Appearances: 5
Best result: Group stages
Manager: Carlos Queiroz
Star player: Ashkan Dejagah
Yes, Portugal and Spain stand in their way, but Iran did not concede one goal in the first nine of their 10 qualifiers and that should give them confidence to go forward knowing they have a sturdy back line.
On the sidelines, coach Carlos Queiroz has had a stormy relationship with his bosses. The Portuguese former Real Madrid boss resigned from his post in March 2015 following a fall-out with the Iranian Football Federation before returning in April of the same year. He has also publicly spoken out about the somewhat uninspiring preparations for the World Cup, where Iran face lowly opposition in Uzbekistan and Latvia during warm-up matches.
On the field, Iran’s clean sheets are partly down to their imposing goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, a 6-foot-4 giant and a safe pair of hands.
The solid defence is overseen by veteran Jalal Hosseini and Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Milad Mohammadi and Ramin Rezaeian can provide a turn of pace when required.
One player that is turning heads is Morocco striker Alireza Jahanbakhsh, will be hoping to impress the watching world after becoming the top scorer in the Eredivise in the Netherlands while playing for AZ Alkmaar this season. If he plays his cards right, a top club could come calling for his services soon.
Fellow forward Sardar Azmoun can provide inside knowledge of life in Russia as he has been plying his trade for Rostov for the past five years and he will be also hoping for a move to bigger things with some top performances in his home from home.
Iran’s best chance to make an impact could come in their opening game when they face other Group B outsiders Morocco.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand (Persepolis), Rashid Mazaheri (Zob Ahan), Amir Abedzadeh (Maritimo)
Defenders: Ali Gholizadeh, Majid Hosseini, Milad Mohammadi, Mohammad Khanzadeh, Morteza Pouraliganji, Pejman Montazeri, Ramin Rezaeian , Roozbeh Cheshmi
Midfielders: Ehsan Haji Safi, Karim Ansarifard, Masoud Shojaei, Mahdi Torabi, Omid Ebrahimi, Saeid Ezatolahi
Forwards: Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Ashkan Dejageh, Mahdi Taremi, Reza Ghoochannejhad, Saman Ghoddos, Sardar Azmoun, Vahid Amiri
