Football sports rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia
The
Iran and
Saudi Arabia national
football teams are
sporting rivals
[1] who have played each other since 1975.
The game has been ranked 9th in
Bleacher Report 's "International Football's 10 Most Politically-Charged Football Rivalries"
[2] and 8th in Goal.com's "Football's 10 Greatest International Rivalries".
[3]
Iran and Saudi Arabia team have had 15 matches so far, all have been competitive, and they have never played a
friendly match . The first match was played on 24 August 1975, with Iran defeating Saudi Arabia 3â0.
Origins
The two have long battled for West Asian supremacy
[3] and their matches have been "always tight, tense and furiously competitive".
[1]
The countries also have had chronic political tensions in the last decades.
[4] (see
IranâSaudi Arabia relations )
The rivalry has been expanded into club matches as well. For example, after the Saudi Arabian national team's away win in March 2009, Saudi players
sword-danced in front of 100,000 angry Iranian fans in
Azadi Stadium . When
Zob Ahan eliminated
Al-Hilal in the
2010 AFC Champions League semi-final, Iranian players mocked
the dance in front of Saudi fans.
[5]
When
Persepolis was scheduled to play away at
Ittihad in the
2011 AFC Champions League , Saudi immigration authorities forced Iranian players to be fingerprinted and
irises scanned upon their arrival at
Jeddah airport . The Iranians refused to do so and were held at the airport for 8 hours.
[4]
Iranian football fans take most pleasure in defeating
Saudi Arabia , alongside
Bahrain ,
[6] whose players used to wave
Saudi Arabian flags when they defeated Iran 3â1 during their
2002 World Cup qualification .
[7] For several Iranian fans, regional political rivalries also affect who they support on the field, according to Aljazeera.
[8]
In 2016, clubs from Saudi Arabia refused to play in Iran during the
2016 AFC Champions League and vice versa.
[9]
[10]
[11] Consequently, the matches between the two countries were played in neutral venues for the next 7 years.
[12]
Following the improvement of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced on 4 September 2023 that matches between the national and club sides of the
Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) and the
Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) will take place on a home-and-away basis.
[13]
[14]
[15]
Matches
Source :
[16]
[17]
#
Date
Competition
Home team
Score
Away team
Goals (home)
Goals (away)
Venue
â
[a]
24 August 1975
1976 Olympics qualification
Iran
3â0
Saudi Arabia
Mazloomi 12' , 83' ;
Khorshidi 63'
Amjadieh Stadium ,
Tehran
1
7 January 1977
1978 World Cup qualification
Saudi Arabia
0â3
Iran
Mazloomi 16' , 78' ;
Roshan 62'
Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium ,
Riyadh
2
[b]
22 April 1977
Iran
2â0
Saudi Arabia
Yousefi 10' ;
Sharifi 84'
Hafezieh Stadium ,
Shiraz
3
13 December 1984
1984 Asian Cup
Saudi Arabia
1â1
(
a.e.t. )
[c]
Iran
Shahin Bayani 88' (
o.g. )
Shahrokh Bayani 43'
National Stadium, Singapore
4
15 December 1988
1988 Asian Cup
Saudi Arabia
1â0
Iran
Abdullah 16'
Qatar SC Stadium ,
Doha
5
28 October 1993
1994 World Cup qualification
Saudi Arabia
4â3
Iran
Al-Jaber 21' ;
Mehalel 27' ;
Al-Mousa ; 47' ;
Falatah 74'
Fonounizadeh 43' , 52' ;
Manafi 90'
Khalifa Stadium ,
Doha
6
11 December 1996
1996 Asian Cup
Saudi Arabia
0â3
Iran
Daei 12' ;
Bagheri 37' ;
Azizi 47'
Al-Maktoum Stadium ,
Dubai
7
18 December 1996
Iran
0â0
(
a.e.t. )
[d]
Saudi Arabia
Sheikh Zayed Stadium ,
Abu Dhabi
8
19 September 1997
1998 World Cup qualification
Iran
1â1
Saudi Arabia
Bagheri 64'
Al-Shahrani 32'
Azadi Stadium ,
Tehran
9
24 October 1997
Saudi Arabia
1â0
Iran
Al-Muwalid 88'
King Fahd Stadium ,
Riyadh
10
24 August 2001
2002 World Cup qualification
Iran
2â0
Saudi Arabia
Daei 54' (
p ) , 64'
Azadi Stadium ,
Tehran
11
28 September 2001
Saudi Arabia
2â2
Iran
Al-Waked 20' ;
Al-Yami 59'
Daei 42' ;
Dinmohammadi 84'
Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium ,
Jeddah
12
6 September 2008
2010 World Cup qualification
Saudi Arabia
1â1
Iran
Harthi 29'
Nekounam 81'
King Fahd Stadium ,
Riyadh
13
28 March 2009
Iran
1â2
Saudi Arabia
Shojaei 64'
Hazazi 79' ;
Al-Muwallad 87'
Azadi Stadium ,
Tehran
14
12 December 2012
2012 WAFF Championship
[e]
Iran
0â0
Saudi Arabia
Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium ,
Kuwait City
^ Not a full FIFA international
^ Iran played the match with reserve players.
^ Saudi Arabia won 5â4 on
penalties .
^ Saudi Arabia won 4â3 on
penalties .
^ Both teams competed in the tournament with reserve players.
Statistics
Matches held in Iran
4
Matches held in neutral venue
8
Matches held in Saudi Arabia
4
Total matches
16
Top scorers
See also
References
^
a
b
"Saudi Arabia VS Iran: Launch pad for Saudi reign" .
FIFA.com . October 28, 1993. Archived from
the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2014 .
^ Peters, Jerrad (October 15, 2014).
"International Football's 10 Most Politically-Charged Football Rivalries" .
Bleacher Report . Retrieved November 21, 2014 .
^
a
b Staunton, Peter (November 17, 2010).
"Football's 10 Greatest International Rivalries; Argentina - Brazil, Portugal - Spain, Algeria - Egypt, Japan - South Korea And More" . Goal.com . Retrieved November 21, 2014 .
^
a
b Dorsey, James M.
"Iranian bid for FIFA tournament takes tension with the Gulf to the soccer pitch" .
Al Arabiya . Retrieved 19 May 2011 .
^
ؾؚŮŘŻ Ů
ŮتدعاŮŮ Ř°ŮبâآŮ٠ب٠ŮŮŮا٠ŮŮÚŻ ŮŮŘąŮ
اŮا٠آسŮا ŮžŘ§ŘłŘŽŰ Ř¨Ů ŘąŮŘľ Ř´Ů
Ř´ŮŘą سؚŮŘŻŰâŮا ŘŻŘą ŘŞŮعا٠['Zob Ahan's powerful qualification to AFC Champions League final match, a response to Saudi Sword dance in Tehran'].
Kayhan (in Persian). No. 19772. October 23, 2010. p. 13.
^ Duerden, John.
"Asia awaits neighbourly rivalry" .
ESPN . Retrieved November 21, 2014 .
^ Sundaresan, Keeshaanan (October 11, 2011).
"Bad memories will motivate us to defeat Bahrain, says Iran skipper Javad Nekounam" . Goal.com . Retrieved November 21, 2014 .
^
"Iran: Football World Cup, female fans and Saudi Arabian rivalry" .
^
"Saudi, Iran dispute forces Champions League schedule switch" . USA TODAY . Retrieved 2024-04-20 .
^
"AFC delays Saudi, Iran Champions League matches" . ESPN.com . 2016-01-25. Retrieved 2024-04-20 .
^
"Decisions following AFC Competitions Committee meeting" . the-AFC . Retrieved 2024-04-20 .
^ McKirdy, Euan (2016-03-16).
"Saudi, Iranian teams head to neutral grounds" . CNN . Retrieved 2024-04-20 .
^
"Saudi Arabian FF and FFIRI matches to be played home-and-away" . Asian Football Confederation. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023 .
^
"Saudi and Iranian clubs to resume home-and-away matches, AFC confirms" . Arab News . 2023-09-04. Retrieved 2024-04-20 .
^
" 'Historic move': Saudi football clubs to play in Iran as travel ban lifted" . Al Jazeera . Retrieved 2024-04-20 .
^ Courtney, Barrie (3 April 2009).
"Saudi Arabia - List of International Matches" .
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved November 21, 2014 .
^ Panahi, Majeed (7 August 2014).
"Iran - International Matches" .
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved November 21, 2014 .
General Venues Statistics Players Goals World Cup Finals AFC Asian Cup Finals Other tournaments Culture Senior Other Iran teams
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