In each case, Iran has not survived the first round of the finals.
In 1978, as the revolution was in full force at home, Iran played in its first World Cup finals, finishing in 14th place.
In the Asian preliminaries for the 1998 Cup, Iran finished in fifth place. The top four teams go to the finals, but the fifth placed Asian team must play someone from another continent. In this case, Iran played Oceania champion Australia, defeating it and going to the Cup finals. (Australia has since shifted to Asia—at least so far as soccer is concerned.)
In the 1998 finals, Iran defeated the United States in one of the most watched games that year. For many American sports fans, that game is all they know about Iran. For Iranians, it was an emotional high point that generated street celebrations unseen of for a sports event in Iran.
In the 2002 World Cup eliminations, Iran again finished fifth in Asia. This time it faced Ireland in the inter-continental elimination matches—and lost.
In 2006, Iran finished third in Asia, sailing into the finals with ease, but failing to win any games and quickly being eliminated.
In 2010, the country was primed for the World Cup. The talk wasn’t about whether Iran would make it into the finals, but whether Iran could make it beyond the first round in the finals. The government wrapped itself in the popular esteem of the team. Each game was treated like a glorious step down a golden road to the finals.
But the team slipped badly and ended up ranked sixth in Asia, slinking home and losing much of its luster.
The team has stumbled in succeeding years and has still not recovered its fan base. It is, however, ranked fourth in Asia now in the monthly computer rankings published by FIFA, the governing body of international soccer. It is a distant fourth—but the fifth placed team behind it is an even more distant fifth.
The latest rankings show Japan first in Asia and ranked 16th in the world. Japan is followed by Australia at 23rd place globally and South Korea in 28th place. Then comes Iran in 54th place and China way back in 73rd place.
