World Cup: Iran

Iran (Group F)

FIFA World Ranking: 42

Players to Watch: Khodadad Azizi (F), Ali Daei (F), Karim Bagheri (M)

Prospects: Iran has shown flashes of soccer brilliance but has a long way to go to realistically compete on the world stage. They should lose all three of their first round games but nothing is for certain and the Iranians do have three players that play in the German Bundesliga, including striker Khodada Azizi, who has superlative dribbling and finishing skills. Still, Iran in turmoil after the firing of their coach less than a month ago, will be considerable underdogs in every game they play in France.

First Round opponents: Yugoslavia (6/14), United States (6/21), Germany (6/25)