After being invited to the Iranian national team by coach Carlos Queiroz, he made his senior national team debut on 16 October 2012 in Iran’s 1–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier victory against South Korea, while scoring his first two goals in his third international cap against Lebanon in a 5–0 Asian Cup qualifier win. On 4 June 2013, Ghoochannejhad scored the lone goal in a World Cup qualifier against Qatar.