Iran at the FIFA World Cup
Iran have appeared in the group stage of the FIFA World Cup on five occasions: in 1978, 1998, 2006, 2014 and 2018. They never managed to get through the group stage.
Record at the World Cup
| World Cup finals | World Cup qualifications | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosts/Year | Result | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA | Squad | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA | |
| 1930 to 1970 | Did not enter | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
 1974 |
Did not qualify | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 | |
 1978 |
Round 1 | 14th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | Squad | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 3 | |
 1982 |
Withdrew | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
 1986 |
Banned | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
 1990 |
Did not qualify | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 5 | |
 1994 |
Did not qualify | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 13 | |
 1998 |
Round 1 | 20th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | Squad | 17 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 57 | 17 | |
  2002 |
Did not qualify | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 36 | 9 | |
| 2006 |
Round 1 | 25th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | Squad | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 29 | 7 | |
 2010 |
Did not qualify | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 9 | |
 2014
|
Round 1 | 28th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | Squad | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 30 | 7 | |
 2018
|
Round 1 | 18th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Squad | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 36 | 5 | |
 2022
|
To be determined | |||||||||||||||
| Total | — | 5/21 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 24 | — | 128 | 78 | 34 | 16 | 267 | 81 | |
Argentina 1978
|  | |
Group 4
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Peru
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 5 |
 Netherlands
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 3 |
 Scotland
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 3 |
 Iran
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 1 |
| Netherlands | 3–0 | Iran |
|---|---|---|
Rensenbrink  40' (pen.), 62', 78' (pen.) |
Report |
| Scotland | 1–1 | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| Eskandarian 43' (o.g.) |
Report | Danaeifard 60' |
France 1998
|  | |
Group F
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 7 |
 Yugoslavia
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 |
 Iran
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 |
| United States
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0 |
| Yugoslavia | 1–0 | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| Mihajlović 72' |
(Report) |
| United States | 1–2 | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| McBride 87' |
(Report) | Estili 40' Mahdavikia 84' |
Germany 2006
| | |
Group D
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portugal
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 9 |
| Mexico
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 |
 Angola
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 |
| Iran
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 1 |
| Iran | 1–1 | Angola |
|---|---|---|
| Bakhtiarizadeh 75' |
(Report) | Flávio 60' |
Brazil 2014
| | |
Group F
Template:2014 FIFA World Cup Group F table
Bosnia and Herzegovina  | 3–1 | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| Džeko 23' Pjanić 59'Vršajević 83' |
Report | Ghoochannejhad 82' |
Russia 2018
| | |
Group B
Template:2018 FIFA World Cup Group B table
Morocco  | 0–1 | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Bouhaddouz 90+5' (o.g.) |
Records
Most appearances
| No. | Name | Matches | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mehdi Mahdavikia | 6 | 1998 and 2006 |
| Andranik Teymourian | 6 | 2006 and 2014 | |
| Alireza Jahanbakhsh | 6 | 2014 and 2018 | |
| Ehsan Hajsafi | 6 | 2014 and 2018 | |
| 5 | Ali Daei | 5 | 1998 and 2006 |
| Javad Nekounam | 5 | 2006 and 2014 | |
| Masoud Shojaei | 5 | 2006,2014 and 2018 | |
| 8 | Karim Ansarifard | 4 | 2014 and 2018 |
Most goals
There are eight Iranian players who have scored one goal each at FIFA World Cups:
| No. | Name | Goals | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iraj Danaeifard | 1 | 1978 |
| Hassan Rowshan | 1 | 1978 | |
| Hamid Estili | 1 | 1998 | |
| Mehdi Mahdavikia | 1 | 1998 | |
| Yahya Golmohammadi | 1 | 2006 | |
| Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh | 1 | 2006 | |
| Reza Ghoochannejhad | 1 | 2014 | |
| Karim Ansarifard | 1 | 2018 |