Iran and Qatar first met in December 1988 in Doha during the AFC Asian Cup 1988. That match resulted in 2 -0 win for Team Melli with Karim Bavi and Farshad Peyous scored Iran goals in Al Ahli Stadium.
First win for Qatar came after the fifth attempt when Team Melli under Mayeli-Kohan was going through a turmoil period in their quest to qualify for the World Cup 1998. In Doha, while needing a win to qualify directly to the World Cup , Iran lost to Qatar 2-0. That resulted in dismissal of Mayeli-Kohan as the head coach of Team Melli.
The two teams have been meeting regularly in regional and Continental competitions including WAFF, AFC Asian Cup , FIFA World Cup.
Qatar has always been a tough opponent for Iran and the results have been close bar a one time 6 -1 drubbing by Team Melli in WAFF competition in 2008.
” style=”soft” box_color=”#c8c8ba” title_color=”#0d0c0c” radius=”5″]Team Melli played Qatar 20 times. From the first official match between the two teams, it took Qatar 9 years to register its first win against Team Melli.[/box]
NUMBER OF GOALS
Scored by Team Melli players against Qatar in 20 matches. Average of 1.6 goals per game while conceding 15 goals in total for an average of 0.75 per game.15
Number of losses of Team Melli vs Qatar in Official matches. That loss was in November 1997 in the qualifying rounds of FIFA World Cup 1998. That is 18 years ago and has not been repeated again.
Legionnaires
Throughout the years , Qatar leagues has been a popular destination for Iranian players. It was the very first step in professionalism for a lot of them. Even before the rich Qatar Star League was established , players like Hamid Derakhshan , Farshd Peyous , Karim Bavi and later on Ali Daei , Karim Bagheri and Ali Karimi were attracted to play in Qatar. Lucrative contracts , easy life style , large Iranian expatriate community and secured future was the main reasons behind this attraction.
With the introduction of a full-fledged rich professional league in Qatar under the full support of the government, Qatar Star League QSL attracted the best of Iranian footballers many of them preferring it to European league. Ali Karimi transfer from Bayern Munich started the ball rolling. Currently, Ashkan Dejagah, Masoud Shojae, Morteza Pouraliganji, Mohammad Noori, Mehrdad Pooladi, Javad Nekounam, Mojtaba Jabbari and Pejman Montazeri make their living in the QSL
