A staunch defensive showing will likely be Iran's number one priority in Russia but the Asian side will have their work cut out.
Group B sees them face Spain, Portugal and Morocco with their opening game against the African side undoubtedly the one that offers the best prospects of picking up three points for just the second time in their World Cup history.
2018 World Cup Qualification
Carlos Queiroz boasts a wealth of managerial experience in both club and international football and his Iran side were impressive in Asian qualification.
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The only unbeaten side in Group B, they finished top of the table above the likes of South Korea and Syria but their performances weren't particularly expansive.
Iran conceded just twice but scored only 10 times - an average of one goal per game - with four of those strikes coming from 23-year-old Sardar Azmoun who knows Russia well given his time spent with Rostov and Rubin Kazan.
World Cup History
Iran have been to four World Cups prior to securing their spot in Russia this summer but failed to make a significant impact on each occasion.
Group stage exits in 1978, 1998, 2006 and 2014 yielded just a single victory - 2-1 over the USA in France 20 years ago - and their tricky assignment in this edition means they're unlikely to avoid falling at the first hurdle once more.
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2018 World Cup Squad
| GK | DEF | MID | ST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alireza Beyranvand | Majid Hosseini | Saeid Ezatollahi | Alireza Jahanbakhsh |
| Rashid Mazaheri | Ramin Rezaeian | Masoud Shojaei | Mahdi Taremi |
| Amir Abedzadeh | Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh | Mehdi Torabi | Sardar Azmoun |
| Morteza Pouraliganji | Omid Ebrahimi | Reza Ghoochannejhad | |
| Pejman Montazeri | Karim Ansarifard | Saman Ghoddos | |
| Milad Mohammadi | Ashkan Dejagah | ||
| Roozbeh Cheshmi | Vahid Amiri | ||
| Ehsan Hajsafi |
Latest World Cup odds
| Market | Price |
|---|---|
| To win the World Cup | 500/1 (501.0) |
| To make the World Cup final | 150/1 (151.0) |
| To win Group B | 33/1 (34.0) |
| To qualify from Group B | 6/1 (7.0) |
| To be the top Asian team | 7/2 (4.50) |
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