The national football team of Iran, also known as Team Melli, has been the highest-ranked team in Asia since December 2014 and is currently the 32nd ranked team in the world according to the latest FIFA World Rankings.

Iran is one of the most successful national teams in Asia with three Asian Cup championships (1968, 1972, and 1976). The national team has qualified for the World Cup five times (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, and 2018) but has never advanced past the group stage.

 

First game: IR Iran vs Morocco (15/06)

Star: Sardar Azmoun

Having shone while on loan at Rostov, Azmoun returned to his Russian parent club, Rubin Kazan, last summer, but went on to suffer a frustrating time, partly due to injuries. The 23-year-old remains Carlos Queiroz’s principal striker, though, and, having been linked with a host of big clubs – and often dubbed “the Iranian Messi” – he could emerge as a breakthrough star in Russia. 

 

Coach: Carlos Queiroz

Carlos Queiroz, is a portuguese football manager who is currently in charge of the Iran national team. He has also been the manager of the portuguese national team, the spanish club Real Madrid and was Alex Ferguson’s assistant manager at Manchester United. Queiroz has qualified three national teams to the World Cup, those being South Africa in 2002, Portugal in 2010 and Iran in 2014/2018.

Queiroz has won several awards as a coach in junior levels, and has been successful at senior and club levels, mainly as Alex Ferguson’s assistant manager.

He is the longest serving manager in the history of the Iran national team after serving for over seven years from his appointment in 2011. Queiroz is the only manager in the country’s history who has led the national team to two World Cups and also the first manager to lead the national team to consecutive World Cups.

Group: Morocco, Spain, Portugal.