Iran–Saudi Arabia football rivalry

The Iran and Saudi Arabia national football teams are sporting rivals[1] who have played each other since 1975.

Iran–Saudi Arabia rivalry
(Asian El Clasico)
Other namesIslamic Derby
LocaleAsia
West Asia
Central Asia
Teams Iran
 Saudi Arabia
First meeting24 August 1975
(46 years ago)
Latest meetingIran 0–0 Saudi Arabia
WAFF Championship
(9 December 2012)
Statistics
Meetings total15
Most winsIran (5)
Top scorer Gholamhossein Mazloomi (4)
Ali Daei (4)
Largest victoryIran 3–0 Saudi Arabia
3 matches

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 of their matches 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 3–0.

Origins

The two have long battled for West Asian supremacy[3] and their matches have been "always tight, tense and furiously competitive".[1] Another fissure between the two is religion. While Iran is the spiritual homeland of Shia Islam (since the Safavid dynasty), Saudi Arabia is a country with a Sunni Islam majority.[2][3] These two religious sects form a minority in the other country (see Sunni Islam in Iran and Shia Islam in Saudi Arabia).

The countries also have had chronic political tensions in the last decades.[4] (see Iran–Saudi 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 3–1 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.[9]

Matches
Source:[10][11]
# Date Competition Home team Score Away team Goals (home) Goals (away) Venue
1[lower-alpha 1] 24 August 1975 1976 Olympics qualification Iran 
3–0
  Saudi Arabia Mazloomi  12', 83'; Khorshidi  63' Iran  Amjadieh Stadium, Tehran
2 7 January 1977 1978 World Cup qualification Saudi Arabia 
0–3
 Iran  Mazloomi  16', 78'; Roshan  62' Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh
3[lower-alpha 2] 22 April 1977 1978 World Cup qualification Iran 
2–0
  Saudi Arabia Yousefi  10'; Sharifi  84' Iran  Hafezieh Stadium, Shiraz
4 13 December 1984 1984 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 
1–1
(a.e.t.)[lower-alpha 3]		  Iran Shahin Bayani  88' (o.g.) Shahrokh Bayani  43' National Stadium, Singapore
5 15 December 1988 1988 Asian Cup
1–0
 Abdullah  16' Qatar SC Stadium, Doha
6 28 October 1993 1994 World Cup qualification
4–3
 Jaber  21'; Mehalel  27'; Mousa;  47'; Falatah  74' Fonounizadeh  43', 52'; Manafi  90' Khalifa Stadium, Doha
7 11 December 1996 1996 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 
0–3
  Iran Daei  12'; Bagheri  37'; Azizi  47' Al-Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
8 18 December 1996 1996 Asian Cup Iran 
0–0
(a.e.t.)[lower-alpha 4]		  Saudi Arabia Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
9 19 September 1997 1998 World Cup qualification Iran 
1–1
  Saudi Arabia Bagheri  64' Shahrani  32' Azadi Stadium, Tehran
10 24 October 1997 1998 World Cup qualification Saudi Arabia 
1–0
  Iran Muwallid  88' King Fahd Stadium, Riyadh
11 24 August 2001 2002 World Cup qualification Iran 
2–0
  Saudi Arabia Daei  54' (p), 64' Azadi Stadium, Tehran
12 28 September 2001 Saudi Arabia 
2–2
  Iran Waked  20'; Yami  59' Daei  42'; Dinmohammadi  84' Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah
13 6 September 2008 2010 World Cup qualification Saudi Arabia 
1–1
  Iran Harthi  29' Nekounam  81' King Fahd Stadium, Riyadh
14 28 March 2009 Iran 
1–2
  Saudi Arabia Shojaei  64' Hazazi  79'; Muwallad  87' Azadi Stadium, Tehran
15 12 December 2012 2012 WAFF Championship[lower-alpha 5] Iran 
0–0
  Saudi Arabia Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City
  1. Not a full FIFA international
  2. Iran played the match with reserve players.
  3. Saudi Arabia won 5–4 on penalties.
  4. Saudi Arabia won 4–3 on penalties.
  5. Both teams competed in the tournament with reserve players.


Statistics
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Best win
 Iran155642213+93–0
 Saudi Arabia154651322-94–3
Matches held in Iran5
Matches held in neutral venue6
Matches held in Saudi Arabia4
Total matches15

Top scorers
RankPlayerGoals
1 Gholamhossein Mazloomi4
Ali Daei4
2 Mehdi Fonounizadeh2
Karim Bagheri2
Majed Abdullah2
3Various players1

See also

References
  1. "Saudi Arabia VS Iran: Launch pad for Saudi reign". FIFA.com. October 28, 1993. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  2. Peters, Jerrad (October 15, 2014). "International Football's 10 Most Politically-Charged Football Rivalries". Bleacher Report. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  3. 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.
  4. Dorsey, James M. "Iranian bid for FIFA tournament takes tension with the Gulf to the soccer pitch". Al Arabiya. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  5. صعود مقتدرانه ذوب‌آهن به فينال ليگ قهرمانان آسيا پاسخی به رقص شمشير سعودی‌ها در تهران ['Zob Ahan's powerful qualification to AFC Champions League final match, a response to Saudi Sword dance in Tehran']. Kayhan (in Persian) (19772). October 23, 2010. p. 13.
  6. Duerden, John. "Asia awaits neighbourly rivalry". ESPN. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  7. Sundaresan, Keeshaanan (October 11, 2011). "Bad memories will motivate us to defeat Bahrain, says Iran skipper Javad Nekounam". Goal.com. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  8. "Iran: Football World Cup, female fans and Saudi Arabian rivalry".
  9. http://gulfnews.com/sport/football/more-football/afc-champions-league-football-matches-delayed-over-saudi-iran-tension-1.1659994
  10. Courtney, Barrie (3 April 2009). "Saudi Arabia - List of International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  11. Panahi, Majeed (7 August 2014). "Iran - International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
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