Emirates247 - With only a few weeks to go until Iran takes on Argentina in Dubai on October 19, Iran’s U-17 team are being put through their paces by Coach Ali Doustimehr in an effort to prepare for the largest football tournament ever held in the UAE.

Taking place from October 17 to November 8 across six cities – the Fifa U-17 World Cup UAE 2013 is the biggest challenge yet for Doustimehr’s young stars.

Doustimehr is hoping he can improve on the country’s promising world-finals showing of four years ago when the team arrive in Dubai ready to take on football giants Argentina, as well as Canada and Austria for the group stages of UAE 2013.

The Iranians kicked off their campaign at Nigeria 2009 in fine style with a 2-0 win over Gambia, following up with a goalless draw against Colombia and a 1-0 defeat of the Netherlands to seal first place in their group.

Though Uruguay promptly halted their progress by downing them 2-1 in the Round of 16, Iran had nevertheless achieved their best ever performance in an 11-a-side world finals competition, with only the country’s futsal team having gone further on the global stage.

The 49-year-old coach is hoping they can go even further this time around, setting his team the target of a place in the last four.

“The boys and the coaching staff are very motivated,” he said, describing the sense of belief in the Iran camp.
“I’ve got the same assistants I had in Nigeria and everyone wants to do their bit to help us reach the semi-finals. The players know that a good display at the U-17 World Cup could improve their chances of breaking into the full national side. That’s what they all dream about.”

“We will be taking the best possible team to the Emirates but it won’t be easy,” he added. “We’re the underdogs and we need to be strong mentally. Our preparations have gone well and we’ve played friendlies against Finland, Turkey, Italy, Slovenia, Iraq and the UAE.”

The UAE has a huge Iranian community that is eagerly waiting for the U-17 team to land in the UAE next month to play their first match against Argentina in Dubai.

Iran’s first opponents in Group E are Argentina, followed by Canada and Austria, a schedule that led Doustimehr to comment: “The teams are all there on merit and there won’t be any pushovers.”

Doustimehr has no shortage of experience at youth level, having taken charge of the U-17 national side in Nigeria four years ago and the Iran team at the Fifa U-20 World Cup Argentina 2001.

Assessing the importance of competing at the highest level, he said: “The World Cup is like no other competition. It gives you the chance to make history and change your destiny.”

“You’re always learning in football,” he continued. “We missed out on the chance to reach the last eight in 2009, though we’ve learned the lessons of that setback. The experience you pick up in a World Cup is worth that of many other competitions combined.”

The final 24 qualified nations will begin the tournament in six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group automatically qualifying for the round of 16. The four best third-placed teams from the group stages will also progress to the knock-out stages.          

Tickets can be purchased by logging on to www.Fifa.com/u17worldcup or calling 800 STADIA (800 782342). Single match day tickets are available in two categories: CAT 1 for Dh10 and CAT 2 for Dh50.

Tickets are also available to purchase at Hallmark stores located in each host city – The Dubai Mall (Dubai), Marina Mall (Abu Dhabi), Al Jimi Mall (Al Ain), Manar Mall (Ras Al Khaimah), City Centre Mall (Fujairah) and Sahara Mall (Sharjah).