Russia host Iran in Kazan friendly

Recent paths

Russia have won three of their last five matches, including back-to-back 3-0 victories over BKA and TRI in June. A goalless draw against MLI in March and a narrow defeat to Egypt break up an otherwise solid run.

Iran's recent record is harder to read. They have drawn three of their last five, including a goalless meeting with Belgium in June and a 2-2 result against New Zealand. A 2-0 win over MLI in early June stands out, but their most recent outing ended in a 3-1 defeat to Uzbekistan five days ago.

What the meetings say

The four encounters on record have split evenly: Russia won one, Iran won one, and two finished level. The most recent meeting in October 2025 went Russia's way 2-1. Before that, the sides drew 1-1 twice, in March 2023 and October 2017, before Iran's 1-0 win in February 2011. None of the four has been short of incident, and Tuesday's fixture offers both teams a chance to settle into a rhythm ahead of the fixtures that matter.

We are covering this one live. Follow it with us in the match centre for the line-ups when they land, the goals as they go in, and the full timeline.