Has Iran ever won a World Cup match?

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is set to get underway on November 20 in Qatar as 32 teams will battle it out to earn the title of World Cup champions. Iran qualified for their third consecutive World Cup tournament and were drawn into Group B along with England, the United States, and Wales. Ahead of the tournament, let’s take a look back at Iran’s World Cup history.

The Iranians have qualified for six World Cup tournaments: 1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018, and 2022. While they’ve never made it past the group stage, they’ve managed to win just two of their 15 games throughout the six appearances. Their first-ever World Cup win came in 1998 when they held on for a 2-1 win over the United States, followed by their second and most recent win in 2018 as they turned in a 1-0 victory over Morocco.

Led by the likes of FC Porto’s Mehdi Taremi and Brighton’s Alireza Jahanbakhsh, they’ll aim for the knockout round in 2022 despite landing in an incredibly tough group. England are the favorites to win the group, while the USMNT is favored to qualify for the knockouts along with the Three Lions.

Iran gets their group stage campaign underway on November 21 with their first match against England, kicking off at 8 a.m. ET. They’ll follow that up with a match against Wales on November 25 with a 5 a.m. kick time, and their group stage will wrap up against the United States on November 29 at 2 p.m.