Iran–South Korea football rivalry

The Iran and Korea Republic men's national football teams are sporting rivals and have played against each other officially since 1958, totalling 28 matches as of January 2015, including seven World Cup qualifiers. These two teams were among the strongest Asian national football teams during the 1960s and 1970s. Since then, the teams have developed one of Asia's greatest rivalries. Although the teams only had one chance to play against each other in the final match of the AFC Asian Cup, in 1972, they have faced each other five consecutive times at the quarterfinals stage since 1996.