Iran will play friendly against Mauritania

Team Melli's behind-closed-doors friendly with lowly Mauritania has been criticised due to the poor quality of the opposition but the Portuguese boss insists it'll serve a purpose.Iran coach Carlos Queiroz has defended the decision to hastily organise a friendly against 202nd ranked Mauritania for Wednesday following the cancellation of a match against UAE.Team Melli will take on the lowly African nation in a friendly on Wednesday behind closed doors at Tehran's Azadi Stadium as they prepare for the fourth and final round of 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifiers through Asia.Last week, UAE officials cancelled the friendly with Iran due to rising political tensions between the two nations following Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the island of Abu Masa.Iran hastily organised a clash with Mauritania, who are ranked 202nd by Fifa and will only field a domestic-based squad, prompting criticism over the worth of the match against such lowly opposition.However, Queiroz told the Tehran Times the match would serve a purpose for his side as they prepare for important World Cup qualifiers. “In my opinion, it would be a good warm up match," Queiroz said."Sometimes, Manchester United plays Hong Kong and these kinds of matches help the teams to prepare for the important competitions."Iran are also scheduled to face Queiroz's native Mozambique on May 2 in Tehran.