Iran’s football team may have lost against Spain but they’ve definitely won the internet’s thirsty hearts. While the World Cup is ardently followed and scrutinised by fans globally, this time around, hitherto indifferent people also seem to be showing a lot of interest in the game – except their eyes are not on the ball but on the exquisitely beautiful Iranian football team.

Social media went into an absolute meltdown once a picture of the team went viral online. Dressed in blue suits, the suave squad suddenly had everyone interested. The Daily Mail reports that the players seen in the snapshot are Sardar Azmoun, Morteza Pouraliganji, Alireza Jahanbahksh, Saeed Ezatollahi, Ramin Rezaian, Karim Ansarifard, and Mehdi Taremi.

“I was wondering why my girlfriend kept asking me to teach her Persian words the last few days,” tweeted user @BASabbar.

Other replies on the thread were of Twitter users asking for the players’ names for “research purposes” and others chiming in that unlike the previous years, they would be watching the World Cup in 2018. There were some who couldn’t bring themselves to articulate their thirst so they just relied on gifs instead.

Some recently converted fans also suggested that the squad be given their own reality show a la The Bachelorette. The boys aren’t just good looking either – they were the first Asian team to qualify for a spot in the prestigious 2018 FIFA World Cup. For those searching for more pictures of Iran’s football team, there are plenty available on their official Instagram account @teammellifootball. Welcome to the fandom. 

(Credits: @teammellifootball on Instagram)

While the Iranian football team is gearing up for the game, women back home also have cause to celebrate. After almost 40 years of being denied entry into the football stadiums, Iranian women celebrated a landmark moment when they were finally allowed inside Tehran’s Azadi Stadium to watch their team play against Spain in the 2018 World Cup.

(Header image: @aminatou on Twitter)