It is a difficult question , but what the TV cameras missed in the Argentina Iran match in Belo Horizonte?
The Serb referee’s reality
Milorad Mazic (Serbia).
Year: 2014
Messi “It was difficult to break down their (Iran) defense”
Lionel Messi claims Argentina will improve despite unconvincing FIFA World Cup™ performances in the two victories which have secured qualification for the knock-out rounds.
Messi came to the rescue again against Iran on Saturday, scoring in injury time to clinch a 1-0 win. That followed another Messi trademark goal to ensure a 2-1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in Argentina’s opening match.
The Barcelona forward said: “If we analyse both matches we might say we can play better but as we progress in the tournament we will improve and reach our full potential. We know we are not playing as well as we are expected. But we have qualified for the next round and that was our first objective.”
Messi, who called his goal “a wonderful moment”, admitted it had been difficult to overcome the challenge posed by a determined Iran side. “It was difficult to break down their defence and find space,” added Messi. “It’s tough to play against teams that close up like they did.
“We have to correct our mistakes and we are the first to realise that we aren’t playing at the level we want to. We were at least able to get the three points which means we don’t have to suffer in the last match.”
Argentina’s manager Alejandro Sabella, not for the first time, paid tribute to Messi’s influence. He said: “All the players contributed to the victory but of course we have a genius who is called Messi. Fortunately he is Argentine – everyone would like to have Messi but it is us who have him.”
Argentina will meet the runner-up from Group E – likely to be either Ecuador or Switzerland – in Sao Paulo if they top Group
Should Iran have had a penalty for Pablo Zabaleta’s foul on Ashkan Dejagah in the box?
Saturday 21 Jun 2014 6:34 pm
Argentina defender Pablo Zabaleta went close to conceding a penalty in his team’s World Cup match against Iran after the Manchester City man tackled Ashkan Dejagah in the area but only just got his toe to the ball.
With Carlos Queiroz’s side doing a superb job at keeping Argentina at bay, Dejagah raced into the box – only for Zabaleta to bring down the Fulham star in the 55th minute.
The incident sparked a furious response from the Iranian players but referee Milorad Mazic waved away their appeals although replays showed Iran should have been awarded a spot-kick.
Iran went on to lose the clash after Argentina captain Lionel Messi scored a sublime long-range winner in the 91st minute.
Last count
YES NO
86% 14%
“If this foul was committed by a player on the other side on Messi , it would have been called a penalty”
Emil Heskey , Ex-England forward on BeIn sports Panel.
Should Iran have had a penalty against Argentina?
- YES
86%
- NO
14%
Iran vs. Argentina Reports & Analysis..and a bit of Maradona.
BBC.com Review
Lionel Messi curled a stunning 91st-minute winner to send Argentina through to the World Cup knockout stage and rob the excellent Iran of a deserved point.
Iran spent much of the first half under pressure but more than once threatened to inflict what would have been a huge upset.
Lionel Messi scores stunning goal in stoppage time
Argentina’s celebrations at the final whistle were wild and prolonged, while the sight of coach Alejandro Sabella embracing Messi at the tunnel gave an indication of what this meant to the two-time champions.
The build-up was dominated by talk of a rift between Messi and Sabella, the captain having expressed his displeasure at the 5-3-2 formation used in the first half againstBosnia-Hercegovina when Messi also scored the decisive goal.
Sabella duly reverted to the Barcelona forward’s preferred 4-3-3 and was rewarded by his star man at the last.
[box title=”KEY FACTS” style=”bubbles” box_color=”#eaee3d” title_color=”#00000″ radius=”5″] Key facts Argentina have won 11 and lost just one of their past 14 World Cup group games, scoring 27 goals and conceding just five in total in this run. Iran attempted just 130 passes against Argentina, the fewest made by a team in a World Cup match since 1966. Lionel Messi has now scored 40 goals for Argentina.[/box]
Iran looked devastated at the end but must take immense confidence from a performance that combined defensive resilience with attacking adventure – and from the knowledge they could still qualify.
Carlos Queiroz’s men actually created the first meaningful chance when Jala Hosseini headed wide from Ashkan Dejagah’s free-kick, although Argentina then assumed control.
Javier Mascherano and Fernando Gago provided a solid base for Angel Di Maria and full-backs Pablo Zabaleta and Marcos Rojo to support Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero.
Iran goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi displayed superb reflexes to foil Higuain and save one-handed from Aguero. Rojo then headed narrowly wide, Messi was off target with a free-kick and Ezequiel Garay nodded inches over the bar. The Iran fans celebrated every reprieve like a goal.
“Lionel Messi is the difference in so many games and he’s done it again. You know what he’s going to do, take a step and curl it, but there’s nothing the magnificent Iranians can do. It is just world class.”
Argentina were meeting a wall of resistance every time they attacked but Iran’s impressive defending ought to have been no surprise – they kept more clean sheets in qualifying than any team at the tournament. And when not thwarting the South Americans’ forwards, Queiroz’s team again came close to a goal of their own with another Hosseini header.
Iran’s preparations for the competition had been hampered by political sanctions that affected their funding and ability to organise friendlies, but they looked fully prepared and again came close to taking a shock lead through Reza Ghoochannejhad.
Masoud Shojaei surged forward and fed Pejman Montazeri to cross for the Charlton Athletic striker, who would have scored had his header been aimed anywhere other than straight at Argentine keeper Sergio Romero.
But the chance served to further bolster Iran’s self-belief and after Dejagah had a strong penalty claim rejected by referee Milorad Mazic, the Fulham man was thwarted by Romero’s fingertips as he met another Montazeri cross with a powerful header.
Messi worked hard to swing the momentum back in Argentina’s favour, slotting wide after a quick break and sending a free-kick into the side-netting, while Sabella introduced Rodrigo Palacio and Ezequiel Lavezzi in place of Aguero and Higuain as his side pushed hard for a winner.
Still chances came for Iran, however, Ghoochannejhad nearly stealing the win, only for Romero to make a diving stop – and that miss proved costly when captain Messi stepped up with a wonderful finish into the far corner to send Argentina through with a game to spare and keep them on course for a first World Cup since 1986.
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ESPNFC.com REVIEW
Team Melli looked excellent in defeat
Before the start of this World Cup not many Iran fans imagined that going into the third and final round of the group stage Iran would still have chance to fight for a spot in the Round of 16.
Yet, despite Saturday’s heartbreaking 1-0 defeat against Argentina, Team Melli still has a fair chance to go beyond the group stage in a World Cup tournament that has turned out to be anything but predictable.
Team Melli put up a valiant fight against a star studded Argentina in Belo Horizonte; however, a magical extra-time moment from the world’s best player rubbed them off what would have been the best result in the country’s footballing history.
Once the initial disappointment of this difficult defeat has passed, most Team Melli fans will come to recognize and appreciate their team’s inspired performance for what it was.
To put it in perspective consider these facts: the Argentina team that took the field against Team Melli included four of the best attacking players in the game today.
Of the four, Lionel Messi has the top total annual earnings of 64.7 million dollars, plus Sergio Aguero with 23.3 million dollars are respectively the second and fifth top earners in this World Cup according to Forbes magazine. That is more than triple the total annual budget of Iranian football federation.
Furthermore, Argentina’s squad included seven or more players who have won major trophies with top European clubs.
And finally, Iran came to this World Cup as one of the lowest ranked teams in the tournament while Argentina are one of the early favorites to go all the way.
Many football purists criticised coach Carlos Queiroz’s defensive approach against African champions Nigeria in the first match of Group F. However, today we saw a different side to his team. They did put numbers behind the ball for most of the first half, but in the second half they took advantage of a frustrated Argentina and created a few dangerous opportunities of their own.
Sergio Romero, the Argentina goalkeeper, was forced to make four saves during the match (as compared to eight by his Iranian counterpart), and one of them had to be a top class acrobatic fingertip save. Queiroz may not have the luxury of many big names on his roster, but he has somehow managed to drill a ton of self-belief in his players and extract every ounce of performance he possibly can out of them.
The boys, for their part, have played their hearts out in more than 180 minutes of football at the highest stage. Against Argentina every single Team Melli starter, including the three who were substituted out late in the game, ran over 9 kilometers. Lone striker Reza Ghoochannejhad ran over 11 kilometers as did 33 year old midfielder and captain Javad Nekounam. Midfielder Andranik Teymourian who ran over 10 km had a match high 48 sprints followed by Ghoochannejhad who had 44.
Unfortunately, from Team Melli’s perspective, the Bosnia-Herzegovina and Nigeria match ended with the worst possible result. The narrow 1-0 Nigerian victory means that Iran will not only have to win their final match against Bosnia, but also hope for a solid Argentine victory if they are to go through to the next round.
It is safe to assume that neither Argentina nor Nigeria will settle for a draw which would send both of them through at the expense of Iran, but who could blame them if they did exactly that?
It will be very interesting to see if Carlos Queiroz can manage to motivate his men for their last group match after such a deflating defeat. But regardless of what happens against Bosnia on June 25, it is a sure bet that the team will get a warm reception from the fans back home upon their return.
While the majority of Iranian football fans are purists who enjoy and appreciate free flowing and attacking football, they also recognize and value hard work and team effort even if it does not produce the beautiful football that they all love. Team Melli game to this tournament as overwhelming underdogs, but they have already outlasted two former world champions and given their fans another chance to dream of possibilities.
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Maradona’s a curse! El Diego leaves early… Lionel Messi scores Argentina winner v Iran!
Saturday, June 21st, 2014
After his disastrous reign as coach of Argentina at the last World Cup, the evidence suggesting Diego Maradona is now a jinx on the country he famously led to World Cup glory in 1986 is overwhelming!
Diego Maradona has made headlines across the globe after he was unable to get into Rio’s Maracana for Argentina’s opening match win over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
On Saturday in Belo Horizonte, Diego Maradona did make it into the stadium but to everyone in Argentina’s amusement… left early before Lionel Messi cracked home the beautiful winner against Iran.
As a result, the hashtag #Maradonamufa (‘Maradona’s a curse’) was trending on Twitter in Argentina after the 1-0 win over Iran.
And, La Nacion reports that Julio Grondona, president of the AFA, was celebrating in the Argentina dressing room, saying: “The jinx is gone, and we won.”
Maradona left his post as coach after the last World Cup with harsh words for Grondona, so it is no surprise the latter should celebrate in this manner.
A picture of Diego Maradona leaving early, before Lionel Messi scored against Iran, is above…
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WAR OF WORDS FOLLOWING JINX SLUR
Maradona gives “moron” Grondona the middle finger
DPA 06/22/2014
Diego Maradona came out all guns blazing in response to comments by the head of the Argentinian FA, Julio Grondona, suggesting that the legend had been bringing Argentina bad luck during the World Cup.
“The jinx left and we won”, Grondona was quoted as saying after the 1-0 victory over Iran at the Mineirão in Belo Horizonte, where Lionel Messi’s last-gasp wonder strike came once Maradona had left the stadium.
The Argentina legend wasted little time biting back at the AFA president. “So, someone said that the goal was scored because I left”, he noted, before referring to Grondona in person, calling him a “moron” and literally sticking his middle finger up to show just what he thought of the comments.
Maradona, who coached the ‘Albiceleste’ for their disappointing campaign at South Africa 2010, is currently working out of Rio de Janeiro as a World Cup pundit for Venezuela TV channel ‘Telesur’, for whom he presents a special show entitled ‘De Zurda’ in reference to his famous left foot.
Personal jibes
Maradona went even further in his riposte, labelling the AFA chief a stooge: “My message to Grondona is that I paid for the clothes on my back through hard work; he bought everything he has on thanks to his cronies at FIFA”.
Queiroz faults officials in loss
Near the start of the second half, Argentina’s Pablo Zabaleta mistimed a tackle and took down Iran’s Ashkan Dejagah in the penalty box, but Mazic let play continue despite protests from Dejagah.
“I’m proud and a little bit frustrated with the result. I hoped it would be different, but what can we do?” said Queiroz. “I have no complaints or excuses, only the frustration with a referee that nobody can understand in the world. How could he not give a clear penalty in front of 40 million people watching the game? It is very sad.”
Iran’s defence frustrated Argentina for much of the game, while their attack generated a number of legitimate chances in the second half. Dejagah had a header deflected over the crossbar by Sergio Romero at 67 minutes that was Iran’s best opportunity up to that point.
“The team played well. We defended very good. We tried to make it hard for Argentina and with a little bit of luck we could have won this game or a draw,” said Dejagah.
Before Messi’s game-winning goal in injury time, Iran’s Reza Ghoochannejhad had a breakaway chance on a through ball that Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero deflected away. Minutes later, Messi worked the ball to his left at the top of Iran’s penalty box and buried a shot to give Argentina a 1-0 victory.
“When Messi scored it felt terrible,” said Dejagah. “But this is what the best players do. They change games in one second.”
Now Iran will try to move on. A point against Argentina would have positioned them well to advance from Group F, but the team’s hopes are still alive after an opening-round draw with Nigeria.
“The most important thing now is to refresh and focus on the game,” said Queiroz. “We need to forget what happened here. We can still go through.”
Nigeria faces Bosnia-Herzegovina in their final match on June 25. They’ll need a win and some help from Argentina to advance. A full list of possible Group F outcomes is listed here.
Nigeria defeats Bosnia-Herzegovina
Peter Odemwingie scored the African champions Nigeria only goal to defeat Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0 at Arena Pantanal, Cuiaba, on Saturday, June 21.
The win gives Nigeria its 4th point in Group F and enhance its chances to qualify with Argentina.
Nigeria have their first World Cup win since 1994 and Bosnia are out of the World Cup. It was an unspired performance by the European debutante and whatever chances they created were wasted by Edin Dzeko. At the back Emir Spahic looked like he was playing football for the first time and Emmanuel Emenike’s dominance of the right flank led to the Nigerian goal.
Bosnia , however , had a legitimate goal scored by Edin Dzeko ruled offside by the referee to complete a miserable day for the referees errors in Group F of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Team Melli must defeat Bosnia on Wednesday to stand any chance of qualifying to the next round along with Argentina.
| TEAMS | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 ARGENTINA
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | |
 NIGERIA
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
 IRAN
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
Magnificent Messi strike breaks the hearts of Queiroz’s men
Argentina 1-0 Iran
A stunning strike from Lionel Messi snatched a 1-0 victory for Argentina against a spirited Iran side in Saturday’s World Cup clash in Belo Horizonte.
Few would have expected Argentina, viewed as one of the favourites to win the tournament, to be given too much of a test by a team that has never gone beyond the first round of a World Cup in three previous appearances.
However, Carlos Queiroz’s side, who had been criticised for their defensive style of play following their opening Group F goalless stalemate against Nigeria, produced another resolute display at Estadio Mineirao on Saturday to come within a few minutes of a highly creditable
draw.
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But, in injury time, it was Messi who stepped up when it mattered most, curling home brilliantly into the corner to give the South Americans a place in the last 16.
Meanwhile, Iran will head into their final group game with Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday reflecting on an opportunity missed, and knowing that only victory will be enough to extend their tournament.
Argentina unsurprisingly dictated the opening stages without creating any clear-cut opportunities against an Iran defence that displayed the same determination as against Nigeria.
Gonzalo Higuain was the first to test the Iran backline after 13 minutes, but goalkeeper Alireza Haghigi showed quick reactions to race out and block the Napoli striker’s effort after he had been played through by Fernando Gago.
Higuain was involved again as he linked up with Sergio Aguero inside the area, only to see the Manchester City man’s curling effort brilliantly kept out by a fine diving save from Haghigi.
Aguero then headed wide from a corner as Argentina’s dominance of play continued, yet Iran, with impressive commitment and organisation, did not have too much difficulty in keeping the South Americans at bay.
Iran’s ability to maintain parity also owed much to Argentina’s profligacy, which was demonstrated in the 35th minute when defender Ezequiel Garay headed a Messi free kick over the crossbar.
Queiroz’s men were able to fashion some first-half opportunities of their own, the best of which came after 41 minutes as centre-back Jalal Hosseini turned Ashkan Dejagah’s corner narrowly wide of the post.
Pablo Zabaleta went close from the edge of the area in the opening stages of the second half, but it was Iran who continued to look more threatening.
Indeed, they would have taken the lead in the 53rd minute had forward Reza Ghoochannejhad not directed his header straight at Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero following a fine break.
Iran felt they should have been awarded a penalty a minute later after Zabaleta appeared to bring down Dejagah, with replays suggesting that the South Americans had been given a let-off.
At the other end, Messi failed to find a finish after surging forward with an archetypal run from midfield and curling wide of the post.
With time running out, Romero was called into action to tip Dejagah’s header over and Iran had an even better chance when Ghoochannejhad was sent clear one-on-one but saw his somewhat tired finish parried.
But just as they looked set to celebrate their famous point, Messi struck.
The Barcelona man worked space on the edge of the area before opening his body to bend a shot into the corner, as Argentina’s class – and more accurately that of their captain – finally told.
A great injustice and a greater heart break
A last minute individual piece of brilliance by the greatest football player in the world , Lionel Messi has deprived Iran of a very deserved draw at least. Messi scored in the 90th minute after receiving the ball outside the box with only one player shadowing him from distance , Reza Ghoochannjad and Nekounam further few feet away. Messi , took his time adjusted and shifted sideways then curled a fantastic ball to the far right of Haghighi whose flight was not good enough to stop the ball hitting the net. One moment of defensive lapse against the best player that cost Team Melli dearly.
That was not the full the story. The Serbian referee blatantly , unjustifiably failed to observe a foul by Zabeletta on Ashkan Dejagah in the second half. fear and recrimination has lead this referee to ignore one very obvious penalty call.
Team Melli was unlucky no to score when a right cross from Pooladi found Ghoochannejad who headed straight at Romero in Argentina’s goal , the lose ball was cleared by Argentina defense.
The greatest save of the match and probably the World Cup so far came from a similar side when Heydari crossed for the fast advancing Dejagah , who headed delightful and powerful into the goal, but a magnificent fingertip save denied Iran a well deserved goal.
Then cam the heart break at the end.
The fans should be proud by Team Melli’s performance against one of the strongest teams in the world. It was the combination of injustice by a poor referee and one moment of magic by Messi that denied Iran. There were some unsavory scene at the end of the game when some bench Team Melli players protested against the referee.
Half Time : Argentina 0 -0 Iran
A brilliant organized defensive game plan by Team Melli deprived the powerful Argentine from scoring , with the first half ending in a goal less draw.
Argentina with their full artillery of Messi , Higuain , Di Maria and Aguero playing up front failed to penetrate the solid Iranian defense and on the few cases that they did , Alireza Haghighi was there to keep it clean.
If there is any disappointment in Team Melli’s performance , it was the woeful and easy loss of the ball whenever the team was attacking. Many easy balls went astray that should have been more accurately dealt with in the offense. Team Melli free kicks by Ashkan Dejagah was the most serious threats by Iran. Hosseini coming the closest of all the headers,
Half Time
Argentina 0 -0 Iran
Shojaei replaces Heydari against Argentina
The line up of Iran vs Argentina has just been announced,
The only change in Team Melli line up is Shojaei starting on the right flank instead of Heydari. Shojaei was a substitute against Nigeria,
On the other hand, Argentina is going with its full offensive force Messi , Higuain , Aguero and Di Maria will make the 4 forward players against Team Melli