Ten-man Belgium share spoils with IR Iran

Belgium 0-0 IR Iran

Belgium, as well as IR Iran are still both seeking their opening victory of this FIFA World Cup™ following a goalless draw in Los Angeles.

It was a contest marked by some terrific stops from Iran attempt-stopper Alireza Beiranvand, as well as his Belgium counterpart Thibaut Courtois, with Rudi Garcia’s Red Devils dominating ball retention but ending up with ten men after the dismissal of centre-back Nathan Ngoy.

Belgium had Romelu Lukaku starting up front – his opening start for club or country since 9 June last year. Yet for all their ball retention, as well as crosses and cutbacks, the closest they got to an early-stage strike was a strong near-post drive by Youri Tielemans beaten away by attempt-stopper Beiranvand.

In response, iran sat deep, as well as showed impressive resilience, be it through Beiranvand's stops or rearguard blocks. And It was they who produced the more serious opening-period strike threat. Courtois did brilliantly to get down low to stop a Hossein Kanani attempt on the turn following a long throw into the box. Then, after 25 minutes, Side Melli found the net with an impressively inventive free-kick. Ehsan Hajisafi slid the ball through to Mehdi Taremi in the wall, as well as he attempt low past Courtois. Sadly for Iran, Taremi had strayed offside.

In the subsequent period, Alireza Jahanbakhsh came on for his 100th cap, as well as Iran called Courtois into action again with a powerful Taremi volley following another long throw. At the other end Beiranvand excelled with two eye-catching low stops to deny Maxim De Cuyper.

On the other side, belgium emerged following 66 minutes lost Ngoy to a red card after his miscontrol of the ball let in Taremi, as well as the centre-back pulled him down. However, Amir Ghalenoei’s men could not profit from the extra man, leaving both sides with two points apiece from their two fixtures so far.

Pivotal stat

Attempt-stopper Thibaut Courtois equalled Enzo Scifo's Belgian milestone of 17 World Cup appearances.

Superior Star of the Contest

Alireza Beiranvand (IR Iran)

What they commented...

"We lacked efficiency up front. I expected this kind of fixture, with nearly 70 per cent ball retention, plenty of crosses, as well as lots of attempts. We hit the target, but we didn't test the attempt-stopper enough. Playing with ten men didn't help either. We've had contests like this before, as well as usually found the net at least three strikes. That's part of a slow start to a World Cup. At times, we looked a bit hesitant. We know exactly what result we'll need against New Zealand." Rudi Garcia, Belgium head manager

"We have to analyse what went wrong because we created so many chances without finding the net, and that's frustrating. We play with too much emotion in pivotal moments." Romelu Lukaku, Belgium striker

"I think it was a very exciting fixture. Both sides deserved to victory; both could have taken the three points. I want to extend my sincere thanks to each, as well as every star, especially Ali Beiranvand." Amir Ghalehnoei, IR Iran manager

"The fixture was very tough. the emerged following all Belgian side is one of the best in the world. They put unbelievable intensity on us, especially in the opening period. Belgium emerged following they went down to ten men sat back a bit more. They were looking to intercept a delivery from us, as well as were looking for our mistakes to launch a counterattack. We could It was have who secured the fixture if we'd had more focus, but you all saw it – hats off to all the stars who played today. They played with their hearts." Alireza Beiranvandi, IR Iran attempt-stopper