8. Iran
How the qualified: Winning their group in the 4th Round of Asian qualifying
Last time: Didn't qualify
FIFA Ranking: 48
What are their chances in Brazil? The high point of Iran's World Cup history was their 2-1 victory over political enemy the United States at France 98. This result remains Iran's only victory in their three previous World Cups and also serves as an indicator that the country's turbulent politics has usually been more the story when their team competes than the team's actual performance. In 2006, Iran were suspended briefly from international competition by FIFA on the grounds of government interference in their Football Association. More recently, many of their top players, including captain and former Hamburg winger Mehdi Mahdavikia, were given life bans for wearing wrist bands in support of opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi in the hotly contested 2009 election. These bans were later repealed, but Mahdavikia, now 36, never played for the national team again. Another of the previously banned for life players, Ali Karimi - the so-called Asian Maradona and Iran's greatest player of recent years, was instrumental in their qualification campaign, but recently retired from international football at the age of 34. Despite all this, since the appointment of former Real Madrid manager and Man United assistant Carlos Queiroz after the failed 2011 Asian Cup campaign, the Iranian team have proved consistent enough to top their World Cup qualifying group above South Korea. Queiroz drafted in players like Fulham's former German Under-21 winger Ashkan Degajah to play alongside established players like experienced playmaker and captain Javad Nekounam in a team that may prove hard to beat. Realistically, Iran will be happy to come away with another match win to go with the one against America 15 years ago.