Seogwipo – Amir Hossein Peyrovani and Iran U-20 got off to a perfect start in the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup on 21 May with a 1-0 win over Costa Rica.
The only goal of the match came in the 81st minute when Mehdi Mehdikhani placed a low left footed shot past Costa Rican keeper Erick Pineda at the near post.
Reza Shekari – recently signed by Russian club Rostov – provided the cross on the play and all it took was a trap and shot for Mehdikhani to give Iran their first victory at the U-21 World Cup for the first time since a 3-0 win over Ivory Coast in 1977 when the FIFA Youth World Championship was held in Tunisia.
Malavan keeper Nima Mirzazad was solid in goal for Team Melli Javanan with a clean sheet.
In the other Group C fixture, Zambia upset Portugal 2-1. Iran will face the African champions on 24 May in what will surely be a difficult match-up.