INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Iran's World Cup has been tumultuous off the field, and its play on the pitch still hasn't produced a victory.
Yet Team Melli's dream of advancing to a World Cup knockout round for the first time is still very much alive, thanks to an afternoon of brilliance from goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand in a 0-0 draw with Belgium on Sunday.
In a World Cup that has already produced several memorable goalkeeping performances, Beiranvand
joined the group with seven saves against the Red Devils. His one-handed stop from a prone position on Maxim De Cuyper's point-blank shot early in the second half should rank among the highlight saves of the tournament — and De Cuyper was denied yet again by Beiranvand on a golden opportunity in the 86th minute.
“He’s one of our greatest goalkeepers in the history of Iranian football, and he has achieved many things,” Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei said. “He’s extremely intelligent, very experienced, and he had one of his best days today.”
But his teammates couldn't come up with the goal that would have produced a historic victory, not even after Belgium went down to 10 men in the second half. Defender Nathan Ngoy received a straight red card in the 66th minute when he miskicked a ball backward and then fouled Mehdi Taremi to prevent the Iran star from getting a clean breakaway scoring chance.
Belgium actually generated better scoring opportunities down the stretch while finishing with 23 shots, but both teams left with their second straight draw in group play.
So while neither team was fully happy with the result at SoFi Stadium, Iran drew many more positives.
“The feeling in the dressing room is we could have even get more than what we got today,” Iran midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh said. “But we are very, very happy with the performance we had as a team. I think we showed a great team spirit.”
During a tumultuous World Cup trip affected by travel restrictions and visa denials from the U.S., Iran just missed a prime opportunity to beat a European team sitting 10th in FIFA's world rankings. Team Melli was essentially the home team in the Los Angeles area for its second straight match in front of a stadium packed with fans from the diaspora both supporting the Iranians and decrying the government, with boos of the anthem and hundreds of pre-revolutionary Lion and Sun flags displayed.
Iran’s World Cup cycle has been chaotic ever since the U.S. began a war on Feb. 28. The Iranians moved their training base from Arizona to Mexico, and the team has been required to leave Los Angeles right after both matches, infuriating Ghalenoei. With so many preparation obstacles, Ghalenoei leaned on experience against Belgium, sending out the oldest starting 11 at a World Cup match since 1966, according to Opta.
“This is part of our culture: In a difficult situation, we perform better,” Jahanbakhsh said.
Meanwhile, Belgium has yet to score in two matches at this World Cup, getting on the scoreboard only through an own goal in its opening draw with Egypt.
Standout winger Jérémy Doku missed this match with an illness for Belgium, which has not scored on 69 consecutive shots at the World Cup dating back to its one goal scored during its three mostly dismal games in Qatar four years ago. Kevin De Bruyne led the way with five shots and his usual creative playmaking, yet nothing could get the ball past Beiranvand.
“We were not efficient enough,” said striker Romelu Lukaku, who generated one shot while starting and playing 73 minutes despite injury concerns. "We were a bit emotional, but you know, in the end, we created a lot. So let’s stick to the positive side and try to improve for the next game.”
Belgium dominated possession in the first 60 minutes, but Iran still had a strong counterattack that was repeatedly thwarted by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who matched Beiranvand's results, if not his theatricality.
Team Melli generated the best scoring chances early, including a beautiful set piece that resulted in a goal by Taremi — who was ruled narrowly offside by video review.
“I think in general, we played quite a good game," Courtois said. “Obviously you can always find things you’d like to do better. We had enough chances to score, and we didn’t score. Their goalkeeper played a great game.”
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/FIFA-World-Cup
