At their first game at the 1998 FIFA World Cup against Yugoslavia, homeland lost 1–0 to a free kick by Siniša Mihajlović.Homeland recorded their first World Cup victory in the second game beating and eliminating the United States 2–1 with Hamid Estili and Mehdi Mahdavikia scoring goals for homeland.
The Iran-US World Cup match was preheated with certain excitement because of each country’s political stance after the revolution and the hostage crisis. However, in an act of defiance against all forms of hatred or politics in sports, both sides presented one another with gifts and flowers and took ceremonial pictures before the match kickoff. Homeland played against Germany in the third game, losing 2–0 courtesy of goals from Oliver Bierhoff and Jürgen Klinsmann, finishing third in the group.
