Iran to play 8 friendly matches

PTV - The Iranian Football Federation (IFF) has announced that the country's national team will play 8 friendly matches to improve its performance.

According to the IFF, the Iranian team will attend a 10-day training camp in Marbella, Spain, to play friendly matches between July 10 and 20 against Spanish clubs, including Sevilla, Almeria and Malga.

The Iranian squad, under the care of head coach Ali Daei, is scheduled to hold a match against Cameroon in Tehran at the end of July.

Iran will also play host to an international tournament for West Asian countries from August 7 to 15, when it will compete with Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Qatar and Bahrain.

Daei's men will next play the last preparatory match against Egypt in the UAE on August 20 to prepare for the first match of the next round of the South Africa 2010 World Cup on September 6.

The draw for the final round of the Asian World Cup qualifiers takes place in Kuala Lumpur on June 27.

Iran currently leads Group 5 with 9 points, followed by the UAE with 8 points. Syria now stands third with 5 points while Kuwait is at the bottom of the group with 4 points.