Teams
Iran qualified for their fourth consecutive World Cup without too much hassle - they finished top of their group in both the Second Stage and the Third Stage of Asian qualifying. Iran have not had a hugely successful time at World Cups; they have never progressed out of the Group Stages, though they did manage to reach their highest goal tally in their history with four goals in Qatar four years ago. In Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand, they are facing three nations that they have never faced in previous competitive tournaments, though they may be quietly confident of progressive further than ever before. In their last two AFC Asian Cup campaigns, Iran reached the semi final stages before being knocked out.
33 year old Taremi has been a mainstay within the Iran national team for over a decade, and the former Porto, Inter Milan, and current Olympiacos striker, with over 100 caps for his country, will be looking to add to his tally of 59 national goals this summer. He played more games than another player in qualifying, and scored 10 goals in those fifteen games. His experience leading the line, both playing for elite European teams and also at previous major tournaments, will surely be vitally important if Iran are to get far in this summer’s tournament.
