So miscular yet so thin - Iran's struggle to continue being recognised as an Asian football superpower

When Iran advanced to the final phase of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification in the Asian zone, there is a lot of optimism when Iran was drawn into a group that also includes South Korea, the UAE, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria. Many Iranians are hoping to make its third consecutive World Cup appearance, but with the way how Iran demonstrated in the second round, and further past, it is something to take concerns rather than any celebration. It should be.

Iran finished top of their group D at the second phase, ahead of Iraq and Bahrain. But Iran's performance was not consistent, it was drowned twice by Bahrain and Iraq, floundered in third place with a nervous warning sign of an early elimination. At that time, Iran was led by Belgian manager Marc Wilmots. After Wilmots was fired, Iran appointed Croatian Dragan Skočić as coach, and he temporarily solved these problems well. But if this is new for many Iranians and new-era football fans, perhaps older memories may indicate Iran is not as strong as we thought.

It's important to remember that since Iran first qualified for the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, Iran had struggled to maintain its presence on the big stage. It didn't qualify for the 1990 FIFA World Cup following the end of the Iran-Iraq War, largely due to its defeat to China right in the first round. In order to rebuild the national side, Iranian football leaders embarked on a systematic reform, but something had gone out of the way, contributing to their inconsistency that continues to affect Iran's performances in every Asian qualification for World Cup since.

Ali Parvin led Iran to the gold medal at the 1990 Asian Games, and he was instructed to take Iran to another competition, the 1992 AFC Asian Cup in Japan. Japan was not a football force by that time when Iran was assigned to Japan's group, the others were North Korea and the UAE. Iranian expectation was so high that nobody would imagine the team's outstanding failure. Iran easily beat North Korea 2-0, before being held goalless by the Emiratis, but chances for Iran were so high when they faced Japan in the final game. Yet Iran ended up receiving three red cards, and a late goal from Kazuyoshi Miura condemned Iran to third, making it the first and only Asian Cup that Iran didn't progress from the group stage - while Japan would go on winning its first Asian title, started the rise of Japan from then. This shock elimination, however, didn't change public faith in Parvin and he kept taking charge for the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification, hosted by Iran's adversary, the United States. This qualification became a disaster when Iran finished fifth, above only North Korea, and included shock losses to Iraq, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Iran didn't qualify and Parvin was widely blamed. He was sacked.

Iran then won bronze in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup, this boosted hope for Iran to reach the 1998 FIFA World Cup, but Iran slipped disastrously in the final phase's last matches when they let Kuwait hold goalless at home before losing 0-2 to Qatar in Doha. Lucky for Iran, Saudi Arabia saved them by beating Qatar 1-0 to help Iran into the playoffs against Japan, but Japan trounced Iran 3-2 by a golden goal at the extra time of Masayuki Okano to seal Japan's first World Cup berth. And somehow, luck again sided with Iran when they held Australia 3-3, notably two goals comeback in their returning fixture in Down Under sent Iran to its second World Cup thanked to away goal rule. In this World Cup, Iran finished third, above the United States, and did not make it to the last sixteen. Former Iranian international Jalal Talebi was the coach of this Iranian side.

The 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification was a disastrous moment for many Iranian supporters due to a hurdle in their last match, once again. Iran was led by the legendary manager Miroslav Blažević, who guided Croatia to a third-place finish in the previous edition that Iran qualified. Before the final away game against Bahrain, Iran was in a comfortable top standing, which would have assured Iran an automatic berth to Korea and Japan. Yet on 21 October 2001, against a largely hostile 25,000 Bahraini spectators, Iran lost 1-3. While it was Iran's only defeat in the qualifiers, the outcome was costly - Saudi Arabia beat Thailand 4-1 at the same time and displaced Iran, officially qualified for World Cup. The match holds deep grievances for many Iranians due to Bahraini players and fans waving the Saudi flag. Iran then defeated the UAE 4-0 by aggregate, but luck turned away from Iran this time when facing Ireland, as Iran lost 1-2 by aggregate and missed the competition in pain. Blažević was fired.

Iran then tried with the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification after a promising third-place finish in the 2004 Asian Cup, but Iran suffered a stunning home loss to Jordan, before recovering to reach the final round once more. This time, Iran successfully beat Japan at home and was able to qualify for Germany when Iran overcame Bahrain 1-0 in the Azadi Stadium. But Iran could not utilise their form when in World Cup, winning only a point, losing to Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal and Mexico, and dismissed from the group stage.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification for Iran ended on another sad note. After taking the first place in the second round of the qualification, with a poor demonstration, Iran was not able to finish even in the top three: in the final phase, Iran's only clear victories are against the UAE and North Korea, and while they only failed to gain points in one match, it was right at home to Saudi Arabia, a 2-1 defeat, where Saudi footballers danced its Arab sword dance in front of 100,000 angry Iranian spectators. This defeat, coupled with five draws, meant Iran to gain 11 points, disqualified for the World Cup in South Africa. Also, Iran was under constant turmoil within the federation, when over three coaches came to lead Iran in a short period.

Iran only began to enter its golden era when Carlos Queiroz took the helm, but even in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Iran could not show its form perfectly. Iran qualified for Brazil, but in the final round, Iran got two slaps into the face: an away defeat to tiny Lebanon (which was also the first time Lebanon scored a goal on Iran), and a home loss to Uzbekistan, both 0-1. This performance then haunted Iran throughout the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where they finished bottom with only a point coming from a goalless draw with Nigeria. The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, also under Queiroz, was the first-ever that Iran really showed it was steeled: undefeated in the entire qualifiers. Iran also almost knocked out Spain and Portugal in the main stage but didn't survive the group stage despite its win over Morocco.

Only a short synopsis over Iran's stories in each qualifier since the 1990s examined well how Iran had played in the past. And to speak more frankly, many of these qualifications witnessed Iran introducing a couple of great talents, notably Ali Karimi, Javad Nekounam, Farshad Pious, Ahmad Abedzadeh, Khodadad Azizi, Reza Mohammadkhani, Karim Bagheri, Hamid Estili, Vahid Hashemian, Alireza Mansourian, Andranik Teymourian, Mehdi Mahdavikia and the greatest being Ali Daei, the first player to score more than 100 goals. Despite these figures, three World Cup qualifiers witnessed Iran getting dismissed.

Iran is a big but vulnerable side. The fragility of Iran is real. This comes even when Iran having some of its greatest names since the Daei era. They have Sardar Azmoun of Zenit Saint Petersburg; Alireza Beiranvand (who denied CR7's penalty) playing in Belgium's Antwerp, Karim Ansarifard in Greece for AEK Athens, Mehdi Taremi in Porto, and the torching captain Ehsan Hajsafi. Still, they allowed Bahrain and Iraq to completely lockdown in the first leg.

Any professional pundits are likely to point out what people could expect from it: Iran, in reality, is a collection of individual stars without cohesive plans. Yes, it is clear that Iran not seem to be a strong team once these stars are cut off. From the past to even the present, the Iranian national side is strongly built surrounding star figures, rather than a collective performance. It is strong and muscular, but these players don't usually play together. We can immediately affirm our expectation when we look at the memories of Iran's shock 0-1 loss to Bahrain, no one thought a veteran blocker like Majid Hosseini could commit an amateur foul right on the penalty spot. Or think about the red card given to another veteran defender, Masoud Shojaei, which brought down Iran to another defeat, 1-2, to Iraq. Overall, Iranian players play with elegance, but also fairly arrogant styles, looking down on every team they met.

We may also say the fans contributed a significant emotional issue to Iran. The anti-Iranian sentiment is long-seated in the Arab World, and in particular, it has risen following Iranian interference in Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Lebanon. The two former were Iran's opponents in the second round, both had beaten Iran with cheers from spectators who were deeply Iranophobe. Iran could have been eliminated had not for the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world that gave Iran's time to rebuild its side while washing away Iraq and Bahrain's supports.

Now, on the third round, Iran is on the Pot 1, but they're not stable. Their group may seem weaker as it should, South Korea, Iraq, the UAE, Lebanon and Syria. What are the tactics and projects of the Croatian boss for Iran, remain to be seen. Further, Iran's inabilities to keep the game in control can make the side exposed to potential counter-attacks from dangerous opponents. South Korea may have not beaten Iran since 2011, but South Korea has improved - the Koreans have never missed a World Cup since 1986. Iraq and the UAE also provide huge risks that Iran can't bear over. Syria may no longer have the elements of surprise, but Syria is still formidable - they were unbeaten to Iran in the previous qualification attempt. The only team Iran feels okay is Lebanon, largely due to Lebanon only qualified by luck and has no major key players - but with Lebanon holding South Korea goalless in Beirut before, it can also represent some physical test.

Although the expansion of World Cup in 2026 can guarantee Iran an official spot as Asian slots grew from 4,5 to 8,5; but if Iran continues to play like this, it is not sure that Iran can even qualify for the 2026 edition. The 2022 qualifiers in the Asian zone are coming to the final, and Iran still has a lot of work to do.