The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest continental football championship in the world after Copa América. The winning team becomes the champion of Asia and until 2015 qualified for the FIFA Confederations Cup.
The Iran national football team, recognised by FIFA as IR Iran, represents Iran in international football and is controlled by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI).
Esteghlal Football Club, commonly known as Esteghlal, is an Iranian football club based in Tehran that competes in the Persian Gulf Pro League. The club was founded in 1945 as The Cyclists and previously known as Tâj between 1949 and 1979. The club is part of the multisport club Esteghlal of Iran Athletic and Cultural Company. They were the first team to reach 1,000 points in Persian Gulf Pro League.
The 1968 AFC Asian Cup was the 4th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Iran between 10 and 19 May 1968, with five teams competing in a round-robin format with no final for what would be the last time. It was also the first tournament with 90-minute games, after 80-minute games in the first three editions.
The 1976 AFC Asian Cup was the 6th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were hosted by Iran between 3 and 13 June 1976. The field of six teams was split into two groups of three. Iran won their third title in a row, beating Kuwait in the final.
The Azadi Stadium, opened as the Aryamehr Stadium, is an all-seater football stadium in Tehran, Iran. The stadium was designed by Abdol Aziz Mirza Farman-Farmaian Architects and Associates (AFFA) with other parts of the sports complex based on plans by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, an American architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm. It was inaugurated on 17 October 1971 by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran; it is currently self-owned by Esteghlal and Persepolis. It is also the home stadium of the Iran national football team. It has a capacity of 78,116 spectators, as the result of conversion to all-seater stadium. The stadium is part of the larger Azadi Sport Complex. This Stadium was hosted the most attendees final of Asian football history during 1998–99 Asian Club Championship Final between Esteghlal of Iran and Jubilo Iwata of Japan with 125,000 attendees.
The 7th Asian Games were held from 1 to 16 September 1974 in Tehran, Iran. The Aryamehr Sports Complex was built for the Games. The Asian Games were hosted in the Middle East for the first time. Tehran, the capital of Iran, played host to 3,010 athletes coming from 25 countries/NOCs, the highest number of participants since the inception of the Games.
The Shahid Shiroudi Stadium formerly known as Taj Stadium or Amjadieh Stadium is a sports stadium in Tehran, Iran. It is currently used for athletics and held football matches until 2009.
The Rah Ahan Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Tehran, Iran. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Rah Ahan F.C., who currently play in Iran's Premier Football League.The stadium holds 12,000 people.
Listed below are the dates and results for the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Asian and Oceanian zone. For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification.
Listed below are the dates and results for the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Asian and Oceanian zone (AFC and OFC). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification.
The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was the 16th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 2015. The tournament was won by Australia after defeating South Korea 2–1 in extra time in the final, thereby earning the right to participate in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, which was hosted by Russia. The win was Australia's first Asian title since their move from the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) in 2006. It was also the first time a men's team has become champions of two confederations, following Australia's four OFC Nations Cup titles: 1980, 1996, 2000 and 2004; right after the Australian women's team won the 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup.
This is a list of official football games played by Iran national football team between 1960 and 1979.
The 2012 AFC U-16 Championship was the 15th edition of the tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation. The AFC approved Iran as hosts of the championship on 23 November 2011. The top 4 teams qualified for the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup, hosted by the United Arab Emirates. Qualification for the tournament started in 2011.
This is a record of Iraq's results at the AFC Asian Cup. Iraq have appeared in the finals of the AFC Asian Cup on 9 occasions in 1972 to 1976, 1996 to 2019. Their best ever performance is a champions in the 2007 tournament held in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam respectively.
The Iran and Iraq national football teams are sporting rivals since 1962.
Israel competed at the AFC Asian Cup four times. In 1956 and 1960 Israel finished second, in 1964 they finished first, and in 1968 they finished third. In 1972 Israel qualified for the tournament as hosts but later withdrew.
The Iran men's national football team has participated in 14 editions of the AFC Asian Cup, first appearing in the 1968 Asian Cup after automatically qualifying as hosts. Overall, Iran is one of the most successful teams in Asia, having won three titles from 1968 to 1976. However, after the 1976 Asian Cup, Iran's best performance is just third place.
South Yemen national football team had only participated in one AFC Asian Cup, during 1976 edition. It was South Yemen's only participation in their history, until Yemeni unification at 1990. After 1990, South and North Yemen were together reunited, but South Yemen was not recognized as predecessor of modern Yemen team.
Iraq's rivalry with Kuwait was once considered the Arab world's greatest football rivalry of all time. It began in the mid-1970s. In August 2, 1990, the rivalry between the two switched from the football field to the battlefield, during the brutal Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Because of the Gulf War, Iraq and Kuwait were in complete avoidance and never met for more than a decade. Iraq and Kuwait have played 37 matches against each other with 17 victories for Iraq, 10 draws, and 10 victories for Kuwait.
