In what was anticipated to be a whitewash, Spain struggled to get past Iran's dogged defence to get a much needed win. The win Spain desperately needed came after 94 minutes of desperate, sprinting, all-out soccer that yielded only one goal and had another ruled out. La Furia Roja defeated the Iranians, 1-0, to earn a much-needed three points in Group B and keep alive its hopes of advancing to the knockout stage.
Iran did their utmost to frustrate the 2010 world champions in a clash of styles, but Diego Costa eventually opened the scoring with a scrappy 54th-minute winner that ended up the evening's only goal.
Iran was content with Spain having most of the ball possession, with Spain recording over 80% of possession while Iran defended resolutely. There was no real goal threat in the first 45 minutes for either side as it ended in a stalemate.
Second half started in the same vein with Spain struggling to break down the resolute Iranian defence and lady luck shined on them in the 54th minute when Ramin Rezaeian's attempted clearance went in the opposite direction helping Costa scored the all-important goal of the game.
Lady luck shined upon Spain again as Iran had a goal disallowed. Saeid Ezatolahi thought he had equalised when he rammed home the ball after a free-kick into the area. With the entire squad celebrating the goal, few realised that the linesman had raised his flag for offside. VAR then confirmed that the linesman got the call right
Soon after, what looked like a mishit from Isco was in-fact a pass to David Silva who turned the ball back to Ramos, who then drove the ball goal wards. It’s blocked near the line and Pique tried turning it in. Two or three Iran defenders threw themselves in front of the ball. And the ref called for a foul.
Iran put up a fight and nearly got rewarded in the 82nd minute. Amiri put the ball through the legs of a Spanish defender, and then lofted a cross that was indefensible. Mehdi was on the other side, but his header was a foot high of the goal.
Spain emerged victorious after that scare, Iran would feel hard done. They'll feel they deserved more.
Group B is still very opened with Iran having 3 points, Spain 4 points and Portugal 4 points. Game 3 promises to be interesting in this group.
Man of the Match: Ramin Rezaeian
Writer: Pamilern Daniels (22/6/2018)
コメント