Bengaluru, May 16: Former Belgium and Ivory Coast manager Marc Wilmots has been appointed as the new head coach of Iran.
Wilmots arrived in Tehran and signed a three-year contract, the FARS news agency reported.
That will see him stay on with the job till the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, provided Team Melli qualifies.
Belgium coach Marc #Wilmots Arrived in Tehran around 2 a.m on Wednesday in order to sign his contract with #Iran's Football Federation. pic.twitter.com/JDhXvG7e3J
— Hatam Sh (@1980daddy) May 15, 2019
The 50-year-old succeeds Carlos Queiroz, who stood down as Team Melli coach after eight years in charge following their 2019 AFC Asian Cup semifinal loss to Japan.
Queiroz, later took up the charge of the Colombia national team and is preparing them for the Copa America which will be held in Brazil from June 14 to July 7.
The Portuguese taskmaster led Iran to qualification for the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups, but they were knocked out in the group stage at both tournaments.
Iran's qualifying campaign for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup begins in September.
A former international midfielder, Wilmots led Belgium to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but was sacked after a quarterfinal exit at Euro 2016.
His spell in charge of Ivory Coast lasted only six months before he was fired when the West African nation failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.