I tied Iran For the second time in a row World Cup 2026 in soccer Which you are experiencing in a turbulent atmosphere against the backdrop of the war in The Middle Eastin front of Belgium Strong and numerically deficient since the middle of the second half, 0-0 on Sunday in Los Angeles in the second round.
After drawing at the opening with New Zealand (2-2) At the modern Sofai Stadium, Iran raised its score to two points in Group Seven, similar to Belgium, which tied at the opening with Egypt (1-1), while the latter will play New Zealand later in Vancouver.
Of the match. (AFP)
The Iranian team arrived while his country was still at war with… USthe co-hosting country, and he resided in Mexicoin the city of Tijuana on the border with Los Angeles, while playing all of its group stage matches in the United States.
This imposed frequent cross-border movements, while the American authorities did not allow the team to remain inside the country except for a few hours after each match, with restrictions changing frequently at the last moments, and about a dozen members of its crew did not obtain entry visas to the United States.
After facing Belgium, which is trying to make up for its disappointing campaign in the 2022 edition, Iran will play its last match in the group on Friday in Seattle against Egypt.
The Iranian national team players entered to a huge welcome from the majority of the fans in the stadium of the city that some call “Tehrangeles” due to the large Iranian community there. They chanted, “Iran, Iran.” Most of the old flag was worn before. Islamic revolution In Iran.
But when the Iranian national anthem was played, boos sounded loudly throughout the stadium.
Iran relied on experience and recorded its squad, with an average age of 32 years and 181 days, the highest average age in history. World Cup Since at least 1966, which is when the statistics company Opta began analyzing this data.
While skilled winger Jeremy Doku was absent from the Belgium squad after suffering from breathing problems, striker Romelu Lukacau started in front of Kevin De Bruyne and Leandro Trossard.
Belgium was better in the first half, without success, with attempts started by Maxime De Cuyper and goalkeeper Ali Reda Beranand (11) standing in front of them.
Hussein Kanaani responded with a good opportunity from the middle of the area, and the goalkeeper shone Thibaut Courtois By removing it (14).
The guard fought real madrid The Spaniard made his 17th World Cup appearance in his fourth participation, equaling the Belgian record set by Enzo Chivo.
Youri Tielemans approached the net with a dangerous shot from a tight angle, which was blocked again by Beranund (22).
The stadium was on fire in the 25th minute: a free kick was cleverly played by Ehsan Haj Safi, which scored Mehdi Taremi. The Greek Olympiacos striker turned around and scored with a great low shot, causing the stadium to shake from the celebrations of the Iranian fans, but the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) had a different opinion when he revealed Taremi’s offside.
After a possession rate of approximately 80% for Belgium, the Iranians opened their chances at the beginning of the second half, with a very dangerous shot by Taremi inside the area, which Courtois excelled in blocking (53).
Belgium had its most dangerous opportunity when the ball rolled close to the goal line in front of Berranund, who was valiant in defending his net against De Cuyper’s close shot (59).
A quarter of an hour after the start of the second half, Belgium was overwhelmingly controlling the Iranian goal, with a clear desire to break the deadlock.
But in an exciting match, young Belgian centre-back Nathan Ngoy made a grave mistake by losing an easy ball when he was the last defender, and Taremi snatched it from him before obstructing him and receiving a direct red card for preventing the opportunity to score a goal.
The Iranians had a numerical superiority, allowing them to attack and dream more against a star-studded Belgian team.
The match turned upside down, as the Iranians pressed a little, and despite that, Belgium wanted to score despite its numerical deficiency, so as not to get involved in complicated calculations in the final round when it faces New Zealand, so De Cuyper hit a very dangerous goal that Berranund caught with difficulty in two shots (86).
Belgium maintained possession despite the shortage, but the two teams were unable to find the net, so the third match in this group ended in a draw due to a dangerous shot by Alokebakio in the last breath.
