“In a World Cup featuring lots of very familiar sides, Iran are something of an exception. They were absent from the 2010 edition, lack standout individual names, and a combination of politics and finances means their preparation for the tournament, in terms of warm-up matches, has been minimal, although they’ve now managed to squeeze in four pre-tournament friendlies. Opposition players won’t naturally know much about Iran, and opposition scouts will find it difficult to build a picture of their strengths and weaknesses.” Zonal Marking