NUMBER’S UP FOR IRAN

CARLOS QUEIROZ and Iran are already in danger of becoming the laughing stock of the World Cup – before they have even kicked a ball.

The former Manchester United No.2 is under fire from fans after axing favourite Jalal Hosseini, who has more than 100 caps.

But his squad’s preparations for today’s clash with Morocco have been hit by a series of kit mishaps.

First, Nike stopped supplying them with boots because of US sanctions on the country, forcing players to buy their own or borrow from friends. Now it has emerged the Iranian FA accidentally printed some of their shirt numbers upside down.

Queiroz said: “This is not the time or place to go into specifics of the difficulties in relation to the sanctions.

“We cannot use these issues as excuses. We must use all of these situations as a source of inspiration to make our players stronger. They know we need to be a family and fight, play and show everybody we love the game.” The ex-Real Madrid coach refused to get involved in the row over Spain axing Julen Lopetegui, saying: “It would be disrespectful to Morocco if I shifted my words to Spain.” Morocco will be pinning their hopes on striker Ayoub El Kaabi.

Four years ago El Kaabi was training as a carpenter and living in the slums on the outskirts of Casablanca. He said: “It’s a dream to be here and to be able to help my country.” UNDER FIRE: Queiroz