Top Goal Scorers For Iran Football Team All-Time: Iran has some great football players who have scored a lot of goals for the national team in Asia. These players are loved by Iranian fans and are considered among the best to ever play for Iran.
Iran will be in the World Cup for the sixth time in 2022, and in the previous five times (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, and 2018), they were knocked out in the early rounds. Iran has also been to the Olympics three times (1964, 1972, 1976), and in Montreal, they reached the quarter-finals but lost to the Soviet Union.
The team has done well in the Asian Championships, reaching the final three times (1968, 1972, 1976) and winning each time. They’ve also reached the semi-finals five times (1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2004), but unfortunately lost three of those times on penalties. Iran has secured third place four times in the Asian Championships (1980, 1988, 1996, 2004).
Iran has had success in the Asian Games too. They’ve been in the finals 14 times, winning gold four times (1974, 1990, 1998, 2002), getting silver three times (1951, 1966), and bronze once (2006). In the West Asian Football Championships, Iran won the final four times (2000, 2002, 2007, 2008) and secured third place once in 2004. In 2010, they came in second.
The Iranian national football team also did well in the ECO Cups, winning three times (1965, 1970, 1993) and coming in second three times (1967, 1969, 1974) out of the six times they played.
Top Goal Scorers For Iran Football Team All-Time
In this article, we’re talking about the top goal scorers for the Iran football team throughout history.
1. Ali Daei
- Career Span: 1993–2006
- Matches: 148
- Goals: 109
- Average: 0.74
Ali Daei is Iran’s top goal scorer of all time. He played for Iran’s national team from 1993 to 2006 and scored an impressive 109 international goals. This achievement makes him the second-highest international goal scorer in the world, just behind Cristiano Ronaldo. Daei holds the distinction of being the first male footballer to score over 100 international goals. It’s interesting that he scored only one goal against a team ranked in the top 10 of the FIFA world rankings, while the majority of his goals, 55 in total, were scored against teams ranked between 100 and 208 in the FIFA world rankings.
Daei made his debut on June 6, 1993, in Tehran, in a match where Iran defeated the Pakistan national team with a score of 5-0. He scored his first international goal on June 25, 1993, also in Tehran, in a match against Taiwan, which Iran won 6-0. Daei represented Iran in the 1996 Asian Championships held in the United Arab Emirates and also participated in the 1998 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. His last international match was on June 21, 2006, during the final World Cup group game, which ended in a 1-1 draw against the Angolan team.
2. Karim Bagheri
- Career Span: 1993–2010
- Matches: 87
- Goals: 50
- Average: 0.57
The second-highest goal scorer for the Iran football team is Karim Bagheri. He was first called up to the national team during the qualifiers for the 1994 World Cup and made his debut on June 6, 1993, in a match against Pakistan. Bagheri played a total of 80 matches for Iran and scored 47 goals.
In 1998, Bagheri participated in the World Cup held in France and finished second in the world’s top scorer rankings in 1997 with 20 goals, just behind Ronaldo. However, in 2001, Bagheri resigned from the national team after Iran failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. He declined a request from the national coach, Branko Ivanković, for a comeback in 2006. Bagheri eventually returned to the Iranian team for a World Cup qualifier in 2008.
3. Sardar Azmoun
- Career Span: 2014–
- Matches: 71
- Goals: 45
- Average: 0.63
Sardar Azmoun is the third-highest goal scorer for the Iran football team. He started as a youth international player and got his first nomination for the men’s team in 2014. His debut match was a friendly against Montenegro in May 2014. Despite his early start, he wasn’t selected for the 2014 World Cup. However, in the 2018 World Cup, he played as a center forward in all three group games against Morocco, Spain, and Portugal.
Unfortunately, Iran was eliminated in the preliminary round, finishing third in the group. Due to the insults he faced, Azmoun announced his retirement from the national team at the age of 23. However, he returned in October of the same year. Azmoun performed well at the 2019 Asian Cup, scoring four goals, but Iran was knocked out in the semifinals against Japan.
4. Javad Nekounam
- Career Span: 2000–2015
- Matches: 151
- Goals: 39
- Average: 0.26
Javad Nekounam is the fourth-highest goal scorer for the Iran football team. He was first selected to the Iranian national team squad on May 31, 2000.
His most significant achievement came in the 2004 Asian Championships, where Iran secured third place, and Nekounam contributed with two goals. He also represented Iran in the 2006 World Cup in Germany and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
5. Ali Karimi
- Career Span: 1998-2012
- Matches: 127
- Goals: 38
- Average: 0.3
Ali Karimi holds the fifth position in the list of top goal scorers for the Iran football team. He made his international debut on October 13, 1998, in a friendly match against the Kuwait national team. He scored his first international goal on December 19, 1998, in the final of the 1998 Asian Games in Thailand, playing against Kuwait.
Karimi also represented Iran in several tournaments including the 2000 Asia Cup, 2004 Asia Cup, 2007 Asia Cup, and the 2006 World Cup in Germany. However, he was not selected for the 2011 Asian Cup due to a disagreement with coach Afschin Ghotbi. His final international match was under coach Carlos Queiroz on November 6, 2012, in a 6-1 victory against Tajikistan in Tehran.
Karimi gained attention during the 2009 Iranian presidential election when he, along with five other players, wore green armbands during the World Cup qualifier against South Korea in Seoul, a move seen as siding with the opposition in Iran.
6. Mehdi Taremi
- Career Span: 2015–
- Matches: 70
- Goals: 38
- Average: 0.54
Ranked 6th in the list of top goal scorers for the Iran football team is Mehdi Taremi. He made his debut for the Iranian national team on June 11, 2015, in a 1-0 friendly win against Uzbekistan. Taremi scored his first two international goals on September 3, 2015, in a 6-0 home victory against Guam during the qualifying matches for the 2018 World Cup.
Since his debut, Taremi has been a consistent striker for Team Melli. He played in all three group games during the 2018 World Cup in Russia where Iran qualified for the finals. In the 2019 Asian Championships in the United Arab Emirates, Taremi showcased his talent by scoring two goals and providing an assist in the opening 5-0 win against Yemen. He scored his third goal of the tournament in a 3-0 victory against China in the quarterfinals. However, he was suspended due to a yellow card and couldn’t play in the 3-0 semi-final defeat against Japan.
7. Karim Ansarifard
- Career Span: 2009–
- Matches: 96
- Goals: 29
- Average: 0.32
Karim Ansarifard occupies the 7th position in the list of top goal scorers for the Iran football team. After representing Iran at U-21 and U-23 levels, Ansarifard made his senior debut on October 10, 2009, in a match against Iceland. He scored his first international goal in the same game, making the final score 1-0. His goal against North Korea in the 2011 Asian Cup made him the youngest goalscorer for an Iranian team at the Asian Championships.
Ansarifard was part of Iran’s squad in the 2014 World Cup, playing his only match against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Although he participated in the 2015 Asian Cup, he remained unused in the squad as Iran lost to Iraq in the quarter-finals.
In the 2018 World Cup, Ansarifard played in the starting line-up for the first two group games against Morocco and Spain. In the last group game against Portugal, he came on as a substitute in the 76th minute and converted a hand penalty into an equalizer during stoppage time. Despite this effort and a win against Morocco, Iran narrowly missed the round of 16, finishing third in the group.
8. Gholam Hossein Mazloumi
- Career Span: 1969–1977
- Matches: 40
- Goals: 19
- Average: 0.48
Gholam Hossein Mazloumi was a prominent player for the Iran national football team. He made his debut in September 1969 against Pakistan and went on to earn 40 caps and 19 goals for Team Melli.
Mazloumi played a significant role in Iran’s success, winning three major tournaments. He was part of the team that secured the 1972 Asian Cup and the football tournament of the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran. Additionally, he contributed to Iran’s victory in the 1976 Asian Cup in Tehran, where he was one of the top scorers. Mazloumi also represented Iran in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, helping the team reach the quarterfinals.
9. Farshad Pious
- Career Span: 1984–1994
- Matches: 34
- Goals: 18
- Average: 0.53
Farshad Pious scored 18 goals in 34 appearances for the national team. He is the country’s 9th-highest all-time leading goalscorer. Pious made his debut for the Iran national team on June 25, 1984, in a friendly match against China. His last appearance was on October 9, 1994, in the Asian Games against Yemen.
Pious played a crucial role in Iran’s success, helping the team secure a gold medal at the 1990 Asian Games. During the tournament, Iran remained undefeated and triumphed over North Korea in the final, winning on penalties.
10. Reza Ghoochannejhad
- Career Span: 2012–2018
- Matches: 44
- Goals: 17
- Average: 0.36
Gholam Hossein Mazloumi scored 37 goals in 40 appearances for the Iran national football team, ranking him as the country’s 10th all-time leading goalscorer. He made his debut for the senior national team on October 16, 2012, in a 1–0 victory against South Korea in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier. In his third international match, he scored his first two goals against Lebanon in a 5–0 Asian Cup qualifier win.
Ghoochannejhad continued his goal-scoring streak, contributing to Iran’s qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He played a crucial role, scoring in important matches against Qatar, Lebanon, and South Korea. His scoring spree extended to the Asian Cup qualifiers, where he scored against Thailand and Lebanon, securing Iran’s place in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. He became the top scorer of the qualifiers, scoring six goals in six consecutive competitive international matches.
Although he was named in Iran’s preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Ghoochannejhad did not play any minutes in the tournament. On June 27, 2018, he announced his retirement from international football through his Instagram account.
