“Azmoun and Taremi get Iranians dreaming,” was the headline for an article on Fifa’s website after “Team Melli” were drawn to face England in their first match of the 2022 World Cup. Just a few months on and with the team’s star strikers at loggerheads over the future of coach, Dragan Skocic, however, it’s not exactly been the preparation Iran supporters had hoped for as the squad attempt to make history by progressing past the group stage in Qatar.

Six days after being dismissed amid reports that the Iranian Football Federation (IFF) wanted to appoint a homegrown coach, the Croat was controversially reinstated last weekend on a technicality because the federation realised it didn’t have the authority to dismiss him until it holds elections for a new president at the end of next month.