Iran
- Ali Daei – Goals: 109
- Karim Bagheri – Goals: 50
- Sardar Azmoun – Goals: 40
- Javad Nekounam – Goals: 39
- Ali Karimi – Goals: 38
Ali Daei’s 109 international goals stood as the most all-time until Cristiano Ronaldo broke his record in 2021. In three separate years, Daei scored more goals than he made appearances for the national team. He was named the AFC Asian Footballer of the Year in 1999 and was the top goalscorer at the 1996 AFC Asian Cup.
Being nicknamed the “Asian Maradona” is enough to get Ali Karimi on this list. He’s also the most recent Iranian winner of the AFC Asian Footballer of the Year, which he won in 2004. Karimi. An attacking midfielder, Karimi had great dribbling and playmaking ability and is in the Iran soccer team’s top five for both goals and caps.
Ali Parvin was an integral part of the AFC winning cup teams in 1972 and 1976. Parvin was also the captain of the first Iran team to qualify for the World Cup, in 1978.
Javad Nekounam is Iran’s all-time appearances leader, with 151 and captained Iran national football team at three major tournaments. The midfielder, nicknamed Neku, scored 39 goals for the national team and played at two World Cups.
Karim Bagheri scored a highly impressive 50 goals from midfield in just 87 appearances. He was a major reason Team Melli qualified for the 1998 World Cup. Bagheri scored the first goal in a 2-2 draw vs. Australia, sealing Iran’s first WC appearance for 20 years. He led the AFC field with 19 goals in 1998 World Cup qualifying and once scored seven goals in a match vs. Maldives.
Not many experts picked Iran to get through a group with Portugal, Spain, and Morocco at the 2018 World Cup, let alone win a match. A late own goal from Morocco’s Aziz Bohauddouz meant that Iran were shockingly on top of Group B after one match.
Iran national football team narrowly lost to Spain in their next match from a second half Diego Costa goal, but could seal qualification to their first Round of 16 with a win over Portugal. Team Melli got a hard fought 1-1 draw, as Karim Ansarifard equalized on a late penalty, but it wasn’t quite enough to beat out Portugal or Spain for a place in the knockout rounds. Four points is the most Iran have ever earned in a single World Cup, though.
In 1978, Iran played in the FIFA World Cup for the first time in their history, but it remains their worst performance to date. Iran gave up the second-most goals of any team in the first round and failed to get a win. They did draw 1-1 with Scotland in their second match, but were thrashed 3-0 and 4-1 by the Netherlands and Peru, respectively.
Iran National Football Team History
Early Days, Asian Cup Success
Iran’s Football Federation was created in 1920 but the Iran soccer team didn’t play its first game until 1941. The match finished in a 1-0 win over British India but Team Melli’s first FIFA-sanctioned game was a scoreless draw vs. Afghanistan.
From 1968-1976, Iran won three consecutive AFC Asian Cups which remain their only three major trophies to date. Iran hosted the event in 1968 and they went 4-0 as Homayoun Behzadi was joint-top scorer at the event. Four years later, Hossein Kalani scored the winning goal vs. South Korea in the final and he finished as the top scorer. Defender Ebrahim Ashtiani was named the tournament’s best player.
Iran once again hosted the event in 1976 and once again won all of their games to clinch a third straight trophy. Team Melli improved to a perfect 13-0 in Asian Cup matches and attacking midfielder Ali Parvin was named the tournament’s best player.
With an undefeated record in 1978 World Cup Qualifying, the first Iran World Cup appearance came at Argentina ‘78. Team Melli drew with Scotland 1-1 but lost to both Peru and the Netherlands and finished at the bottom of Group 4.
The 1979 Iranian Revolution had a big impact on the national team. Iran national football team didn’t take part in World Cup qualifiers during the Iraq-Iran war from 1980-88 and had no domestic league until 1989 due to the conflict.
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Iran National Football Team Records
After a third place finish at the 1996 AFC Asian Cup, things were looking up for Team Melli as they qualified for their first World Cup for 20 years in 1998. They squeaked by Australia in a World Cup Qualifying playoff to clinch a berth at France ‘98.
Iran national football team lost 1-0 to Yugoslavia on a free kick in their World Cup ‘98 opener. In their second match, they won their first match at a World Cup by defeating the USA 2-1. Hamid Estili’s opening goal was particularly memorable for his passionate celebration as he scored a powerful looping header over US keeper Kasey Keller. Iran lost to Germany 2-0 in the group finale and finished third in Group F.
Six years later, striker Ali Daei broke the all-time international goals record by scoring his 90th goal vs. Lebanon. Iran finished third in the AFC Asian Cup the same year and became one of the first teams to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. In the process, Daei became the first player to score 100 international goals.
Queiroz and Three Consecutive Qualifications
At the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Team Melli lost two matches and drew one. That meant they went out at the Group Stage once again. Iran missed out on the 2010 World Cup but Carlos Queiroz’s 2011 appointment proved to be a good one.
The Portuguese manager led Iran to back-to-back World Cups and masterminded Iran’s first clean sheet in a World Cup vs. Nigeria in 2014. Iran were also minutes away from drawing with Argentina at the same tournament, but a Lionel Messi goal gave La Albiceleste the win.
Iran’s best performance in a World Cup came in 2018 as they amassed four points with a win over Morocco and draw vs. Portugal. They narrowly missed out on their first knockout stage berth due to a 1-0 loss vs. Spain.
Iran national football team picked up the most points of any team in the third round of 2022 AFC World Cup Qualifying under coach Dragan Skocic. That meant Team Melli sealed qualification to a third consecutive FIFA World Cup for the first time in team history.
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