26 Mar, 11:59Updated at: 13:15

Iranian football federation announces October friendly against Russia

The Russian and Iranian teams previously played against each other on three occasions

TEHRAN, March 26. /TASS/. Iran’s governing body of football FFIRI (Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran) has announced that the national teams of Iran and Russia will play a friendly football match later this year, Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday citing FFIRI President Mehdi Taj.

"We will play a friendly match against the Russian team on October 6 and will play against Chile on October 14," Taj said.

The Russian and Iranian teams previously played against each other on three occasions: in 2011, when Iran defeated Russia 1-0, and in 2017 and 2023, which both ended in a 1-1 draw.

The USSR also played three matches against Iran, winning all of them: in the quarterfinals of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Canada (2-1), in a 1976 friendly match (1-0) and in the 1985 Nehru Cup (2-0).

The Iranian national football team has already qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. The matches will be played in 16 cities across the North American continent. This will be the first FIFA World Cup featuring 48 teams compared to the previous 32-team format.

Russia’s football ban

The world’s governing football body, FIFA, announced on February 28, 2022, that the Russian national team and all professional clubs representing the country were barred from participating in FIFA tournaments.

In turn, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) made a similar decision regarding the Russian national football team’s participation in UEFA tournaments.

Both FIFA and UEFA cited Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine as grounds for their respective bans on Russian teams’ participation in competitions.

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