History of the Iran national football team explained

History of the Iran national football team began with the team's first international match on 23 August 1941. The Iranian Football Federation was founded in 1920.^[1]

History

Early years

The first match that Team Melli played was on 23 August 1941, away at Kabul in a 1–0 win against British India, while Iran's first FIFA international match was on 25 August 1941, away at Afghanistan.^[2] Iran won the Asian Cup three consecutive times (1968, 1972, 1976), to which the team has not been able to add since.

1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina

Additional information: 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)

Additional information: 1978 FIFA World Cup – Group 4In 1978, Iran made its first appearance in the World Cup after defeating Australia in Tehran. Iran lost two of three group stage matches against the Netherlands and Peru.^[3] Team Melli managed to surprise the footballing community^[4] by securing one point in its first ever World Cup appearance against Scotland which saw Iraj Danaeifard cancel out an own goal scored by Andranik Eskandarian for the 1–1 draw.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Member Association – Iran. https://web.archive.org/web/20070603155130/http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=irn/. dead. June 3, 2007.
2. Web site: Iran: Fixtures and Results. https://web.archive.org/web/20070603173212/http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=irn/fixturesresults/gender=m/index.html. dead. June 3, 2007. FIFA.com .
3. Web site: Iran in World Cup 1978. teammelli.com. 21 January 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20100104101448/http://www.teammelli.com/articles/iran_in_world_cup_1978.htm. 4 January 2010. dead.
4. News: Iranian football facts . BBC News . 1 November 2001 . 5 May 2010.
5. Web site: while FIFA World Cup 2006 Iran Team Overview. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080719151054/http://www.the-world-cup-2006.com/teams-iran.htm. 19 July 2008.