Assured Iran to test reserves players against UAE

MNA – DOHA, The already-qualified Iranian football team will play the UAE with its reserve players in the last match of the group stage in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.

Iran, who has already advanced to the quarterfinal stage by beating Iraq and North Korea, will face South Korea on Saturday.

Iran coach Afshin Ghotbi is going to give a chance to the players who have not played in the tournament to go up against the UAE.

Iran holds the upper hand over UAE in the AFC Asian Cup after winning two out of three of their encounters in the past. The third bout ended in a draw.

The three-time champion beat the UAE in the 1984 Singapore edition in which Iran blanked out its rival 3-0. Iran defeated the UAE 1-0 in 1988 in Qatar, and their clash in 1992 ended in a goalless draw.

The Iran-UAE match will be held at the Qatar Sports Club at 1615 hours (local time) on Wednesday.