TEHRAN – Iran were knocked out of the FIFA World Cup for the third time in a row and for the sixth time in history. It means the football needs to review its policy.

Iran, the first-ranked Asian football team, had a golden chance to end their draught in the World Cup but the dream didn’t come true.

Team Melli suffered a heavy 6-2 loss against England and also were edged by the U.S. 1-0 and just earned a 2-0 win against Wales.

Among the Asian teams, Iran showed a very poor performance and on the other hand, Japan and Australia shone in group stage and will represent Asia at Round of 16.

The Iranian football federation has always faced problems over the past years.

Team Melli have not won a single trophy for more than 20 years. Star-studded Iran, as one of the Asian heavyweights, had the chance to advance to the next stage but the federation destroyed everything just ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup started.

To bring back Carlos Queiroz was a huge mistake made by the federation. Queiroz had two disappointing spells with Colombia and Egypt after parting company with Iran in 2019.

 Under leadership of Dragan Skocic, Iran had a better chance to qualify for the next stage since the Croat knew his team very well.

So many experts had warned about the consequences of replacing Skocic just ahead of the World Cup but the federation didn’t t take their views seriously.

Iran’s sports officials must change their mindset if they want to achieve success.

Let's make the future bright.