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Iran's team in turmoil
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- With less than a month to go before the start of the World Cup, Iran's soccer team is in turmoil, and some fans are comparing the team to the Maldives, outscored 59-0 during qualifying.The Iranians, who have a high-profile first-round game against the United States on June 21, fired coach Tomislav Ivic after a 7-1 loss to AS Roma in an exhibition game Tuesday and replaced him with Jalal Talebi.
"Under Ivic, the national soccer team was steadily approaching a dead end and the crushing defeat by AS Roma paved the way for his dismissal," team manager Nasser Noamouz said.
Talebi's first test is an exhibition game Saturday against Internazionale of Milan in Como, Italy.
"People must rest assured that we will not spare any effort to back the national soccer team, a sign of which is replacing the coach," said Safaei Farahani, head of Iran's soccer federation.
Iran is making its first World Cup appearance since 1978. Some don't think the coaching change is enough.
"Officials at the soccer federation are not taking the necessary action. and this has harmed Iranian football," said Hassan Habibi, Iran's coach from 1979 to 1981.
Critics of the soccer federation are numerous.
"In South Asia, when an official makes such big and repeated blunders, he finally commits suicide," the Iran News said in an editorial Thursday. " "But in our sports, it has become the norm that when one makes a mistake, one looks for a scapegoat to shift the blame on,."
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GROUP C: Denmark, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
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GROUP F: Germany, Iran, United States, Yugoslavia
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