Artists and athletes celebrated Nowruz with their families
Abedzadeh was called up at the age of 18 for the national under-20 football team in 1984. After his good shows, he was invited to the senior team in 1987 by then-manager Parviz Dehdari. Abedzadeh made his debut in the match against Kuwait on February 27, 1987, in which he conceded a goal in a 2–1 victory. He started in the 1990 Asian Games, where they won the gold medal after defeating North Korea in the final, and Abedzadeh saved two penalties. At the tournament, he conceded only two goals, both of which were scored from penalty kicks. The homeland defeated Australia in the FIFA World Cup qualification play-offs to reach the 1998 FIFA World Cup, their second participation in the World Cup and first since 1978. He missed the first match at the World Cup against Yugoslavia due to injury, then captained the next two matches against the United States and Germany. The homeland finished third in their group, and Abedzadeh announced his retirement from international football after the final match.
