Iran national under-23 football team
National association football team
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Iran national under-23 football team, also known as Iran U-23 or Iran Olympic Team; represents Iran in international football competitions in Olympic Games, Asian Games and AFC U-22 Asian Cup, as well as any other under-23 international football tournaments. It is controlled by the Iran Football Federation.
| |||
| Nickname | Team Melli Omid (The Hope National Team) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | FFIRI | ||
| Confederation | AFC (Asia) | ||
| Head coach | Hossein Abdi[1] | ||
| Home stadium | Azadi Stadium | ||
| FIFA code | IRN | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
 Iran 2–1 Kuwait  (Kuwait City, Kuwait; 3 December 1977)[2] | |||
| Biggest win | |||
 Iran 10–0 Afghanistan  (Busan, South Korea; 28 September 2002) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
Iran 2–6 Japan  (Tehran, Iran; 9 February 2001) | |||
| AFC U-23 Championship | |||
| Appearances | 5 (first in 2013) | ||
| Best result | Quarter-finals (2016) | ||
| Asian Games | |||
| Appearances | 7 (first in 2002) | ||
| Best result |  Gold Medal (2002) | ||
History
The winner of the gold medal at the 2002 Asian Games, the team was prepared to defend its championship title at the football tournament of the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. Despite a suspension by FIFA, preventing Iran to enter any international football competition,[3] the Iran under-23 team was given special permission to participate in the Asian Games,[4] where they won the bronze medal.
Wild cards
Football at the Asian Games has required that under-23 players enter the competitions, but they have allowed three over-age players can be included in the squad. Iran used three players, known as the "Wild cards", in three versions of the games in 2002, 2006, 2010 And 2022:
| Competition | Wild card 1 | Wild card 2 | Wild card 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 Asian Games | Ali Daei (C) | Yahya Golmohammadi | Ebrahim Mirzapour (GK) |
| 2006 Asian Games | Hassan Roudbarian (C/GK) | Arash Borhani | Jalal Hosseini |
| 2010 Asian Games | Mehdi Rahmati (C/GK) | Gholamreza Rezaei | |
| 2022 Asian Games | Hossein Hosseini (C/GK) | Amir Arsalan Motahari |
Results and fixtures
- Legend
Win Draw Loss Fixture
2025
| 29 August 2025 Friendly | Iran | 5–1 |  Chinese Taipei |
| 3 September 2026 AFC U-23 ACQ | Iran | 4–0 |  Hong Kong | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
| 17:30 UTC+4 |
|
Report | Stadium: Al Nahyan Stadium Attendance: 145 Referee: Kim Yu-jeong (South Korea) |
| 6 September 2026 AFC U-23 ACQ | Guam  | 0–6 | Iran | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
| 17:30 UTC+4 | Report |
|
Stadium: Al Nahyan Stadium Attendance: 70 Referee: Sashanka Madushanka (Sri Lanka) |
| 9 September 2026 AFC U-23 ACQ | United Arab Emirates  | 2–3 | Iran | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
| 17:30 UTC+4 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Al Nahyan Stadium Attendance: 467 Referee: Zaid Thamer Mohammed (Iraq) |
2026
| 7 January 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup GS | South Korea  | 0–0 | Iran | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| 14:30 UTC+3 | Report | Stadium: Al-Shabab Club Stadium Attendance: 127 Referee: Ammar Mahfoodh (Bahrain) |
| 10 January 2026 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup GS | Iran | 0–0 |  Uzbekistan | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| 17:00 | Report | Stadium: Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium Attendance: 140 Referee: Abdullah Jamali (Kuwait) |
| 13 January 2026 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup group stage | Iran | 0–1 |  Lebanon | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| 14:30 UTC+3 | Report | Stadium: Al-Shabab Club Stadium Attendance: 122 Referee: Faisal Al-Balawi (Saudi Arabia) |
Coaching staff
Current coaching staff
- As of 03 September 2025
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Hossein Abdi |
| Assistant coaches | Mohammadreza Mahdavi، Ebrahim Shakouri |
| Goalkeeping coach | Reza Haj Esbouei |
| Fitness coach | Behzad Noshadi[۱] |
| analyzer | _ |
| Team Supervisor | Jalal Nasiri |
| Physiotherapist | _ |
| Team doctor | _ |
| Team manager | Mehdi Mortazavian |
Manager history
Heshmat Mohajerani (1977–1979)- Iraj Soleimani (1980–1982)
- Mahmoud Yavari (1982–1984)
- Iraj Soleimani (1984–1991)
- Hassan Habibi (1991–1994)
Enver Hadžiabdić (1994)
Hans-Jürgen Gede (1994–1995)- Hassan Habibi (1995)
- Ebrahim Ghasempour (1997–1999)
- Egon Coordes (1999)
- Mehdi Monajati (1999–2002)
Branko Ivanković (2002–2003)- Mohammad Mayeli Kohan (2003–2004)
Renê Simões (2005–2006)- Vinko Begović (2006–2007)
- Nenad Nikolić (2007–2008)
- Gholam Hossein Peyrovani (2009–2010)
- Human Afazeli (2010–2011)
- Ali Reza Mansourian (2011–2014)
- Human Afazeli (2014)
Nelo Vingada (2014)- Mohammad Khakpour (2014–2016)
- Amir Hossein Peiravani (2017)
- Zlatko Kranjčar (2018–2019)
- Farhad Majidi (2019)
- Hamid Estili (2019–2021)
- Mehdi Mahdavikia (2021–2022)
- Reza Enayati (2023)
- Omid Ravankhah (2025)
- Hossein Abdi (2026)
Players
Current squad
2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup squad
The following 23 players were called up for the 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.[5]
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Mohammad Khalifeh | 19 August 2004 (aged 21) | Aluminium Arak | |
| GK | Amir Mehdi Maghsoudi | Sepahan | ||
| GK | Pouria Rafiei | Sepahan | ||
| DF | Bahram Goudarzi | 20 October 2005 (aged 20) | Aluminium Arak | |
| DF | Arshia Vosoughifar | Fajr Sepasi | ||
| DF | Danial Eiri | 26 October 2003 (aged 22) | Malavan | |
| DF | Mohammad Mahdi Zare | 24 January 2003 (aged 23) |  Akhmat Grozny | |
| DF | Masoud Mohebi | Kheybar | ||
| DF | Farzin Moamelehgari | Persepolis | ||
| DF | Seyed Mehdi Mahdavi | 30 September 2005 (aged 20) | Aluminium Arak | |
| MF | Amir Mohammad Razzaghinia | 11 April 2006 (aged 19) | Esteghlal | |
| MF | Pouria Latififar | Gol Gohar | ||
| MF | Mohammad Javad Hosseinnejad (captain) | 26 June 2003 (aged 22) | Dynamo Makhachkala | |
| MF | Mahdi Jafari | Malavan | ||
| MF | Amirreza Sheykhirad | Nassaji | ||
| MF | Mahdi Goudarzi | Kheybar | ||
| MF | Abbas Habibi | Malavan | ||
| FW | Yadegar Rostami | 2 January 2004 (aged 22) | Fajr Sepasi | |
| FW | Hamid Reza Zarouni | 8 October 2005 (aged 20) | Kheybar | |
| FW | Reza Ghandipour | 13 January 2006 (aged 20) | Al Wahda | |
| DF | Erfan Jamshidi | Paykan | ||
| FW | Mohammad Askari | Sepahan | ||
| FW | Mohammad Hossein Sadeghi | 28 March 2004 (aged 21) | Persepolis |
Previous squads
Honours
Continental
Gold Medal (1): 2002
Bronze Medal (1): 2006- 4th place (1): 2010
†U-23 teams were favoured by AFC and the IOC since 2002 Asian Games.The Senior team competed in the games before 2002.
Regional
Other
- Semi-finalists in
1999 Dunhill Cup - 1st place in 2006 VTV-T&T Cup (Spring Cup)
- 3rd place in
2008 Turkmenistan President's Cup - 1st place in 2010 Velayat Cup
- 2nd place in 2010 Ho Chi Minh City Cup
- 1st place in
2013 International Friendship Youth Tournament - 1st place in
Antalya Tournament - 3rd place in
2025 Manas Cup
Competitive Record
Olympic Games
| Summer Olympic Games | Qualification | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Rank | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Squad | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Link | |
| 1908–1988 | See Iran national team | See Iran national team | |||||||||||||||||
 1992 | Did not qualify | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 6 | +13 | Link | ||||||||||
 1996 |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | Link | |||||||||||
 2000 |
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -3 | Link | |||||||||||
 2004 |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 9 | +13 | Link | |||||||||||
 2008 |
6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | -1 | Link | |||||||||||
 2012 |
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -4 | Link | |||||||||||
 2016 | Via AFC U-23 Asian Cup | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||
 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2028 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | — | 0/9 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 32 | 13 | 7 | 12 | 53 | 36 | +17 | Link | |
AFC U-23 Asian Cup
| AFC U-23 Asian Cup | Qualification | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Rank | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Squad | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Link | |
 2014 | Group Stage | 9th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | Squad | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 | +11 | Link | |
 2016 | Quarter-finals | 6th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | -1 | Squad | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 2 | +13 | Link | |
| 2018 | Did not qualify | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | Link | ||||||||||
 2020 | Group stage | 9th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | Squad | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | Link | |
| 2022 | 12th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | Squad | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | Link | ||
| 2024 | Did not qualify | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | +6 | Link | ||||||||||
 2026 | Group stage | 14th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | Squad | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 | +11 | Link | |
| 2028 | To be determined | To be determined | |||||||||||||||||
| Total | 5/8 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 20 | -2 | — | 23 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 65 | 13 | +52 | Link | ||
Asian Games
| Asian Games Record | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Rank | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Squad |
| 1951 to 1998 | See Iran national team | |||||||||
| 2002 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 2 | +14 | Squad |
| 2006 | Third Place | 3rd | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 6 | +4 | Squad |
| 2010 | Fourth Place | 4th | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 8 | +6 | Squad |
| 2014 | Group Stage | 22nd | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | -3 | Squad |
 2018 | Round of 16 | 13th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -1 | Squad |
| 2022 | Quarter-finals | 6th | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1 | +8 | Squad |
| 2026 | To be determined | |||||||||
| Total | 7/7 | - | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 54 | 26 | +28 | — |
WAFF U-23 Championship
West Asian Games
| West Asian Games record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | M | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| 1997 |
Champions | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 |
| 2002 |
Runners-up | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
| 2005 |
Third place | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 |
| Total | 3/3 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 23 | 10 |
Islamic Solidarity Games
| Islamic Solidarity Games record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| 2005 | See Iran B national team | |||||||
| 2010 | Cancelled | |||||||
| 2013 | Did not enter | |||||||
 2017 | ||||||||
 2021 | Group Stage[a] | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | |
| 2025 | To be determined | |||||||
| Total | 1/4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | |
- Iran withdrew before the start of the tournament. However, all results were announced as 3–0 in favor of Iran's opponents.
Head-to-head record
The following table shows Iran's head-to-head record in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup.
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0.00 |
| China |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 100.00 |
| Japan |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 0.00 |
| Kuwait |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 100.00 |
| Lebanon |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0.00 |
| Qatar |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 0.00 |
| South Korea |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0.00 |
 Syria |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 100.00 |
 Turkmenistan |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0.00 |
| Uzbekistan |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +0 | 0.00 |
| Total | 16 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 20 | −2 | 25.00 |