Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Iran have qualified three times to the FIFA World Cup finals, making their debut in 1978 in Argentina. Iran will be hoping Brazil 2014 marks their first appearance in the knockout stage having been eliminated in the group phase in their past three attempts.
The Central and South Asian nation played its first match on June 3, 1978 in Mendoza, losing 3-0 against the Netherlands.
Iraj Danayfar scored their first goal in the same World Cup against Scotland. No Iranian players has managed to score more than a single goal in the World Cup finals.
Of the nine matches Iran played in the World Cup, the match against USA in France 1998 was one of the most memorable, as goals from Hamid Estili and Mehdi Mahdavikia sealed a sensational 2-1 win, Iran’s maiden victory at the FIFA World Cup finals.
World Cup Fact File:
Previous Appearances:
3 (2006, 1998, 1978)
World Cup Debut:
03/06/78, Mendoza, versus Netherlands
First Scorer:
07/06/78, Iraj Danayfar, versus Scotland
Best Performance:
Group Stage (2006, 1998, 1978)
Most Goals:
Iraz Danayfar, Hassan Rowshan, Hamid Estili, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Yahya Golmohammadi, Shorab Bakhtiarizadeh (1)
Overall Record:
PWDLFA
9126618
Results and Scorers:
Argentina 1978
Group Stage:
03/06/78
Netherlands 3 (Rob Rensenbrink 40, 62, 79)
Iran 0
07/06/78
Scotland 1 (Andranik Eskandarian 43 og)
Iran 1 (Iraj Danayfar 60)
11/06/78
Peru 4 (Jose Velasquez 2, Teofilo Cubillas 36 39, 79)
Iran 1 (Hassan Rowshan 41)
France 1998
Group Stage:
14/06/98
Yugoslavia 1 (Sinisa Mihajlovic 73)
Iran 0
21/06/98
USA 1 (Brian McBride 87)
Iran 2 (Hamid Estili 41, Mehdi Mahdavikia 83)
25/06/98
Germany 2 (Oliver Bierhoff 50, Juergen Klinsmann 57)
Iran 0
Germany 2006
Group Stage:
11/06/06
Mexico 3 (Omar Bravo (28, 76, Zinha 79)
Iran 1 (Yahya Golmohammadi 36)
17/06/06
Portugal 2 (Deco 63, Cristiano Ronaldo 80)
Iran 0
21/06/06
Iran 1 (Shorab Bakhtiarizadeh 75)
Angola 1 (Abou Tarika 60)