One of the most successful teams from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Iran will be making their sixth World Cup appearance this winter in Qatar.
Iran is the top ranked Asian team in FIFA, sitting in 20th place out of the organization’s 211 member nations. By extension, they are the top ranked team in Asia.
The country that gave us Ali Daei, the man who Cristiano Ronaldo had to depose to become the highest goalscorer of all time in international football, are ready to unleash more attacking talents on the world.
This article takes a look at their squad with a focus on their attack as they prepare to face England in their tournament opener. World Cup England Iran tips were considered in the preparation of this article.
Iran squad overview
Iran is the top ranked Asian team in FIFA, sitting in 20th place out of the organization’s 211 member nations. By extension, they are the top ranked team in Asia.
They have occupied this spot for well over two years now and this is due to their manager, Carlos Queiroz’s work done between 2011 and 2019 in his first stint as manager.
Under the Mozambican-born manager, goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, centreback Morteza Pouraliganji, versatile right wingback Ramin Rezaeian, wide midfielder Vahid Amiri and their star forward as well as third all-time top scorer, Sardar Azmoun, all made their debuts.
These men have been the spine of the team for a while. For some of them also, it could be their last outing. It is especially so for team captain Ehsan Hajsafi who is also the country’s fourth most capped player and the current most capped player in the squad (121 caps before Qatar 2022).
Queiroz set up his team to play with positional and tactical discipline in his first stint as manager. In this set up, he centered his play around one or two aces. Speed was also one of his core principles and he made this a staple by changing their national team emblem from the Persian lion to the Iranian cheetah.
Having been coached to great success by Dragan Skokic from 2019 till September 2022, there is no way of knowing what Queiroz will be tweaking now that he is back at the helm of the Iran national team ship.
The best attacking players from Iran
November 21 will see Iran open Group B against England in what will be the first meeting in history between both teams.
Iran have not had an attacking masterclass in their past games. However, they boast players who are pacy and can finish well when given a shot at goal.
As we prepare the World Cup England-Iran tips for your perusal, it is important to let you in on some of the attacking talents England and the rest of Group B – and possibly the rest of the world – will be dealing with in Qatar.
Sardar Azmoun
Sardar Azmoun, 27, is arguably the brightest talent out of Iran in modern football.
Having made his debut in 2014 as a 19-year-old, he has garnered 65 caps for Team Melli to date. In that time, he has also risen to become their all-time third highest goalscorer with his 41 goals. He has quite a way to go to match Ali Daei’s 109 goals but he is only nine goals behind Karim Bagheri, who is the current assistant coach of Iran.
As a teenager, he was signed by Russian side Rubin Kazan and grabbed the world’s attention in the three years he spent at the club, a loan to FC Rostov inclusive. He is currently with German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen after a whirlwind career in Russia with Rubin Kazan, Rostov and Zenit St. Petersburg.
He is expected to lead the line for Team Melli in Qatar alongside Mehdi Taremi, who is discussed in the next subsection.
Mehdi Taremi
Mehdi Taremi, 30, is another attacker who flies the flag of Iran high in Europe. His exploits since moving from Asia to Europe in 2019 at the age of 27 have been really impressive.
At an age where he can be considered a late bloomer, Taremi has held his own in the Portuguese Primera Liga, first with Rio Ave in 2019/20 and then with Porto since 2020. 59 league goals in 105 league appearances is a respectable number for any European striker in the harsh terrain of European football, moreso for one who has played all his career in Asia.
Azmoun may be considered the ace of the team but Taremi is as important to Iran. His 28 goals in 60 caps have also proven indispensable and his ability to come good in clutch moments will be counted upon by Queiroz, who gave him his debut.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh
Alireza Jahanbakhsh, 29, has been one of Iran’s most trusted players since his debut, which was also under Carlos Queiroz. He is an attacking midfielder who is versatile enough to play as a centre forward or on the wings.
A one-time captain of Team Melli, Jahanbakhsh is expected to bring his Premier League experience from his time at Brighton and Hove Albion between 2018 and 2021 to their Group B opening game against England.
Iran have been unable to make it past the group stages in their five previous and the World Cup England-Iran tips are not in their favour. However, with Jahanbakhsh’s experience and Queiroz’s leadership, Team Melli could pull an upset in their opener.
