Spain came up against an impressive Iranian unit in their second fixture of Group B, after playing out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Portugal in their opener.
Diego Costa carried on his goal-scoring form, from the previous game, to get past a resilient Iranian unit who were unlucky to not come away with a point from the game.
Here are the Talking Points:
Iran defy expectations
Iran was one of the least fancied teams to make it past the group stages coming into the competition. It is the first time in their history that they have qualified for two back-to-back World Cup finals, their fifth qualification overall.
Slated in the same group as the former World Champions, Spain, and the current European Champions, Portugal, meant that their already slim chances were further diminished in the face of such tough competition. With a Moroccan side that boasts players from the top leagues in Europe making up the numbers, Iran was expected to struggle to not only earn a point, but also keep the attacking talent in the other sides at bay.
However, after their win over Morocco, Iran managed to keep their defence tight and solid once again to prevent the 2010 World Cup Champions from scoring in the opening forty-five minutes of the game. They were, at that point, the only team to not have conceded a goal in Group B. Impressive from the Asian side.
Iran go 149 minutes without conceding a goal at the World Cup
Having managed to do that to Morocco in the opening fixture and then going on to steal all three points thanks to a stoppage-time own-goal, Iran had taken their first step towards defying expectations. If the manner in which they won the three points had a huge element of luck behind it, their defensive display was down to their hard work and determination.
They were very effective at thwarting any attack that the African side tried to muster up and rendered most of their attacking players utterly useless as Morocco failed to mount any serious challenge on the Iranian goal.
As impressive as that was, the way they replicated that defensive rigidity in the first half against Spain was even more praise-worthy. They managed to keep Diego Costa from affecting the game by preventing the likes of David Silva, Andres iniesta, and Isco from providing the kind of service that the Spaniard striker revels in.
They kept that up for 9 minutes after the restart. However, this time Lady Luck was smiling on the Europeans as Hosseini tried to clear the danger, but the ball took a deflection off Costa and went in. What an unfortunate way to concede a goal for the minnows.
VAR comes to Spain’s rescue
After going a goal down to Spain in the 54th minute, instead of wilting under the pressure of having to mount a comeback against one of the best front-runners in world football, Iran responded with that sense of purpose which has seen them qualify for their consecutive World Cup finals appearance. Just six minutes after conceding the opener, Iran were awarded a free-kick, 30 yards from goal.
They loaded the opposition penalty area with numbers, but in the excitement to get his head to the ball first, Ezatolahi failed to notice that he had strayed offside. As Iran erupted into celebrations, the referee received a message in his earpiece that the goal was being looked at retrospectively by the Video Assistant Referee.
Iran’s players were pleading to the referee to allow the goal to stand while they waited for confirmation. But the presence of technology at this edition of the World Cup leaves little space for emotions to govern the decision-making processes and the goal was rightly chalked off
Iran will not be able to help but wonder what the outcome would’ve been, had it been any other edition of the competition. As it turned out, they will go down in history as the first team to be denied a goal through VAR at the World Cup.