IR Iran lead the group after Matchday One, which saw the Central Asians scoring a heart-stopping 1-0 win over Morocco while Spain and Portugal played to a thrilling 3-3 draw in the other match.

Up next for IR Iran are 2010 world champions Spain, who must be hurting after Cristiano Ronaldo's late free-kick not only gave him a hat-trick but salvaged a point for Portugal.

Aziz Bouhaddouz’s own goal deep into injury time secured the Iranians their first win at the Finals since a 2-1 victory over the United States in France in 1998 and the AZ Alkmaar winger stressed the preparation work done in the build-up to the game was key to the historic result.

“One of the most important things was we wanted to irritate them, to stay compact and be first on the ball and don’t let them play and then we can make them pay,” said Jahanbakhsh.

IR Iran Minister of Youth and Sports Masoud Soltanifar conveyed the President's message to head coach Carlos Queiroz in a telephone conversation following Friday's Group B win, which the Central Asian side secured through an own goal by Moroccan defender Aziz Bouhaddouz deep in added time.

Soltanifar said Iranians had been waiting for this day for three years, and the national team's players gave them a present on the auspicious day of Eid Al-Fitr and made history by recording a second victory in their FIFA World Cup history. 

IR Iran's first ever win at the FIFA World Cup was a 2-1 triumph over the United States in the 1998 edition.

“Today, 80 million Iranians are proud and happy of this result,” said Soltanifar.

The Portuguese coach, leading Team Melli in the FIFA World Cup for the second time running, credited the players for a hard-fought win. IR Iran were made to wait until the final minute of added time to find a winner through an own goal from Moroccan defender Aziz Bouhaddouz.

“This win was the result of hard work, intelligent cohesion and a great attitude from the players,” said Queiroz, following the team’s first FIFA World Cup win since 1998.

Morocco dominated for extended spells at Kretsovsky Stadium, but resilient defending from the Iranians helped keep a clean sheet, before delivering the killer blow in the dying seconds after Ehsan Hajsafi curled in a free-kick from the left flank that Bouhaddouz headed past his own goalkeeper.

Team Melli showed lots of grit and determination to overcome a talented Morocco side in their opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign on Friday.

Having not been able to create many chances, IR Iran were made to wait until the dying seconds to grab a winner as Ehsan Hajsafi's cross from a free-kick was sent into the back of the net by Bouhaddouz's misdirected flying header.

Wasteful finishing looked to have consigned this compelling contest at the Saint Petersburg Stadium to a goalless draw but Bouhaddouz's mistake in injury-time means Iran emerge as the early challengers to Spain and Portugal in Group B.

When Bouhaddouz nodded in at the near post, IR Iran's substitutes could not resist rushing onto the field and when the final whistle blew moments later they were sprinting over again in delight.

Morocco should at least take heart from a blistering first half an hour, during which their zip and zest deemed them virtually unplayable. But Hakim Ziyach, Ayoub El Kaabi and Mehdi Benatia all failed to capitalise.

IR Iran are joined by 2010 FIFA World Cup winners Spain, 2016 European champions Portugal, as well as Morocco, who did not concede a single goal in six CAF qualifying group games. The Iranians will need to draw on past successes for inspiration, and we look back at their finest World Cup moments so far: