FIFA - A 4-0 friendly defeat at the hands of Mexico in June and their disappointing campaign in July's AFC Asian Cup should be all the motivation Iran need as they go into the FIFA World Cup ™ qualifying campaign looking to put the memories of 2006 behind them. Fortunately for Team Melli, they have been given a kind draw in a group alongside Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Syria. As Iran's footballing icon Ali Daei told FIFA.com: "We should have few problems to advance as group winners." Few critics would argue against the striking legend so the only real question is who is best-placed to take the group's runner-up spot. Nine-time Gulf Cup winners Kuwait remain a revered regional power who are seeking to progress to their second FIFA World Cup finals, but the Spain 1982 finalists will have to be wary of their neighbouring opponents, who can draw inspiration from their title-winning campaign in the recent Gulf Cup. Syria, who eliminated Indonesia by a remarkable 11-1 aggregate score, will also do their utmost to have a say. The favourites
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UAE: The Gulf side's 1990 debut in the FIFA World Cup and a runners-up finish in 1996 AFC Asian Cup didn't go unnoticed in the draw for the qualifying final round for Korea/Japan 2002, when they entered into the competition as one of the two top seeds. They have disappointed in recent continental competition and in qualifying for the global showpiece but their ground-breaking success in the recent Gulf Cup came as a timely boost for the team. Theplayers to
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Trio vie for second place
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