Iran and Iraq have been playing against each other for over 59 years. Their first-ever encounter was a friendly match in Amjadieh Stadium in June 1962 where that match ended in a 1-1 draw. Iran’s goal was scored by Parviz Kozekanani while Iraq scored the equalizer by Jameel Abbas.

On Tuesday 15th June, they will be meeting for the 29th time in a crucial match, especially for Team Melli. A win by Iran will assure both teams qualifying for the next round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Iran as a group leader, and Iraq as one of the best 5 runners up of the 8 Asian Groups.

 

A draw will reverse the ranking, with both going through. A win for Iraq will complicate the issue for Team Melli and its survival will be dependent on other groups’ results, however, Iran will still stand a strong chance to make it through if the second-ranked teams lose points against group leaders.

There is no doubt that Iran has the upper hand historically in the head-to-head meeting. IN the 28 matches played Iran has won 16 with 7 matches drawn and 5 losses.

The match results between the two neighboring countries have always been close. Only on two occasions, Iran managed to win with 3 goals or a better margin. A 4-0 victory in the Tokyo Olympic Games qualifiers in Amjadueha and in 3-0 in Bangkok during the 1972 Asian Cup. Interestingly, both these matches saw Iranian players score a hat trick, Hamid Shirzadegan, and Hossein Kalani respectively;y.

The highest aggregate score between the two teams Cam in AFC Asian Cup 2015 when the teams drew 3-3 before Iran losing on the penalty shootouts.

 

Ali Daei has scored 4 goals against Iraq, the most of any Iranian player. Many famous players are on the list of scorers vs. Iraq. The list below is for players who scored 2 or more goals.

Player	Goals
Ali Daei	4
Hamid Shirzadegan	3
Hassan Rowshan	3
Hossein Kalani	3
Akbar Eftekhari	2
Mohammad Ali Karimi	2
Parviz Ghleechkhani	2
Parviz Kozekanani	2
Sardar Azmoun	2