The Iran national football team (Persian: تیم ملی فوتبال ایران‎, Tīm-e Melli-e Fūtbāl-e Īrān), also known as Team Melli (Persian: تیم ملی‎, translit. Tīm-e Melli), represents Iran in international football competitions and is governed by the Iran Football Federation. The national football team of Iran[8] has been the highest-ranked team in Asia since December 2014 and is currently the 32nd ranked team in the world according to the latest FIFA World Rankings as of November 2017.[9] Iran is one of the most successful national teams in Asia with three Asian Cup championships (1968, 1972, and 1976). Iran has qualified for the World Cup five times (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, and 2018) but has never advanced past the group stage. Irans only win in the World Cup has been a 2–1 victory against the United States in 1998.