Again no win for the Red Devils: Belgium runs in vain against Iran and has to end the game outnumbered after a dropout by central defender Nathan Ngoy.
Belgium failed to get past a goalless draw against Iran in their second World Cup group game. Central defender Nathan Ngoy was shown a red card in the 67th minute for an emergency stop.
Lukaku is warned early
After the disappointing start against Egypt (1-1), Belgium started without Jeremy Doku, who was ill. Romelu Lukaku, on the other hand, was in the starting lineup after his substitute appearance in the first game. Iran’s coach Amir Ghalenoei relied entirely on experience. With an average age of 32.52 years, he sent the oldest starting eleven in World Cup history onto the pitch in the Los Angeles stadium.
As expected, Belgium immediately took the initiative. Things got tricky in front of the Iranian goal for the first time in the 3rd minute. Kevin de Bruyne brought the ball into the center, where keeper Alireza Beiranvand was there in front of Lukaku. Because the attacker rushed his leg into the 33-year-old, he was shown a yellow card early on (3rd).
Belgium continued to press the accelerator: Leandro Trossard broke through on the left and passed to De Bruyne in the back area, whose shot was blocked. The rebound landed at Maxim de Cuyper, who was unable to overcome Beiranvand (9th). There was no sign of Iran offensively in the early stages. But then Hossein Kanaani forced Belgium keeper Thibaut Curtois to do a brilliant job with his shot from the turn (14th).
Iran Opening goal is cancelled
Then the Belgians took command again and the pressure from the Red Devils continued to increase. The agile Trossard sent two opponents into space with a feint, Shoja Khalilzadeh successfully threw himself into the Belgian’s shot (19th). Three minutes later, Youri Tielemans was released, who also found his master in Beiranvand. A stroke of genius then gave Iran the supposed lead: Haji Safi cheekily played a free kick from 23 meters past the wall to Mehdi Taremi, who shot in from the bottom right. However, the attacker was just offside and the VAR conceded the goal again (25th).
Mehdi Taremi was just offside when the Iranians took a free kick.
The action gave Iran a little impetus for a few minutes, then the usual picture returned: committed Belgians with a lot of ball possession, but without any brilliant ideas. Shortly before the break there was another good move from Trossard, who found de Bruyne with his long pass in the penalty area. The 34-year-old didn’t hit the ball correctly when he took the volley (42′). Two minutes later, Beiranvand made a great save against de Cuyper, who had previously been put in the spotlight by Tielemans. The Iranians just wanted to escape into the half-time break without conceding a goal, which they achieved thanks to passionate defensive work. The Belgians’ 81 percent possession of the ball in the first half didn’t help.
Courtois saves against Taremi
Iran brought Alireza Jahanbakhsh into the game after the substitution. The new man fired the first shot on goal after a few seconds and was the focus again shortly afterwards because he had stepped on Trossard’s calf with an open sole. To the astonishment of the Belgians, the 32-year-old got away without a card. Shortly afterwards, a corner landed at the far post to Alexis Saelemaekers, who volleyed into the side netting (50th). Then the Belgians lost sight of Taremi again, Courtois prevented the score with another strong save (53′).
De Cuyper misses the lead
The biggest chance of the game in the 59th minute. Trossard played de Bruyne free on the left side of the penalty area. The veteran’s cross pass was cleared at the feet of de Cuyper, who was unable to put the ball into the goal from two meters because Beiranvand somehow got his hand on the ball – a world-class save.
Belgium outnumbered in the final phase
Eight minutes later things got even worse for the Red Devils. Nathan Ngoy tried to play a pass back to Courtois, which failed completely. The central defender tugged at Taremi’s shirt as he was charging towards the goal and saw the red card – the correct decision. The sending off changed the statics of the game; Iran suddenly had longer periods of possession.
The Belgian team found it difficult to maintain the pressure when they were outnumbered and there were no chances on either side until the final phase. Nine minutes before the end, de Bruyne lost the ball and Saeid Ezatolahi’s subsequent long-range shot was sure prey for Courtois.
In the 85th minute, de Cuyper had another great opportunity to score the winning goal, but once again Beiranvand quickly dived and secured the ball in the follow-up. In stoppage time, Joker Dodi Lukebakio narrowly missed the goal with his curling shot. It was the last big chance of the encounter.
outlook
Both teams have two points on their account. What is certainly a success for Iran is disappointing for the Belgians. Belgium continues against New Zealand on Saturday (5 a.m. CEST) in Vancouver. Iran meets Egypt in Seattle at the same time.
