June 20-2014
Spectators boo dull game as Iran plays defensively
The Brazilian fans jeered both teams as the referee blew the whistle ending the Iran-Nigeria World Cup match as a scoreless tie. The writer for the Daily Telegraph of London summarized the match as “a dud.” A writer in Nigeria called it “turgid.” Reuters said it was a “bore.” Even the Islamic Republic News Agency called the match “dull.”
But Iran’s Team Melli was all smiles and clapping loudly as the players strode off the field, secure in the knowledge they had gotten one point for a draw.
It was the 13th game of the 64 in the World Cup finals. Maybe that was unlucky. It was the first tie and the first with no score after a series of high-scoring games. And almost all who watched said it was just plain dull.
Iran had a clear strategy. Defense, defense and defense. That didn’t make for much excitement. And it didn’t stop Nigeria from firing shots on goal and keeping keeper Alireza Haghighi busy all afternoon. Fortunately, he was good. And that might keep expat Daniel Davari, born and reared in Germany, from getting a chance to play in the Cup.
[plain]Cup Standings…
Here are the standings for Iran’s Group F in the 2014 World Cup after each team has played one of its three matches. The top two teams at the end will advance. The bottom two go home.
Team GP W D L GF GA GD Pts
Argentina 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
Iran 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Nigeria 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Bosnia 1 0 0 1 1 2 1 0
Argentina 2, Bosnia 1
Iran 0, Nigeria 0 TIE
GP = Games Played; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses;
GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against; GD = Goal Differential; Pts = Points (3 for a win, 1 for for a draw)
__________________________
Here is how the four Asian teams are faring at the World Cup. Winner listed first. Asian teams in CAPS.
Chile 3 AUSTRALIA 1 0 points
Cote d’Ivoire 2 JAPAN 1 0 points
Nigeria 0 IRAN 0 tie 1 point
Russia 1 S. KOREA 1 tie 1 point [/plain] Iran Coach Carlos Queiroz didn’t explain his choice of Haghighi for goalkeeper. Queiroz had been using Rahman Ahmadi in most recent games and had chased hard to sign on Davari. The reading was that the goal spot was between the two of them with Haghighi just kept in reserve in case the others were both injured.
American-born Steven Beitashour also spent the entire game on the bench with Davari.
Iran and Nigeria have only played one another once before. That was way back in 1998 when Nigeria won 1-0.
Iran’s main scorers—Reza Ghoochan-nejad and Javad Nekounam—were on the field for the entire game. “Gucci” had the best scoring chance of the game in the 33rd minute when he got a perfect header off a corner kick and sent the ball strait for the goal. It took a great save from Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama to stop the score.
Evan Fanning of the Telegraph managed to keep awake several minutes later by suggesting that endless replays of that action ought to be shown since there had been no action since then.
Gucci got another scoring opportunity later at 66 minutes, but unfortunately Nekounam got in the way.
At 73 minutes, Fanning, who was giving minute-by-minute commentary on the game, said, “Come on, either of these teams. Your World Cup needs you. Give us a goal. Or a shot. Or even just an accurate pass.”
Reuters echoed that criticism of both teams: “Long balls to nowhere in particular were sprayed around, passes went straight to opponents—who failed to take advantage—and spectators were in more danger of being hit than the back of the net.”
Fanning did concede one point: “The Iranian defense is a well-oiled machine.” But he said, “The crowd in Curitiba are getting restless, jeering Iran’s everyone-behind-the-ball approach.”
Much more action was expected from both teams because this was generally viewed as a must-win game for both. Iran is ranked 43rd in the world and Nigeria 44th. They must go on now to face 21st ranked Bosnia and fifth ranked Argentina where both Iran and Nigeria will likely face tougher challenges.
Iran, Nigeria and Bosnia are all playing to come in second in Group F, conceding the top slot to Argentina. But the top two teams in each group advance so Number Two is fully acceptable. Yet, with Monday’s tie, Iran (and Nigeria) face a higher mountain to reach Number Two.
However, Team Melli’s obvious delight when the final whistle blew showed that they had hoped for a tie and a single point from the start and were ecstatic with the outcome.
Coach Queiroz said after the game, “I am very tired. I did a lot of running in the dugout today. It was a very difficult match for us, but we showed our style and our team spirit, concentration and discipline. We managed to stop them from putting their moves together in the first half. Nigeria’s big names tried to make the difference after the break and to take control of the game. That’s when we stepped our game up a level by doubling up a lot on their players. The fans didn’t see any goals, but sometimes intensity, togetherness, focus and team spirit can make for an interesting spectacle.”
But loud boos came from every direction at Arena Da Baixada with the attendance of 39,081 fans, mostly Brazilians used to rapid-paced soccer.
“Iran has won respect from all over the world,” said Queiroz after the match. ”The key is not the boos, I don’t care about that. The most important thing is we take one point back.”
Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi, not surprisingly, had a different perspective. He had played to win. After the match, he told reporters, “We wanted to score in the first 20 minutes, but they defended in numbers and we couldn’t get through. When you get that type of situation, you can get wound up because you just want to score, and to do that you need to stay calm. You have to give Iran their due. They decided to play that way and their game plan worked for them.”
The Nigerians did go on the attack from the very start and had the first shot on goal just two minutes into the match. But they soon ran out of steam.
Javad Nekounam, the Iran team captain and the major goal-maker along with Ghoochan-nejad, said he was satisfied with his team’s draw but called for improvement.
“We could have snatched a win in the last 20 minutes, but we lacked the finishing touch,” Nekounam, 33, told FIFA.com in a post-game interview.
“I think that’s the area we need to improve in. When you consider that a lot of our players were making their World Cup debuts, it’s been a very good day for us.”
Nekounam added: “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy at all and we also knew that we’d lose if we didn’t keep our focus. We are happier with the result than they are, but we can’t just settle for what we’ve got.
“We only have one point and we still have two very difficult games ahead of us.”
Statistically, Nigeria dominated with ball possession for almost two-thirds of the game. Iran had ball possession 36 percent of the time and Nigeria 64 percent.
Iran made seven shots on goal to Nigeria’s 10. Iran had only three of those shots on target while Nigeria had six.
The World Cup had been noteworthy before the Iran game for its very open and freewheeling play. Commentators were joyous at the number of exciting matches and high-scoring games. But Queiroz had warned even in advance of the game that he was not taken with that approach and said Team Melli would show the world the value of good defense in the Nigeria game.
“If you believe good soccer is only attacking and scoring goals, check the newspapers in Spain and ask them what they think about the result,” he said after Spain when down 5-1 to the Netherlands. “You can play good soccer when you defend well. To defend is part of the game.”
He didn’t say how he would play against Bosnia, but it has made a religion of offense, scoring a stunning 30 goals in its qualifying matches.