Arya Yousefi
Iranian footballer (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arya Yousefi[i] (born 22 April 2002) is an Iranian football defender who plays for Sepahan in the Persian Gulf Pro League and the Iran national team.
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Yousefi in 2025 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 22 April 2002 | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bandar-e Mahshahr, Iran | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||
| Positions | ||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team | Sepahan | |||||||||||||
| Number | 14 | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| Foolad[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Naft Ahvaz | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Sepahan | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2021– | Sepahan | 83 | (6) | |||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||
| 2022– | Iran U23 | 10 | (2) | |||||||||||
| 2024– | Iran | 15 | (1) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23 February 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 16 June 2026 | ||||||||||||||
Career
Arya Yousefi was born in Bandar-e Mahshahr, and is a youth product of Naft Ahvaz and Sepahan. He debuted in the Persian Gulf Pro League with Sepahan in 2021.[2]
International career
Yousefi debuted with the Iran national team in a friendly 2–1 win over Burkina Faso on 5 January 2024.[3] He was included in the final squad in the Iranian senior team to compete for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar in January 2024.[4]
On the 8th of September 2025, in a CAFA Nations Cup match against Uzbekistan, Yousefi obtained a red card and was sent off. It was the first red card of his international career.[5]
Career statistics
- As of 23 February 2026
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iran | 2024 | 5 | 0 |
| 2025 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 4 | 1 | |
| Total | 15 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Iran goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Yousefi goal
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 May 2026 | Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey |  Gambia | 1–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
Honours
Sepahan
In the media
One of the Iranian news agencies wrote about him with the headline "The Angel Who Saves Teams": "With exceptional positioning and creating goal opportunities with short passes, deep runs and quick comebacks, Arya Yousefi has managed to become the angel who saves teams in defense and attack.[8]
He has also been referred to as a young phenomenon in some news and media.[9]
An international media outlet published a news item with the headline "Rising Star Arya Yousefi Shines for Sepahan, Iran" to praise his performance and stated: "His impressive skills on the field have not gone unnoticed; he is emerging as a football phenomenon whose name is expected to gain worldwide recognition soon. With his contributions in both defense and attack, Arya Yousefi is poised to become one of the leading figures in Iranian football, captivating fans and analysts alike with his talent and determination."[10]