Team Melli managed to surprise some in the footballing community by securing one point in its first ever World Cup appearance against Scotland which saw Iraj Danaeifard cancel out an own goal scored by Andranik Eskandarian for the 1–1 draw.After the 1979 Revolution, football was somewhat neglected and cast aside. During the 1980s, the national team did not feature in World Cup competitions due to the homeland–Iraq War (1980–88) and domestic football embraced the inevitable effects of conflict.
The national team withdrew from the Asian qualifiers for the 1982 World Cup and refused to participate in the qualifiers for the 1986 World Cup because of having to play on neutral ground. The war and political upheavals left homeland without major club competitions until 1989 when the Qods League was established.
