1976 Olympic Qualifiers (August 1975)

With two Asian Championships and an Asian Game 1^st place finish, Iran was known as the new focal point of Asian soccer and it was no surprise that we were chosen to host the preliminary round of the 1976 Olympics qualification phase of West Asia. In addition to the incredible team strength, Iran was also free of the side issues that in years’ past had haunted the team and affected the performance. 

With a couple of goals by Mazloomi and a single strike by Parvin, Iran easily overcame Bahrain by a score of 3-0. 

An early goal by Roshan gave Iran the lead against Kuwait, but some casual defending in the dying moments gave Kuwait the opportunity to tie the game 1-1. 

 

In the next game against Saudi Arabia, Mazloomi was once again at his best, scoring a couple of goals while Khorshidi completed the rout for another 3-0 win. 

Facing Iraq in the final game, and needing only one point to qualify, Iran refused to opt for a tie and attacked the Iraqi goal from early on.

While Iraq managed to soak up all of the pressure in the first half, however, Khorshidi’s header off of a Parvin cross gave Iran the 1-0 win and a place in the Montreal Olympics. 

Iran’s rotating circle of keepers seemed to be coming to a halt as Hejazi started three of the games with Mavaddat guarding the goal against Saudi Arabia.