Iran national under-23 football team

Iran under-23
Nickname	Team Melli Omid (The Hope National Team)
Association	FFIRI
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Head coach	Hossein Abdi
Home stadium	Azadi Stadium
FIFA code	IRN
First colours	Second colours
First international
	Iran 2–1 Kuwait ; (Kuwait City, Kuwait; 3 December 1977)
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)
Medal record
Asian Games
WAFF U-23 Championship
West Asian Games

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.

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	Jalal Hosseini
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	Jafari 70' Razzaghinia 73' Taheri 86', 90+2'	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	Safari 42' Taheri 47', 73', 78' Saharkhizan 84' Hosseinnejad 90'	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	Al-Kass 45+4' Al-Mansoori 72'	Report	Razzaghinia 25' Saharkhizan 36', 42' (pen.)	Stadium: Al Nahyan Stadium Attendance: 467 Referee: Zaid Thamer Mohammed (Iraq)

2026

3 January 2026 Friendly

Iran

1–0

China

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 (2026-01-10) 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 (2026-01-13) 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup group stage	Iran	0–1	Lebanon	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
14:30 UTC+3		Report	Shahin 56' (pen.)	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]

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club
1GK	Mohammad Khalifeh	(2004-08-19)19 August 2004 (aged 21)	Aluminium Arak
1GK	Amir Mehdi Maghsoudi		Sepahan
1GK	Pouria Rafiei		Sepahan
2DF	Bahram Goudarzi	(2005-10-20)20 October 2005 (aged 20)	Aluminium Arak
2DF	Arshia Vosoughifar		Fajr Sepasi
2DF	Danial Eiri	(2003-10-26)26 October 2003 (aged 22)	Malavan
2DF	Mohammad Mahdi Zare	(2003-01-24)24 January 2003 (aged 23)	Akhmat Grozny
2DF	Masoud Mohebi		Kheybar
2DF	Farzin Moamelehgari		Persepolis
2DF	Seyed Mehdi Mahdavi	(2005-09-30)30 September 2005 (aged 20)	Aluminium Arak
3MF	Amir Mohammad Razzaghinia	(2006-04-11)11 April 2006 (aged 19)	Esteghlal
3MF	Pouria Latififar		Gol Gohar
3MF	Mohammad Javad Hosseinnejad (captain)	(2003-06-26)26 June 2003 (aged 22)	Dynamo Makhachkala
3MF	Mahdi Jafari		Malavan
3MF	Amirreza Sheykhirad		Nassaji
3MF	Mahdi Goudarzi		Kheybar
3MF	Abbas Habibi		Malavan
4FW	Yadegar Rostami	(2004-01-02)2 January 2004 (aged 22)	Fajr Sepasi
4FW	Hamid Reza Zarouni	(2005-10-08)8 October 2005 (aged 20)	Kheybar
4FW	Reza Ghandipour	(2006-01-13)13 January 2006 (aged 20)	Al Wahda
2DF	Erfan Jamshidi		Paykan
4FW	Mohammad Askari		Sepahan
4FW	Mohammad Hossein Sadeghi	(2004-03-28)28 March 2004 (aged 21)	Persepolis

Previous squads

AFC U-23 Asian Cup


Asian Games

Honours

Continental

Asian Games^†

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

WAFF U-23 Championship

Winners (1): 2015

Runners-up (1): 2023

West Asian Games

Champions (1): 1997.

Runners-up (1): 2002.

3rd place (1): 2005.

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	Group stage	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

WAFF U-23 Championship record
Year	Result	M	W	D	L	GF	GA
2015	Champions	4	3	1	0	8	3
2021	Not a WAFF member
2022	Not a WAFF member
2023	Runners-up^[a]	4	1	3	0	5	3
Total	2/4	8	4	4	0	13	6

↑ Not a WAFF member, participated as invitee.

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	Did not enter
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	000.00
China	2	2	0	0	4	2	+2	100.00
Japan	2	0	1	1	3	6	−3	000.00
Kuwait	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	100.00
Lebanon	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Qatar	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	000.00
South Korea	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Syria	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00
Turkmenistan	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Uzbekistan	3	0	3	0	2	2	+0	000.00
Total	16	4	6	6	18	20	−2	025.00

References

↑ {{https://www.varzesh3.com/news/2359579/%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%85%DB%8C-%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A8%DB%8C-%D8%AA%DB%8C%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%B4%D8%AF }}
↑ "اولین تیم امید تاریخ (عکس) :: ورزش سه" (in Persian). Varzesh3. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
↑ "FIFA suspends Iran Football Federation". FIFA. Archived from the original on 2 January 2007. Retrieved 27 November 2006.
↑ "FIFA President announces temporary lifting of Iran ban". the-AFC.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2007. Retrieved 27 November 2006.
↑ "فهرست ۲۳ نفره تیم ملی امید برای اردوی امارات و جام ملت‌های آسیا". Iranian Football Federation (in Persian). 23 December 2025.

External links

[6] Not a WAFF member, participated as invitee.

[7] Iran withdrew before the start of the tournament. However, all results were announced as 3–0 in favor of Iran's opponents.

[1] {{https://www.varzesh3.com/news/2359579/%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%85%DB%8C-%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A8%DB%8C-%D8%AA%DB%8C%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%B4%D8%AF }}

[2] "اولین تیم امید تاریخ (عکس) :: ورزش سه" (in Persian). Varzesh3. Retrieved 13 August 2018.

[3] "FIFA suspends Iran Football Federation". FIFA. Archived from the original on 2 January 2007. Retrieved 27 November 2006.

[4] "FIFA President announces temporary lifting of Iran ban". the-AFC.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2007. Retrieved 27 November 2006.

[5] "فهرست ۲۳ نفره تیم ملی امید برای اردوی امارات و جام ملت‌های آسیا". Iranian Football Federation (in Persian). 23 December 2025.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[a]

[a]

v t e Iran national football team
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v t e Football in Iran
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Honours won Records List of clubs List of venues International players Men Women

v t e National under-23 football teams of Asia (AFC)
AFC U-23 Asian Cup
West Asia (WAFF)	Bahrain Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria United Arab Emirates Yemen
Central Asia (CAFA)	Afghanistan Iran Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan
South Asia (SAFF)	Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka
East Asia (EAFF)	China Chinese Taipei¹ Guam Hong Kong Japan Macau Mongolia North Korea Northern Mariana Islands² South Korea
Southeast Asia (AFF)	Australia Brunei Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Timor-Leste Vietnam
¹ Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, competes as "Chinese Taipei" ² Not a member of FIFA

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