THE 60-SECOND OVERVIEW

Celebrating on the pitch in Seoul after their triumph over a tough Asian group, Iran’s players held aloft the World Cup trophy engraved with ‘Iran National Team’. The players had been given mini replicas pre-match - a motivational tool by their coach Carlos Queiroz, who wanted them to touch and believe that reaching Brazil was possible. It was, but it’s unrealistic to expect Team Melli to raise the real thing in Rio. Nevertheless, the wily Queiroz, 61, who coached Portugal in South Africa, has recruited players from the country’s vast diaspora in qualifying, and they’ve made his team hard to beat.

THE DREAM

Qualification to the knockout stage. Posters of Iran teams from World Cup finals in Argentina 78, France 98 and Germany 06 hang in Tehran’s national stadium. All are held in legendary esteem for reaching the finals, but although they won or drew a game at each tournament, none progressed beyond their groups. For Iran (ranked 42 in the world), getting past a line-up featuring Argentina (ranked third), Bosnia & Herzegovina (21) and Nigeria (47) is the aim. Queiroz also thinks that’s realistic for Asia’s highest-ranked side. And he wants to have fun. “I see us like a train of camels,” said Queiroz. “We’ve crossed the desert. Now we’ve reached the oasis and we're going to enjoy it.”

THE NIGHTMARE