June 22, 2018
Iran pulled off an upset by tying Portugal 1-1. But it was a game Iran had to win to advance and Portugal only needed to tie.
Iran was quite impressive in battling one of the best teams in international soccer–and a team that Iran Coach Carlos Queiroz, a Portuguese national, once coached in a previous World Cup.
Queiroz said before the game it was the most important match of his seven years coaching Iran. Going into the finals, Portugal was ranked fifth in the world, Spain 10th, Iran 37th and Morocco 41st.
Iran played more aggressively than in its previous two matches and drove the ball goal ward far more often than in the other games, where it emphasized defense. But still, Portugal held possession 69 percent of the time—mainly because it found it had to play possession ball in an effort to find holes in Iran’s defense, of which there were not many.
Iran also managed to bottle up Cristiano Ronaldo, the star of the Portuguese team who had managed four goals in the previous two games. Ronaldo was unable to score this time. But he got off three of Portugal’s four shots on goal—the first one just two minutes into the game. Unfortunately for him, he managed to fire all three right into the arms of Iran goalkeeper Ali-Reza Beiranvand each time. Ronaldo scored against Morocco and Spain in the fourth minute of both of those games.
News reports said Queiroz did not get along with Ronaldo when they were on the same team.
Iran only managed two shots on goal. But it was very active in front of Portugal’s goal—far more active than it was in front of the opponent’s goal in the first two games.
Portugal scored first at the 45-minute mark. Ricardo Quaresma picked up a pass just outside the penalty box and put it in the upper corner. In the second half, Iran boosted the pace and the excitement but kept firing passed or over the goal.
Three minutes into injury time, Sardar Azmoun knocked a ball down with his head and it struck the arm of Cedric Soares. Such incidental contact is rarely called an infraction. But after reviewing the videotape, the Uruguayan referee this time awarded a penalty kick, in which a player gets to fire at the goal with no one but the goalkeeper in front of him. Karim Ansarifard fired neatly passed the goalie and tied the game 1-1.
Ronaldo had earlier gotten a penalty kick—but made it look more like a pass into Beiranvand’s arms.
Seconds later, Mehdi Taremi got possession near the goal with few Portuguese near him. Taremi fired—but hit the side of the net.
Many Iranian fans tried to give Iran an advantage by rallying in the street outside the Portuguese hotel the night before the game and shouting and playing loud music all night long. Ronaldo could be seen at one point in the middle of the night staring out the window at the crowd. But some Iranian fans objected to this.