‘We have to learn from defeat’ says Queiroz after Iran suffer shock loss to Guinea

World Cup hopefuls Iran slumped to a 2-1 home defeat by Guinea in a friendly in Tehran on Wednesday and coach Carlos Queiroz said he was concerned about their lack of matches ahead of the finals in Brazil.

AC Milan midfielder Kevin Constant put the visitors ahead in the 34th minute with a long-range strike before Ibrahima Traore doubled the advantage in similar fashion three minutes later.

Reza Ghoochannejhad pulled one back 10 minutes into the second half after converting Ashkan Dejagah’s cross from the right.

“We have to learn from the defeat. Iran need more warm-up matches to prepare for the World Cup,” Queiroz told reporters.

Iran, Asia’s best Fifa-ranked team at No 38, will head to Austria to face Belarus, Montenegro and Angola in friendly matches in May before making their third World Cup appearance in June.

They face Nigeria in Curitiba in their opening Group F match before taking on Argentina and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

All kick-off times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Saturday
Liverpool v Manchester United - 3.30pm
Burnley v West Ham United - 6pm
Crystal Palace v Chelsea - 6pm
Manchester City v Stoke City - 6pm
Swansea City v Huddersfield Town - 6pm
Tottenham Hotspur v Bournemouth - 6pm
Watford v Arsenal - 8.30pm

Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Everton - 4.30pm
Southampton v Newcastle United - 7pm

Monday
Leicester City v West Bromwich Albion - 11pm

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Analysis

Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.

The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.

We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.

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