Iran National Team: Team Melli Football Squad, World Cup Record and African Meetings

The Iran national team represents Iran in men's football under the name Team Melli. Tournament appearances offer one way to compare Team Melli with African national sides across different eras. Iran won the AFC Asian Cup in 1968, 1972 and 1976 and play their home matches at Azadi Stadium in Tehran. South African readers searching for the Iran soccer team will find the same side here. Meetings with African opponents connect Team Melli's tournament history to readers in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Uganda.

Nigeria drew 0-0 with Iran at the 2014 World Cup. Angola also drew with Team Melli in 2006, Morocco met them in 2018, and Egypt drew with them in 2026, giving African readers several direct connections to Iran’s tournament history.

Who Are Team Melli, and Where Does the Name Come From?

Team Melli means the National Team. Iran's home stadium is Azadi Stadium in Tehran.

For readers in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Uganda, Team Melli identifies Iran’s national football team.

Iran Fixtures and Results: What Time Is Kick Off Where You Live?

For an Iran fixture, compare its date and competition before converting the advertised start time. A kick off at 18:00 GMT in Accra corresponds to 19:00 WAT in Lagos, 20:00 SAST in Johannesburg and 21:00 EAT in both Nairobi and Kampala. Keep WAT, EAT, SAST and GMT together when sharing a match time across the five countries.

Check local programme listings for coverage of the specific Iran match you want to watch. A fixture listing gives the scheduled start; a result should be read alongside its match status to distinguish an ongoing game from a completed one.

For shared viewing plans, include the calendar date as well as the hour. A late evening start in Ghana can fall after midnight in Kenya and Uganda, so an accurate time conversion can also require a different date. Check whether a broadcast listing gives the programme start or the actual kick off before arranging a viewing centre visit.

Who Is in the Iran Squad?

Read an Iran squad announcement alongside its publication date and the matches it covers. Goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards describe playing roles. Caps count senior international appearances; a high figure indicates extensive senior international experience. Where club affiliations or caps are supplied, their stated date matters when comparing players. A dated squad announcement establishes who was selected for that particular group of matches.

Selection and starting roles answer different questions. A squad list identifies the available group, while a match lineup shows how those players are arranged for a particular opponent. For African readers comparing Iran with Nigeria or Ghana, look beyond familiar names: midfield balance, defensive cover and the support around the central forward offer useful ways to assess how the selected players might work together.

Who Coaches Iran, and How Do They Play?

A dated coaching appointment establishes who took charge of Iran at that point in their history. For an African comparison on the pitch, Iran drew 0-0 with Nigeria at the 2014 World Cup and with Belgium at the 2026 World Cup.

A score alone does not establish a permanent playing style. When watching Iran against an African opponent, examine where the team first challenges for possession, how close the midfield stays to the defence and what happens after the ball is recovered. A quick forward pass and a longer spell of possession can serve different purposes within the same match.

The opponent matters too. Space behind an advancing defence may encourage direct attacks, while a compact defence can make width and patient passing more useful. These are practical questions for comparing Team Melli with the Super Eagles, Bafana Bafana or the Black Stars without treating one historical result as a complete tactical description.

How Do You Read Iran's FIFA Ranking and World Cup Group?

Read Iran's FIFA ranking with its publication date attached. Iran's best position was 15th, reached in August 2005, which provides a historical benchmark. When Iran, Nigeria and South Africa appear in the same dated ranking release, you can compare the listed national teams.

Iran's 2026 World Cup group results were 2-2 against New Zealand, 0-0 against Belgium and 1-1 against Egypt. Those three draws produced three points and third place in Group G, with Iran exiting in the group stage. When reading a group table, distinguish the team's position from confirmation of qualification for the knockout rounds.

Read the table or log alongside the competition format. Check matches played before comparing points, then consult the stated criteria for separating teams that finish level. Goal difference and goals scored describe different things: the first balances scoring against conceding, while the second counts scoring alone. Qualification also depends on how many places the tournament awards from each group, so an unbeaten record does not by itself explain whether a team advances.

What Have Team Melli Won?

Iran's major honours are three AFC Asian Cup titles, won in 1968, 1972 and 1976, a run of three tournaments in a row that defined the team's first golden era. By 2026, Iran had appeared in 16 Asian Cup tournaments. Their three consecutive titles remain a defining achievement of the 1968 to 1976 period. Iran were also runners up, shared with Algeria, at the 1991 Afro Asian Cup of Nations, a contest between the two continents' champions that gives Team Melli a small but real place in African football history.

When comparing Iran's honours with those of African national teams, distinguish continental titles from World Cup appearances. A title records a tournament victory, while an appearance records participation; keeping those categories separate makes comparisons clearer.

Who Holds the Iran Records?

As recorded in 2026, Ali Daei held Iran’s international scoring record with 108 goals. The defining World Cup wins carry their own dates. The 2-1 victory over the USA in 1998, with goals from Hamid Estili and Mehdi Mahdavikia, was Iran's first win at the finals, and the 2-0 win over Wales in 2022 was their first over a European nation. The 1-0 win over Morocco in 2018 is their victory over an African side at a World Cup. Compare any subsequent caps or scoring figures with their publication date and the matches included.

Keep the scope of a record clear when comparing Iranian and African internationals. A national scoring record covers a different set of matches from a World Cup finals record, and appearances measure participation rather than goals. Dates and competition labels make those comparisons more useful than placing figures from different categories beside one another.

Where Do Iran Play, and What Makes Azadi Special?

Iran play their home matches at Azadi Stadium in Tehran, and the fervour around Team Melli there is well known across Asian football. Supporters treat a big qualifier as a national occasion, and that noise is part of why Azadi is such a demanding place for visiting sides. For a Lagos comparison, picture the energy of a packed viewing centre on a Super Eagles night, then fill a whole stadium with it. Ticket details come from the federation when a home match is announced; confirm the venue, date and local kick off time before making plans.

Away from Tehran, the large Iranian diaspora turns World Cup games into something close to home matches, with crowds well beyond what travel from Iran alone would bring. At the 2026 World Cup, Iran were based in Tijuana, Mexico, and travelled into the USA for each of their group matches, an unusual routine for a squad at a major tournament. As a neutral note on the off field picture, that travel shaped the team's summer, and readers who searched for Iran news at the time will have seen it widely reported. For the football itself, the three draws in Group G tell the story best.

How Have African Teams Fared Against Iran?

In the World Cup meetings listed below, African sides have played Iran at four tournaments, and the results are close: one Iranian win and three draws. Nigeria drew 0-0 with Iran in 2014, Angola drew 1-1 in 2006, Iran beat Morocco 1-0 in 2018, and Egypt drew 1-1 with them in Group G in 2026. For Nigerian readers the 2014 game is the hook. What it meant for the Super Eagles players on the pitch was a clean sheet against a disciplined Asian side, and a reminder that patience counts for a great deal in a World Cup group.

Through the 2026 World Cup, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Uganda had no World Cup meeting with Iran, so the stake for Harambee Stars, Bafana Bafana, Black Stars and Cranes fans is the wider Asia and Africa comparison. North African sides have given Team Melli close games, with Egypt holding them in 2026, and Algeria shared the 1991 Afro Asian honours with them. Across the four World Cup meetings from 2006 to 2026, no game was decided by more than one goal. Those dated results provide a starting point for comparing Iran's tournament meetings with African opponents.

Is the Iran National Team the Football Side or the Country?

Team Melli identifies Iran's national football side. Readers looking for players, tournament appearances or meetings with African opponents can use that name to distinguish the team from general information about Iran. Explore our national teams hub to compare their history with other international sides.