Monday, 17 December 2012 11:13

TEHRAN TIMES – TEHRAN, Iran football coach Carlos Queiroz says it’s time for the team to unite in order to advance to the 2014 World Cup.

Iran failed to qualify for the semifinal round of the 2012 West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Championship. However, Queiroz insisted on Monday that he took advantage of the game and would pick up some young players for the World Cup qualifier.

“We had not enough time to prepare for the competition but I found that some players could help us to pave the way for the World Cup. The competition helped us to get more knowledge of our young players. We had not gone there (Kuwait) to get results,” Queiroz was quoted as saying by Iran Football Federation site.

“Iran participated in the tournament with young and inexperienced players and they showed their potential in the event. They need to play more in the international games and these kinds of tournaments will help the staff to know about new players,” Queiroz stated.

“At the moment, we have to be united since the Iran football team has three important matches against Qatar, Lebanon and South Korea in the World Cup qualifications. I believe in my team because we defeated Uzbekistan at their home soil and beat the Koreans with a 10-man team. From now, all of us must concentrate to defeat Qatar,” the 59-year-old Portuguese added.