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A team across generations
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The 330 on the pitch
The duels
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The 33 of Iran.
Editorial order, with a career scene and sources behind every name.
03
Ali Parvin 76 caps (Iran) · 8 goals · Kian, PaykanA hundred thousand people were inside the Aryamehr Stadium in Tehran on 13 June 1976 when Parvin scored in the 73rd minute to beat Kuwait and keep the Asian Cup in Iran.
CM1970–1980
Ali Parvin 76 caps (Iran) · 8 goals · Kian, PaykanA hundred thousand people were inside the Aryamehr Stadium in Tehran on 13 June 1976 when Parvin scored in the 73rd minute to beat Kuwait and keep the Asian Cup in Iran.
CM1970–1980
04
KA
Khodadad Azizi 47 caps (Iran) · 11 goals · Pas Tehran, 1. FC KölnAustralia were two goals up at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 November 1997 with 15 minutes left when Karim Bagheri pulled one back and Azizi levelled it, sending Iran to their first World Cup in 20 years on away goals.
CAM1992–2006
05
Parviz Ghelichkhani 64 caps (Iran) · 12 goals · Kian, EsteghlalCaptaining Iran in front of a hundred thousand at Tehran's Aryamehr Stadium, he lifted Asian Games gold in September 1974, a deep-lying midfielder trusted for his tackling, his range of pass and his authority.
CM1964–1977
Parviz Ghelichkhani 64 caps (Iran) · 12 goals · Kian, EsteghlalCaptaining Iran in front of a hundred thousand at Tehran's Aryamehr Stadium, he lifted Asian Games gold in September 1974, a deep-lying midfielder trusted for his tackling, his range of pass and his authority.
CM1964–1977
06
JN
Javad Nekounam 151 caps (Iran) · Pas Tehran, Club Atlético OsasunaIran held Argentina goalless in Belo Horizonte on 21 June 2014 until Lionel Messi curled one in at the death, and the man wearing the armband through all 91 minutes was Nekounam.
CDM2000–2015
07
Karim Bagheri 87 caps (Iran) · Tractor, KeshavarzOn 2 June 1997 he scored seven times against the Maldives in a World Cup qualifier, matching the record for a single qualifying match, and finished that campaign as the leading scorer across all six confederations with 19 goals.
CDM1993–2010
Karim Bagheri 87 caps (Iran) · Tractor, KeshavarzOn 2 June 1997 he scored seven times against the Maldives in a World Cup qualifier, matching the record for a single qualifying match, and finished that campaign as the leading scorer across all six confederations with 19 goals.
CDM1993–2010
09
Mehdi Taremi 108 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (Iran) · 60 (as of 4 October 2026) goals · Persepolis, Al-Gharafa SCApril 2021, deep into stoppage time against Chelsea, he scored the overhead kick that UEFA later voted the Champions League goal of the season.
ST2015–
Mehdi Taremi 108 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (Iran) · 60 (as of 4 October 2026) goals · Persepolis, Al-Gharafa SCApril 2021, deep into stoppage time against Chelsea, he scored the overhead kick that UEFA later voted the Champions League goal of the season.
ST2015–
10
Nasser Hejazi 62 caps (Iran) · Esteghlal, ShahinScotland could not beat him in Córdoba on 7 June 1978; their only goal was an Iranian own goal, and the 1-1 draw stayed Iran's sole World Cup point for twenty years.
GK1968–1980
Nasser Hejazi 62 caps (Iran) · Esteghlal, ShahinScotland could not beat him in Córdoba on 7 June 1978; their only goal was an Iranian own goal, and the 1-1 draw stayed Iran's sole World Cup point for twenty years.
GK1968–1980
11
AR
Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh 79 caps (Iran) · Tam Isfahan S.C., SepahanEight hundred and two minutes passed at Persepolis without anyone putting the ball past him, which is how a goalkeeper earns the name Eagle of Asia.
GK1987–2000
12
Hassan Rowshan 48 caps (Iran) · 13 goals · Esteghlal, Shabab AlAhli Dubai ClubHe went to the 1978 World Cup on a knee that never came right, and still scored against Peru on 11 June, one of only two goals Iran managed in Argentina.
ST1974–1980
Hassan Rowshan 48 caps (Iran) · 13 goals · Esteghlal, Shabab AlAhli Dubai ClubHe went to the 1978 World Cup on a knee that never came right, and still scored against Peru on 11 June, one of only two goals Iran managed in Argentina.
ST1974–1980
13
HK
Hossein Kalani 24 caps (Iran) · 11 goals · Shahin, PersepolisAt the 1972 Asian Cup he put three past Iraq in the group stage and then scored again in the final against South Korea, finishing the tournament as its leading marksman.
ST1967–1973
14
Sardar Azmoun 91 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (Iran) · 57 (as of 4 October 2026) goals · Rubin Kazan, RostovAt Rostov he became the first Iranian to score in a Champions League group stage since Ali Karimi in 2005, by which point the nickname Iranian Messi had already stuck.
SS2014–
Sardar Azmoun 91 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (Iran) · 57 (as of 4 October 2026) goals · Rubin Kazan, RostovAt Rostov he became the first Iranian to score in a Champions League group stage since Ali Karimi in 2005, by which point the nickname Iranian Messi had already stuck.
SS2014–
15
Alireza Jahanbakhsh 101 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (Iran) · 17 (as of 4 October 2026) goals · N.E.C., AZ Alkmaar
LM2013–
Alireza Jahanbakhsh 101 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (Iran) · 17 (as of 4 October 2026) goals · N.E.C., AZ Alkmaar
LM2013–
17
Jalal Hosseini Saipa, SepahanBelo Horizonte, 21 June 2014: he held the line for ninety minutes as Iran kept Argentina out, until Messi cut inside and curled one past Haghighi a minute into stoppage time.
CB2007–
Jalal Hosseini Saipa, SepahanBelo Horizonte, 21 June 2014: he held the line for ninety minutes as Iran kept Argentina out, until Messi cut inside and curled one past Haghighi a minute into stoppage time.
CB2007–
18
NM
Nasser Mohammadkhani 25 caps (Iran) · 18 goals · Rah Ahan, PersepolisFour of Iran's five goals against Bangladesh on 7 August 1984 were his, the start of a nine-goal run in nine days through that Asian Cup qualifying group.
ST1982–1990
19
VH
Vahid Hashemian 50 caps (Iran) · 15 goals · Pas Tehran, VfL BochumAzadi was packed with 110,000 people on 25 March 2005 when Hashemian scored in the 13th minute and again in the 75th to beat Japan 2-1 in World Cup qualifying.
SS1998–2009
20
Andranik Teymourian 101 caps (Iran) · Aboomoslem, Bolton WanderersOn 18 May 2014 he led Iran out against Belarus, the first Christian to captain the national team, a month before he played all 270 minutes of the group stage in Brazil.
CDM2005–2016
Andranik Teymourian 101 caps (Iran) · Aboomoslem, Bolton WanderersOn 18 May 2014 he led Iran out against Belarus, the first Christian to captain the national team, a month before he played all 270 minutes of the group stage in Brazil.
CDM2005–2016
21
Ashkan Dejagah VfL Wolfsburg, FulhamTwo goals on his Iran debut, against Qatar on 29 February 2012, settled the question of which country the Wolfsburg winger would answer to, and he started the World Cup opener against Nigeria two years later.
RM2012–
Ashkan Dejagah VfL Wolfsburg, FulhamTwo goals on his Iran debut, against Qatar on 29 February 2012, settled the question of which country the Wolfsburg winger would answer to, and he started the World Cup opener against Nigeria two years later.
RM2012–
22
Ehsan Hajsafi 144 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (Iran) · Sepahan, TractorEighteen years old on debut, Hajsafi laid on two goals against Zambia at Azadi on 25 May 2008, then held Iran's left flank for the next eighteen years.
LB2008–
Ehsan Hajsafi 144 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (Iran) · Sepahan, TractorEighteen years old on debut, Hajsafi laid on two goals against Zambia at Azadi on 25 May 2008, then held Iran's left flank for the next eighteen years.
LB2008–
23
Masoud Shojaei 90 caps (Iran) · 8 goals · Saipa, Club Atlético OsasunaFive seasons at Osasuna gave him 112 competitive games in Spain, and in Russia in 2018 he became the first Iranian to travel to three World Cups, wearing the armband at the last of them.
RM2004–2019
Masoud Shojaei 90 caps (Iran) · 8 goals · Saipa, Club Atlético OsasunaFive seasons at Osasuna gave him 112 competitive games in Spain, and in Russia in 2018 he became the first Iranian to travel to three World Cups, wearing the armband at the last of them.
RM2004–2019
24
Alireza Beiranvand Naft Tehran, PersepolisRonaldo stepped up in Saransk on 25 June 2018 and Beiranvand pushed the penalty away, preserving a 1-1 draw for a goalkeeper who had slept rough in Tehran and worked in a car wash and a pizzeria before football paid him.
GK2014–
Alireza Beiranvand Naft Tehran, PersepolisRonaldo stepped up in Saransk on 25 June 2018 and Beiranvand pushed the penalty away, preserving a 1-1 draw for a goalkeeper who had slept rough in Tehran and worked in a car wash and a pizzeria before football paid him.
GK2014–
26
Andranik Eskandarian 29 caps (Iran) · F.C. Ararat Tehran, New York CosmosThe first Iranian to put the ball in a World Cup net did it into his own goal, 43 minutes into the Scotland game in Córdoba on 7 June 1978, and Iran still drew 1-1 for their only point.
CB1975–1978
Andranik Eskandarian 29 caps (Iran) · F.C. Ararat Tehran, New York CosmosThe first Iranian to put the ball in a World Cup net did it into his own goal, 43 minutes into the Scotland game in Córdoba on 7 June 1978, and Iran still drew 1-1 for their only point.
CB1975–1978
27
FZ
Fereydoun Zandi 5 goals · SV Meppen, VfB LübeckA free kick in first-half stoppage time against China in Kuala Lumpur on 15 July 2007 brought Iran level at the Asian Cup, and it was exactly the ball-striking Kaiserslautern had signed him for.
CM2005–2012
28
Hossein Kaebi 84 caps (Iran) · Foolad, Steel AzinStanding 1.67 metres, Kaebi was the man sent to deal with Cristiano Ronaldo and Luís Figo in Frankfurt on 17 June 2006, the second of three World Cup group games he played at the age of twenty.
RB2002–2010
Hossein Kaebi 84 caps (Iran) · Foolad, Steel AzinStanding 1.67 metres, Kaebi was the man sent to deal with Cristiano Ronaldo and Luís Figo in Frankfurt on 17 June 2006, the second of three World Cup group games he played at the age of twenty.
RB2002–2010
31
Morteza Pouraliganji 44 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (Iran) · Naft Tehran, Tianjin Jinmen Tiger
CB2015–
Morteza Pouraliganji 44 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (Iran) · Naft Tehran, Tianjin Jinmen Tiger
CB2015–
32
Vahid Amiri Datis Lorestan, KowsarPersepolis took him from Naft Tehran in the summer of 2016 and he gave them eight seasons on the left across two spells, broken only by a single year at Trabzonspor in 2018-19.
LM2015–
Vahid Amiri Datis Lorestan, KowsarPersepolis took him from Naft Tehran in the summer of 2016 and he gave them eight seasons on the left across two spells, broken only by a single year at Trabzonspor in 2018-19.
LM2015–
About this XI
The collection opens with Ali Daei, Ali Karimi and Ali Parvin. The 33 covers 3 goalkeepers, 10 defenders, 13 midfielders and 7 forwards, with sourced senior international careers spanning the 1960s to the 2020s. Pick a formation, drag your eleven onto the pitch, then explore the careers and settle the duels below. Your votes reorder the people's ranking of these 33 in real time.
Left out, and why
A 33 is a set of decisions, and these are the players who lost their place in the last revision of Iran's list. Every one of them has a case.
- Mojtaba MoharramiThe place went to Hossein Kalani.
- Mojtaba JabbariThe place went to Parviz Ghelichkhani.
Disagree? That is the point. Settle it in the duels above.
Who is the greatest Iran footballer of all time?
The editorial collection starts with Ali Daei. Its first five careers: Ali Daei, Ali Karimi, Ali Parvin, Khodadad Azizi, Parviz Ghelichkhani. The people's ranking on this page moves with every duel vote and can disagree.
How were these 33 Iran players chosen?
The collection covers every position across Iran's football history. Honours, international records and career achievements inform the editorial order. Each entry opens a career note and its sources. Fan votes in the duels build a separate ranking.
Where can I read about the careers?
Open a player page from the collection to read the career scene, club record and recorded honours. The source links show where the available records come from.
Can I build and share my own Iran all-time XI?
Yes. Pick one of 8 formations, place any of the 33 players onto the pitch, and export your lineup as a PNG. There is no account and no sign-up.