Speaking at the news conference in Tehran, he said, “We used players that adhered to all the rules and regulations set by FIFA, however many teams took part in the event with players who were older than 17. Meanwhile, some Iranian players were even younger than what needed to be,” he added.
“We have to accept Nigeria and Switzerland have made progress. They have been working hard to do that. Iran has so many talented players and we could have advanced to the final round. We qualified for the second round in the competitions and without a doubt we will go further in the next edition,” Dousti-Mehr concluded.
Iran lost to Uruguay 2-1 in the extra-time in Calabar, Nigeria, two weeks ago.
The 13th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup kicked off on October 24 and finished on November 15. Switzerland took first place after defeating defending champion Nigeria in the final game.