will face for the first time when they meet on the biggest stage of them all at Los Angeles Stadium on Sunday — but there is a familiar feeling between the two teams.
Former Belgium coach Marc Wilmots was briefly previously in charge of Team Melli in 2019, while three of the current squad have ties to the Belgian Pro League.
Forward Dennis Dargahi has played in the Belgian top flight since 2022, first for Royale Union Saint-Gilloise prior to a move to Standard Liege in 2025. Meanwhile, winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh is on the books of Dender.
Milad Mohammadi, who started for IR Iran in their , also played for Gent from 2019-21.
Born to a German father and Spanish mother, Dargahi was given the birth name of Eckert and claims Iranian ancestry through his paternal grandfather. His place in the was given a major assist from his aunt, Anahita Dargahi, who is one of Iran's most high-profile TV and film stars and whose name he has adopted.
"Anahita posted one time a picture with me and my family, wishing us a Merry Christmas or Happy New Year, something like that," Dargahi told the Gol Bezan podcast. "So some people found out and then I made my professional way and it happened like this.
"People asked me, 'Are you Iranian and is your aunt Anahita?' And I said, 'Yes. And yes, she's my aunt'. That's how life is. I think if she wasn't famous, nobody would ever know that I'm Iranian, but my body is Iranian blood, and I can't hide that."
The surprising links between the two nations provide an intriguing sub-plot to a contest in which both teams will be eager to kickstart their campaigns are drawing their opening matches in North America.
"We’ve analyzed Iran less thoroughly than usual because they’re a team that’s hard to track in friendly matches. However, we’ve seen that they had a strong qualifying campaign for the World Cup," Belgium coach Rudi Garcia told FIFA in the pre-match press conference.
"We obviously watched them in their first match against New Zealand. They have players we know well and others we’re less familiar with since we don’t follow Asian teams very closely. But everyone obviously knows [Medhi] Taremi. I’m French, so I’m also familiar with [Saman] Ghoddos, who played for Amiens.
"They’re a team that runs a lot, defends well and is strong on set pieces. So, I’d say, regardless of who starts for them or who starts for us, whether they’ve played together before or not, one thing is certain: we have to be at 100 per cent of our ability tomorrow to beat this Iranian team. So, we’re focusing much more on ourselves than on the opponent."
Sources: FIFA Official
