Teams · Group G
IR Iran
Team Melli
Iran are among Asia's strongest sides, regular World Cup qualifiers built on a robust defence and dangerous forwards. Despite near-misses, they have never reached the knockout rounds.
IR Iran’s group path
IR Iran starts in Group G with Belgium, Egypt, New Zealand. They enter the group as the #2 team by MatchupSim power rating, which makes the finishing position especially important: first place, second place and a possible third-place route can each send them into a very different round-of-32 matchup.
Key facts
- Confederation
- Asia (AFC)
- Group
- Group G · power-ranked #2 of 4
- World Cup titles
- 0
- Best finish
- Group stage (six appearances)
- Qualified via
- AFC qualifying
- Power rating (PWR)
- 76 · Elo 1760
- Manager
- Amir Ghalenoei
Players to watch
- Mehdi Taremi — Captain, forward (Olympiacos)
- Alireza Jahanbakhsh — Winger
- Alireza Beiranvand — Goalkeeper
Group G opponents
Group-stage fixtures
- Tue, Jun 16
New ZealandLos Angeles, USA - Sun, Jun 21
BelgiumLos Angeles, USA - Sat, Jun 27
EgyptSeattle, USA
2026 outlook
Team Melli will again look to their organised structure to chase a historic first knockout berth from Group G.
Prediction angles to test
Start with a favorites run, then test one aggressive version where IR Iran wins Group G and one conservative version where they finish lower in the table. Comparing those paths shows whether their best chance comes from group control, a softer runner-up route, or surviving as one of the best third-place teams.
Simulate IR Iran’s World Cup
Think IR Iran can go all the way — or crash out early? Set their Group G finish in the simulator and watch the bracket re-wire around your call, or build a full prediction all the way to the final.