By Hatem Maher
INGLEWOOD, California, June 21 (Reuters) - Belgium coach Rudi Garcia lamented his side's wastefulness after a 0-0 draw with Iran left the Group G favourites facing a final match against New Zealand to secure a place in the World Cup round of 32.
Belgium dominated possession and peppered Iran's goal on Sunday but were repeatedly denied by goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, who produced a string of saves to earn the Iranians a valuable point in Los Angeles.
Belgium have taken only two points
from their opening two matches despite entering the tournament as favourites to progress from the group.
"We could have won by three goals against Iran but we weren't efficient enough," Garcia told reporters. "We had many attempts and when you don't score, you don't win a match."
The 62-year-old said his side had executed their game plan as intended against an Iran team they expected to sit deep and look to strike on the counterattack.
"We dominated, so tactically and in terms of the game plan we played as we wanted to play. But we were wasteful and lacked efficiency," he said.
Belgium's task became even harder when defender Nathan Ngoy was sent off midway through the second half for hauling down Mehdi Taremi as the Iran forward broke through on goal.
Garcia described the dismissal as an understandable mistake from a young player and praised the response of the rest of the team, who continued to push for a winner despite playing the final half-hour with 10 men.
"Playing 30 minutes down a man is very difficult in a World Cup," he said.
Garcia singled out Beiranvand as the key reason Belgium failed to take all three points, calling the Iranian goalkeeper the game's standout performer.
He acknowledged the start had fallen short of expectations but insisted qualification remained in his team's hands.
"Sometimes you have to win and in this situation you have to win," he said. "Obviously, I would have wished to start better but this is part of life."
Belgium face New Zealand in Vancouver on Friday, while Iran take on Egypt.
"This group is not weak," Garcia said. "We need to show we are capable of beating New Zealand and moving into the round of 32. First we need to rest, recover and get ready for this decisive match."
(Reporting by Hatem Maher, editing by Ed Osmond)
