Iran
The story
Qualified through a competitive confederation campaign with a balanced squad of European-based regulars and emerging domestic talent.
How they got here
Cruised through AFC qualifying with one of the round's stingiest defenses.
Expectations
Targeting a place in the knockout round and the chance to spoil a favorite's run.
Manager & key players
Group G
BelgiumFIFA #8
EgyptFIFA #36
IranFIFA #20
New ZealandFIFA #86
Upcoming matches
Latest news & commentary
updated daily- Aug 1Injury
Squad announcement pending trained without restriction on Tuesday and is expected to be available for the opener.
- Jul 30Fan
Ticket allocations for Iran's opener were oversubscribed in under an hour, federation officials confirmed.
- Jul 28Form
Iran have lost just one of their last ten competitive fixtures heading into the tournament.
- Jul 26Squad
— is weighing a 26-player list with two uncapped call-ups pushing for late inclusion.
- Jul 24Press
Local press has zeroed in on midfield balance — depth behind the regular starters remains the open question.