their home games at Azadi (Freedom) Stadium which was built in the mid 1970s with a capacity of over 100,000. A Record was set in Azadi for the home match of the World Cup Qualifying campaign against Japan, where the whole stadium was filled.

Iran's current jersey is provided by Puma. Iran's previous jersey was manufactured by Ali Daei's company Daei Sport's Wears & Equipments

World Cup record Year Round GP W D L GS GA 1930 to 1970 Did not enter - - - - - - 1974 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1978 Round 1 3 0 1 2 2 8 1982 Withdrew - - - - - - 1986 Disqualified for refusal to play at neutral sites - - - - - - 1990 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1994 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1998 Round 1 3 1 0 2 2 4 2002 Did not qualify - - - - - - 2006 Round 1 3 0 1 2 2 6 Total Best: Round 1 9 1 2 6 6 18

World Cup matches (by opponent) Against Wins Draws Losses Total  Peru 0 0 1 1  Germany 0 0 1 1  USA 1 0 0 1  Portugal 0 0 1 1  Mexico 0 0 1 1  Netherlands 0 0 1 1  Yugoslavia 0 0 1 1  Scotland 0 1 0 1  Angola 0 1 0 1 Total 1 2 6 9

World Cup history Year Round Score Result 1978 Round 1  Iran 1 – 4  Peru Lose Round 1  Iran 0 – 3  Netherlands Lose Round 1  Iran 1 – 1  Scotland Draw 1998 Round 1  Iran 0 – 1  Yugoslavia Lose Round 1  Iran 2 – 1  USA Win Round 1  Iran 0 – 2  Germany Lose 2006 Round 1  Iran 1 – 3  Mexico Lose Round 1  Iran 0 – 2  Portugal Lose Round 1  Iran 1 – 1  Angola Draw

Year	Round	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Scorers
1964	Round 1	3	0	1	2	1	6	Nirlou
1968	Did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1972	Round 1	3	1	0	2	1	9	Halvaei
1976	Quarter Finals	3	1	0	2	4	5	Mazloomi/Parvin/Rowshan/Ghelichkhani
1980	Qualified but boycotted the games	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1984	Did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1988	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	Best: Quarter Finals	9	2	1	6	6	20	-

• As of 1992 Olympic Games campaign onwards U23 Team played in qualification.

Year	Round
1956	Did not enter
1960	Did not qualify
1964	Did not enter
1968	Champions
1972	Champions
1976	Champions
1980	Third place
1984	Fourth place
1988	Third place
1992	Round 1
1996	Third place
2000	Quarterfinals
2004	Third place
2007	Quarterfinals

**Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won.
Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Year	Round
1951	Runners-Up
1954	Did not enter
1958	Round 1
1962	Did not enter
1966	Runners-Up
1970	Round 1
1974	Champions
1978	Did not enter
1982	Quarterfinals
1986	Quarterfinals
1990	Champions
1994	Round 1
1998	Champions

• As of 2002 Asian Games Campaign onwards U23 Team participated in the Tournament.

Year	Round
2000	Champions
2002	Third Place
2004	Champions
2007	Champions

• 1965 - Winners
• 1967 - Runners-Up
• 1969 - Runners-Up
• 1970 - Winners
• 1974 - Runners-Up
• 1993 - Winners

•  Korea Republic 0-0 Iran , AFC Asian Cup 2007, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 22 July 2007.

•  Iran - Qatar , Friendly, Tehran, Iran, 9 January 2008.

Name	Nat	Period	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	Honours
Hossein Sadaghiani		1941-1950
Mostafa Salimi		1950-1952
Edmund Masayufskei		1955-1957
József Mészaros		1957-1959	8	3	1	4
Hossein Fekri		1962-1966					Qualification to 1964 Olympic Games
Gyorgy Szucs		1966-1967	7	4	0	3	Silver Medal at 1966 Asian Games
Zdravko Rajkov		1968-1970	4	3	0	1	Winner of 1968 Asian Cup
Igor Netto		1970-1971	2	0	1	1
Parviz Dehdari		1971-1972
Mahmoud Bayati		1972-1974
Frank O'Farrell		1974-1976	13	10	1	2	Gold Medal at 1974 Asian Games and Qualification to 1976 Olympic Games
Heshmat Mohajerani		1976-1978					Winner of 1976 Asian Cup, Qualification to 1978 FIFA World Cup
Hassan Habibi		1979-1982
Parviz Aboutaleb		1982	2	1	0	1
Jalal Cheraghpour		1982
Mahmoud Yavari		1984
Nasser Ebrahimi		1984-1985
Fereydoun Asgharzadeh		1985-1986
Parviz Dehdari		1986-1989					Third place at 1988 Asian Cup
Reza Vatankhah		Feb 1989-May 1989
Mehdi Monajati		Jul 1989-Sep 1989
Ali Parvin		1989-1993					Gold Medal at 1990 Asian Games
Stanko Poklepovic		1993-1994	4	1	2	1
Mohammad Mayeli Kohan		1995-1997					Third place at 1996 Asian Cup
Valdeir Vieira		Nov 1997-Dec 1997	3	0	2	1	Qualification to 1998 FIFA World Cup
Tomislav Ivic		Jan 1998-May 1998	5	1	2	2
Jalal Talebi		May 1998-Jul 1998	4	1	0	3
Mansour Pourheidari		Oct 1998-Feb 2000					Gold Medal at 1998 Asian Games
Jalal Talebi		Mar 2000-Oct 2000					Quarterfinals at 2000 Asian Cup
Ademar Braga		Nov 2000-Feb 2001	3	3	0	0
Miroslav Blazevic		Mar 2001-Nov 2001	19	10	4	5
Branko Ivankovic		Feb 2002-Sep 2002	9	4	3	2
Homayoon Shahrokhi		Feb 2003-Sep 2003	6	2	1	3
Branko Ivankovic		Oct 2003-Jul 2006	41	28	6	7	Third place at 2004 Asian Cup, Qualification to 2006 FIFA World Cup
Amir Ghalenoei		Aug 2006-July 2007	21	13	7	1	Quarterfinals at 2007 Asian Cup

No. Pos. Player DoB/Age Caps Goals Club 1 GK Hassan Roudbarian July 6, 1978 (1978-07-06) (age 29) 18 0 Persepolis F.C. 22 GK Vahid Talebloo May 26, 1982 (1982-05-26) (age 25) 5 0 Esteghlal F.C. 30 GK Mehdi Rahmati February 2, 1983 (1983-02-02) (age 24) 10 0 Mes Kerman F.C.

No. Pos. Player DoB/Age Caps Goals Club 3 DF Amir Hossein Sadeghi September 6, 1981 (1981-09-06) (age 26) 9 0 Esteghlal F.C. 12 DF Jalal Hosseini February 3, 1982 (1982-02-03) (age 25) 11 1 Saipa F.C. 13 DF Hossein Kaebi September 23, 1985 (1985-09-23) (age 22) 51 1 Leicester City F.C. 15 DF Hadi Aghili January 15, 1981 (1981-01-15) (age 26) 5 0 Sepahan F.C. 20 DF Mohammad Nosrati January 10, 1982 (1982-01-10) (age 25) 56 4 Persepolis F.C.

No. Pos. Player DoB/Age Caps Goals Club 2 MF Mehdi Mahdavikia (captain) July 24, 1977 (1977-07-24) (age 30) 102 12 Eintracht Frankfurt 4 MF Andranik Teymourian March 6, 1983 (1983-03-06) (age 24) 23 2 Bolton Wanderers 6 MF Javad Nekounam September 7, 1980 (1980-09-07) (age 27) 86 18 CA Osasuna 7 MF Ferydoon Zandi April 26, 1979 (1979-04-26) (age 28) 18 2 Apollon Limassol 8 MF Ali Karimi November 8, 1978 (1978-11-08) (age 29) 103 35 Qatar SC 11 MF Mehrzad Madanchi January 10, 1985 (1985-01-10) (age 22) 19 5 Al-Shaab 14 MF Iman Mobali November 3, 1982 (1982-11-03) (age 25) 40 1 Al-Shabab 17 MF Javad Kazemian April 23, 1981 (1981-04-23) (age 26) 33 1 Al-Shabab 19 MF Ebrahim Sadeghi February 4, 1979 (1979-02-04) (age 28) 4 1 Saipa F.C. 24 MF Masoud Shojaei June 19, 1984 (1984-06-19) (age 23) 8 0 Al-Sharjah

No. Pos. Player DoB/Age Caps Goals Club 9 FW Vahid Hashemian July 21, 1976 (1976-07-21) (age 31) 40 13 Hannover 96 10 FW Rasoul Khatibi September 22, 1978 (1978-09-22) (age 29) 24 5 Emirates 16 FW Reza Enayati September 23, 1976 (1976-09-23) (age 31) 28 7 Emirates 18 FW Mehdi Rajabzadeh June 21, 1978 (1978-06-21) (age 29) 15 4 Emirates

• World Cup 2006 squad
• World Cup 1998 squad
• World Cup 1978 squad

• Asian Cup 1992 squad
• Asian Cup 1996 squad
• Asian Cup 2000 squad
• Asian Cup 2004 squad
• Asian Cup 2007 squad

See also Category:Iran international footballers

1960s Mostafa Arab Homayoun Behzadi Hamid Shirzadeghan 1970s Nasrollah Abdollahi Iraj Danaeifard Andranik Eskandarian Behtash Fariba Parviz Ghelichkhani Nasser Hejazi Ghafour Jahani Gholam Hossein Mazloomi Ali Parvin Hassan Rowshan 1980s Hamid Derakhshan Sirous Ghayeghran Majid Namjoo-Motlagh Mohammad Panjali Farshad Pious

1990s Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh Karim Bagheri Khodadad Azizi Hamid Reza Estili Mohammad Khakpour Mehrdad Minavand Ali Asghar Modir Roosta Nader Mohamadkhani Alireza Mansourian Mehdi Pashazadeh Afshin Peyrovani Reza Shahroudi Javad Zarrincheh 2000s Ali Daei Yahya Golmohammadi Rahman Rezaei

As of July 22, 2007, the players with the most caps for Iran are:

#	Name	Career	Caps	Goals
1	Ali Daei	1993 - 2006	149	109
2	Ali Karimi*	1998 - 2007	103	35
3	Mehdi Mahdavikia*	1996 - 2007	102	12
4	Javad Nekounam*	2000 - 2007	86	18
5	Hamid Reza Estili	1990 - 2000	82	12
6	Karim Bagheri	1993 - 2001	80	47
=	Javad Zarincheh	1987 - 2000	80	1
8	Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh	1987 - 1998	79	0
9	Ali Parvin	1970 - 1980	76	13
10	Yahya Golmohammadi	1993 - 2006	74	5

The records are collected based on data from FIFA and RSSSF.
* denotes a player still playing or available for selection.

As of July 22, 2007, the players with the most goals for Iran are:

#	Name	Career	Goals	Caps
1	Ali Daei	1993 - 2006	109	149
2	Karim Bagheri	1993 - 2001	47	80
3	Ali Karimi*	1998 - present	35	103
4	Gholam Hossein Mazloomi	1969 - 1977	19	40
=	Farshad Pious	1984 - 1994	19	34
6	Ali Asghar Modir Roosta	1990 - 1998	18	32
=	Javad Nekounam*	2000 - present	18	86
8	Ali Parvin	1970 - 1980	13	76
=	Hassan Rowshan	1974 - 1980	13	39
=	Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht*	2000 - present	13	64
=	Vahid Hashemian*	1998 - present	13	40
12	Mehdi Mahdavikia*	1996 - present	12	102
=	Parviz Ghelichkhani	1964 - 1977	12	64

The records are collected based on data from FIFA and RSSSF.
*denotes a player still playing or available for selection.

#	Player	World Cup Played As A Captain	Caps
1	Ali Parvin	Argentina 1978	76
2	Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh	France 1998	79
3	Ali Daei	Germany 2006	149

• Iran national futsal team
• Iran national under-23 football team
• Iran national under-20 football team
• Iran women's national football team

Iran home matches (both qualifiers and friendlies) are shown live on Channel 3 and satellite television network Jame Jam 2. All matches are broadcast with full commentary.

• Official Website of IR Iran Football Federation
• RSSSF archive of results 1941-
• RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
• Iran's archive of results and elo rating points

Preceded by 1964 Israel

Asian Champions 1968 (First title) 1972 (Second title) 1976 (Third title)

Succeeded by 1980 Kuwait

AFC Asian Cup Winners v • d • e
3 titles :  Iran (1968, 1972, 1976)  Japan (1992, 2000, 2004)  Saudi Arabia (1984, 1988, 1996) 2 titles :  Korea Republic (1956, 1960) 1 title :  Iraq (2007)  Israel (1964)  Kuwait (1980)
National sports teams of Iran v • d • e
Basketball (Women, Men) | Boxing | Cricket | Football (Women, Men, Men U-23, Men U-20) Field Hockey (Women, Men) | Futsal | Handball | Rugby Union | Tennis (Women, Men) | Volleyball (Women, Men)
Football in Iran v • d • e
Click     next to the name of the competition for information on current season of that event. League competitions IRIFF Cup competitions Persian Gulf Cup     Team Melli (M, W) Hazfi Cup     Azadegan League (2 groups) U-23 Iranian Super Cup 2nd Division (2 groups) U-20 3rd Division (8 groups) League system List of clubs List of venues Top Scorers (All-time, Seasons)
National football teams of Iran v • d • e
Senior: Men's (Team Melli) (2006, 2007, 2008) | Women's (Zanân) Youth: Men's U23 (Team Omid) | Men's U20 (Javânân) | Men's U17 (Nojavânân)
International football v • d • e
FIFA | World Cup | Confederations Cup | U-20 World Cup | U-17 World Cup | Olympics | Asian Games | All-Africa Games | Pan American Games | Island Games | World Rankings | Player of the Year | Teams | Codes
Asia: AFC – Asian Cup      Africa: CAF – African Cup of Nations      North America: CONCACAF – Gold Cup      South America: CONMEBOL – Copa América      Oceania: OFC – Nations Cup      Europe: UEFA – European Championship      Non-FIFA: NF-Board – VIVA World Cup
National football teams of Asia (AFC) v • d • e
Afghanistan | Australia | Bahrain | Bangladesh | Bhutan | Brunei | Cambodia | China PR | Chinese Taipei | Guam | Hong Kong* | India | Indonesia | Iran | Iraq | Japan | Jordan | Korea DPR | Korea Republic | Kuwait | Kyrgyzstan | Laos | Lebanon | Macau* | Malaysia | Maldives | Mongolia | Myanmar | Nepal | Oman | Pakistan | Palestine | Philippines | Qatar | Saudi Arabia | Singapore | Sri Lanka | Syria | Tajikistan | Thailand | Timor-Leste | Turkmenistan | United Arab Emirates | Uzbekistan | Vietnam | Yemen * FIFA and AFC use Hong Kong and Macau; the EAFF uses Hong Kong, China and Macau, China.
2006 FIFA World Cup finalists v • d • e
Champions: Italy  Runners-up: France  Third place: Germany  Fourth place: Portugal  Eliminated in Quarter-finals: Argentina • Brazil • England • Ukraine Eliminated in Round of 16 Australia • Ecuador • Ghana • Mexico • Netherlands • Spain • Sweden • Switzerland Eliminated in Group Stage Angola • Costa Rica • Côte d'Ivoire • Croatia • Czech Republic • Iran • Japan • Korea Republic • Paraguay • Poland • Saudi Arabia • Serbia & Montenegro • Togo • Trinidad and Tobago • Tunisia • United States