DUBAI (AlArabiya.net)
The U.S. Soccer Federation asked the Iranian Football Federation for an international friendly match in Tehran, Farsi News Agency (FNA) reported on Monday.
Head of Iran's Football Federation (IFF) Ali Kaffashian said the IFF had received a request letter from its U.S. counterpart for the match to be held Oct. 10 or Nov. 14 at Tehran's Azadi Stadium.
But the IFF president said Iran could not provide an immediate response because its national team is presently too busy with the World Cup qualifiers, according to FNA.
" Considering that our fate is not yet clear in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, we will study the conditions and will answer them " Ali Kaffashian, President of Iranian Football Federation "Considering that our fate is not yet clear in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, we will study the conditions and will answer them" in future, FNA quoted Kaffashian as saying.
Iran’s national team has three crucial upcoming 2010 World Cup qualifiers, two away in South and North Korea and one at home against the UAE.
After five matches Iran now has six points and needs at least six more points to keep its hopes alive. |
Iranian and US fans at the 1998 football World Cup in France In the 1998 World Cup in France Iran played with and defeated the United States 2-1. U.S. President Bill Clinton at the time congratulated the Iranian team for its victory in what many observers called a political match.
Both teams also played a friendly match in preparation for the 2006 World Cup and finished with 1-1 draw.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries broke off in April 7, 1980 after a group of Iranian students seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran taking hostage 60 American diplomats for 444 days.
Tension between them escalated over Iran’s nuclear program, which the United States and its allies say is designed to develop nuclear weapons, a claim Iranians have consistently rejected.
But since Barack Obama was elected U.S. president, hopes of a thawing relation between the two foes revived. |
