News / Sports

Iran to play behind-closed-doors friendly against Iraq

Tuesday, 28 February 2017 2:35 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 28 February 2017 2:35 PM ]

This picture shows a view of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup quarter-final match between Iran and Iraq at Canberra Stadium, Canberra, Australia, on January 23, 2015.

The Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) says the Iran men’s national football team, domestically known as Team Melli, and the Iraq national football team are scheduled to play a behind-closed-doors friendly match next month.

The FFIRI announced on Tuesday that Team Melli and Lions of Mesopotamia will meet each other at Azadi Stadium in western Tehran on March 18.

The Iran men’s national football team is preparing for its Group A match against Qatar in the third round of the 2018 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup qualification tournament on March 23.

The game will be start at the multi-purpose Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in the Qatari capital city of Doha at 7 p.m. local time (1600 GMT)

Team Melli will take on the Chinese national football team, nicknamed Team Dragon, at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium at 4:30 p.m. local time (1230 GMT) five days later.

Iran futsal team to play two friendly matches against Iraq

Meanwhile, the Iranian and Iraqi men’s national futsal teams are scheduled to play two exhibition games in southern Iran next month.

The futsal committee of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran stated on Tuesday that the scrimmages will be held at the Sadra Sports Hall of the Islamic Azad University in Shiraz, located 933 kilometers south of Tehran, on March 11 and 12.

According to the latest monthly classification published by the Asociación Mundial de Futsal (AMF), which is the governing body of futsal, the Iranian squad has preserved its position as Asia’s best and stayed put in the sixth place of the world’s overall standings. Team Melli Futsal earned 1,608 points.

Kazakhstan maintained the 9th slot in the latest AMF rankings with 1,451 points. The Central Asians are followed by Thais and the Japanese, who have claimed the 15th and 16th places respectively with 1,360 and 1,359 points.

Brazil is the top-ranked futsal team in the world with 1,916 points. Spaniards notched up 1,889 points to sit in the second position, while third-placed Russians kept their position with 1,763 points. Argentina collected 1,706 points to stand fourth.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk