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Iran at the FIFA World Cup

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Iran national football team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

Iran have appeared in the FIFA World Cup on seven occasions: in 1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022, and 2026. They are yet to progress from the group stages.[1][2]

In March 2025, they qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup following a 2–2 home draw against Uzbekistan in the third round of AFC qualification and will make a seventh finals appearance.[3]

As of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification - 1 March 2026
Rank Team Part M W D L GF GA GD Points
1  Mexico 17 189 121 41 27 453 134 +319 404
2  Australia 16 177 106 44 27 445 132 +313 362
3  South Korea 16 167 105 44 18 339 98 +241 359
4  Iran 12 162 103 39 20 351 101 +250 348
5  Costa Rica 18 197 98 51 48 334 191 +141 345
6  Argentina 15 171 98 44 29 293 145 +148 338
7  Japan 16 154 96 29 29 359 94 +265 317
8  Netherlands 20 143 95 28 20 356 105 +251 313
9  Brazil 14 145 90 37 18 304 92 +212 307
10  Saudi Arabia 13 154 89 38 27 288 116 +172 305
11  Uruguay 18 190 84 53 53 262 198 +64 305
12  England 18 130 92 27 11 336 70 +266 303
13  Spain 20 131 92 27 12 312 83 +229 303
14  Portugal 22 155 87 36 32 304 153 +151 297
15  Belgium 21 149 86 30 31 331 154 +177 294

Record at the FIFA World Cup

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FIFA World Cup finals record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Not a FIFA member No qualification
Italy 1934 Not a FIFA member
France 1938
Brazil 1950 Did not enter Did not enter
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962
England 1966
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974 Did not qualify 8 5 1 2 9 6
Argentina 1978 First round 14th 3 0 1 2 2 8 Squad 12 10 2 0 20 3
Spain 1982 Withdrew Withdrew
Mexico 1986 Disqualified Disqualified
Italy 1990 Did not qualify 6 5 0 1 12 5
United States 1994 11 5 3 3 23 13
France 1998 Group stage 20th 3 1 0 2 2 4 Squad 17 8 6 3 57 17
South Korea Japan 2002 Did not qualify 14 9 3 2 36 9
Germany 2006 Group stage 25th 3 0 1 2 2 6 Squad 12 9 1 2 29 7
South Africa 2010 Did not qualify 14 5 8 1 15 9
Brazil 2014 Group stage 28th 3 0 1 2 1 4 Squad 16 10 4 2 30 7
Russia 2018 18th 3 1 1 1 2 2 Squad 18 12 6 0 36 5
Qatar 2022 26th 3 1 0 2 4 7 Squad 18 14 1 3 49 8
Canada Mexico United States 2026 in progress TBD 2 0 2 0 2 2 Squad 16 11 4 1 35 12
Morocco Portugal Spain Argentina Paraguay Uruguay 2030 To be determined To be determined
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total First round 7/27 20 3 6 11 15 33 162 103 39 20 351 101

Argentina 1978

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Group 4

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Peru 3 2 1 0 7 2 +5 5 Advance to second round
2  Netherlands 3 1 1 1 5 3 +2 3
3  Scotland 3 1 1 1 5 6 −1 3
4  Iran 3 0 1 2 2 8 −6 1
Source: FIFA
Netherlands 3–0 Iran
Rensenbrink 40' (pen.), 62', 78' (pen.) Report

Scotland 1–1 Iran
Eskandarian red-colored football 43' (o.g.) Report Danaeifard 60'

Peru 4–1 Iran
Velásquez 2'
Cubillas 36' (pen.), 39' (pen.), 79'
Report Rowshan 41'

France 1998

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Group F

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Germany 3 2 1 0 6 2 +4 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  FR Yugoslavia 3 2 1 0 4 2 +2 7
3  Iran 3 1 0 2 2 4 −2 3
4  United States 3 0 0 3 1 5 −4 0
Source: FIFA
FR Yugoslavia 1–0 Iran
Mihajlović 72' (Report)

United States 1–2 Iran
McBride 87' (Report) Estili 40'
Mahdavikia 84'
Attendance: 39,100

Germany 2–0 Iran
Bierhoff 50'
Klinsmann 57'
(Report)

Germany 2006

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Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Portugal 3 3 0 0 5 1 +4 9 Advance to knockout stage
2  Mexico 3 1 1 1 4 3 +1 4
3  Angola 3 0 2 1 1 2 −1 2
4  Iran 3 0 1 2 2 6 −4 1
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria
Mexico 3–1 Iran
Bravo 28', 76'
Zinha 79'
(Report) Golmohammadi 36'

Portugal 2–0 Iran
Deco 63'
Ronaldo 80' (pen.)
(Report)

Iran 1–1 Angola
Bakhtiarizadeh 75' (Report) Flávio 60'
Attendance: 38,000

Brazil 2014

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Group F

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Argentina 3 3 0 0 6 3 +3 9 Advance to knockout stage
2  Nigeria 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
3  Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 1 0 2 4 4 0 3
4  Iran 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria
Iran 0–0 Nigeria
Report
Attendance: 39,081
Referee: Carlos Vera (Ecuador)

Argentina 1–0 Iran
Messi 90+1' Report

Russia 2018

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Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain 3 1 2 0 6 5 +1 5 Advance to knockout stage
2  Portugal 3 1 2 0 5 4 +1 5
3  Iran 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
4  Morocco 3 0 1 2 2 4 −2 1
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Morocco 0–1 Iran
Report Bouhaddouz red-colored football 90+5' (o.g.)

Iran 0–1 Spain
Report Costa 54'
Attendance: 42,718

Iran 1–1 Portugal
Ansarifard 90+3' (pen.) Report Quaresma 45'
Attendance: 41,685

Qatar 2022

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Simultaneous to the Mahsa Amini protests in Iran, the team declined to sing the national anthem prior to their match with England.[4] Prior to the match, captain Ehsan Hajsafi, said that the team support protestors.[4]

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  England 3 2 1 0 9 2 +7 7 Advanced to knockout stage
2  United States 3 1 2 0 2 1 +1 5
3  Iran 3 1 0 2 4 7 −3 3
4  Wales 3 0 1 2 1 6 −5 1
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
England 6–2 Iran
[Report 1]

Wales 0–2 Iran
[Report 2]

Iran 0–1 United States
[Report 3]
Attendance: 42,127

United States/Mexico/Canada 2026

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Prior to the Iran vs. Belgium match at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Iran's participation became uncertain months before the 2026 FIFA World Cup following the 2026 Iran war with Israel and the United States conducting military operations on the country.[5][6] A request to move Iran's group stage matches to Mexico was denied.[6] The Iran team which took base in Tijuana, eventually participated however they were only to allowed to stay in the United States one day prior to their match day and had to return to Mexico the same evening after each match.[6]

Group G

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Position will qualify for:
1  Egypt 2 1 1 0 4 2 +2 4 Knockout stage
2  Iran 2 0 2 0 2 2 0 2
3  Belgium 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 2 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4  New Zealand 2 0 1 1 3 5 −2 1
Updated to match(es) played on June 21, 2026. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Iran 2–2 New Zealand
[Report 4]
Attendance: 70,108

Belgium 0–0 Iran
[Report 5]
Attendance: 70,317

Egypt Match 63 Iran
[Report 6]

By match

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# World Cup Round Opponent Score Result Iran scorer(s)
1 1978 Group 4  Netherlands 0–3 L
2  Scotland 1–1 D Danaeifard 60'
3  Peru 1–4 L Rowshan 41'
4 1998 Group F  FR Yugoslavia 0–1 L
5  United States 2–1 W Estili 40', Mahdavikia 84'
6  Germany 0–2 L
7 2006 Group D  Mexico 1–3 L Golmohammadi 36'
8  Portugal 0–2 L
9  Angola 1–1 D Bakhtiarizadeh 75'
10 2014 Group F  Nigeria 0–0 D
11  Argentina 0–1 L
12  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–3 L Ghoochannejhad 82'
13 2018 Group B  Morocco 1–0 W Bouhaddouz red-colored football 90+5' (o.g.)
14  Spain 0–1 L
15  Portugal 1–1 D Ansarifard 90+3' (pen.)
16 2022 Group B  England 2–6 L Taremi 65', 90+13' (pen.)
17  Wales 2–0 W Cheshmi 90+8', Rezaeian 90+11'
18  United States 0–1 L
19 2026 Group G  New Zealand 2–2 D Rezaeian 32', Mohebi 64'
20  Belgium 0–0 D
21  Egypt v

Records

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Most appearances

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Rank Player Matches World Cups
1 Ehsan Hajsafi 11 2014 and 2018 and 2022 and 2026
2 Alireza Jahanbakhsh 9 2014 and 2018 and 2022 and 2026
3 Mehdi Taremi 8 2018 and 2022 and 2026
4 Alireza Beiranvand 7 2018 and 2022 and 2026
Milad Mohammadi 7 2018 and 2022 and 2026
Ramin Rezaeian 7 2018 and 2022 and 2026
Saeid Ezatolahi 7 2018 and 2022 and 2026
8 Saman Ghoddos 6 2018 and 2022 and 2026
Karim Ansarifard 6 2014 and 2018 and 2022
Sardar Azmoun 6 2018 and 2022
Morteza Pouraliganji 6 2018 and 2022
Majid Hosseini 6 2018 and 2022
Mehdi Mahdavikia 6 1998 and 2006
Andranik Teymourian 6 2006 and 2014
15 Ali Daei 5 1998 and 2006
Javad Nekounam 5 2006 and 2014
Masoud Shojaei 5 2006 and 2014 and 2018

Top Goalscorers

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Player Goals 1978 1998 2006 2014 2018 2022 2026
Mehdi Taremi 2 2
Ramin Rezaeian 2 1 1
Iraj Danaeifard 1 1
Hassan Rowshan 1 1
Hamid Estili 1 1
Mehdi Mahdavikia 1 1
Yahya Golmohammadi 1 1
Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh 1 1
Reza Ghoochannejhad 1 1
Karim Ansarifard 1 1
Rouzbeh Cheshmi 1 1
Mohammad Mohebbi 1 1
Total 14 2 2 2 1 1 4 2

Head-to-head record

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ O'Callaghan, Eoin (20 June 2018). "Great Satan 1-2 Iran: the most politically charged match in World Cup history". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  2. ^ "تاریخچه حضور ایران در جام جهانی" [History of Iran at the FIFA World Cup] (in Persian). 11 October 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Iran qualifies for 2026 World Cup, Australia close". 25 March 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Iran players decline to sing national anthem". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 2022-11-21. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  5. ^ "Iran 'boycotting' United States but not World Cup, says football federation chief". Le Monde. 19 March 2026. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  6. ^ a b c "Iran World Cup team was ordered out of U.S. right after first match, coach says". CBS News. 16 June 2026. Retrieved 17 June 2026.

Reports

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  5. ^
  6. ^ "Egypt vs IR Iran | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved May 1, 2026.
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