AHVAZ, Khuzestan Province Iman Mobali, a member of national team of Iran playing in the matches of Buenos Aires-based World Youth Soccer Championship, said that Iran had been placed in a harsh group.

The two powerful teams of France and Paraguay are the main hopefuls, said Mobali adding that before France found our net, we played a smooth football against the champion of Europe.

An unexpected goal from a free-kick embarrassed Iran and helped France score more, added the Khuzestani footballer.

Mobali continued, "The Iranian players knew nothing about the French team and therefore they were filled with fear on the pitch."

Lack of self-confidence caused the Iranian side to lose and get bad results, justified Mobali and said, "We could win if we believed in our abilities."

We played Ghana much better because we knew their football. Iran could defeat Ghana if it tried more but we were unlucky in the tournament, said the national player.

Before the matches, we thought Iran has fallen much behind the top world squads but now we believe that Iran is able to overcome them, Mobali added.

The world event was a good experience for Iran, said Mobali concluding, "Iran will get better results in the next tournament."