The 2014 World Cup will be Iran’s fourth appearance in the tournament. The team last qualified in 2006 when it failed to progress past the Group Stage however, its best result came in 1998 when it finished 20^th. The team is currently ranked 37^th in the world having come top of the Asian group during qualifying during which it won 5 games, drew 1 and lost 2.

Style

Iran has a new coach, Carlos Queiroz who has built a well organised defence into the team. The team tend to play in 4-2-3-1 formation which gives them plenty of players at the back. The team is disciplined, making use of tried and tested set pieces. However, this discipline often leads to a lack of creativity making the team easier opponents than they should be.

Strengths

The Iranian team looks extremely well drilled. They relied more upon set pieces for goals than any other team during qualification with 40% of their goals being scored from dead ball situations. Impressively, the team didn’t concede a single long range goal during qualifying either. The team also looks good attacking down the right.

Weaknesses

While the team makes excellent use of set pieces, it doesn’t defend well against them and let in 57% of goals during qualifying from them. The team also allowed in numerous goals from close range which could prove to be its downfall. Another major concern is the fitness of players; most come from low level Iranian clubs and can’t keep up with the fitness level of major international teams.

World Cup Group Stage

• Iran vs Nigeria – Monday, 16 June 2014, Match Preview
• Argentina vs Iran – Saturday, 21 June 2014 Match Preview
• Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Iran – Wednesday, 25 June 2014, Match Preview