Category: World Cup 2014

How Iran Will Line Up Against Bosnia

Iran continue to prepare for their decisive clash with Bosnia tomorrow, fully aware that three points will likely take them to the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time in the nation’s history.

Confidence is high in the Iran camp after the impressive performance against Argentina last weekend, and a tough stretch of luck for Bosnia has left them only playing for pride in the final match.

By Bobak Abdolmohammadi, 
Featured Columnist Bleachers report

 

Forward/winger Ashkan Dejagah and striker Reza Ghoochannejhad will be relied upon to score for Iran, who are the only team to have failed to find the net so far.

Iran lined up in a 4-5-1 formation against Argentina as follows:

 Position  Name  #
 GK  Alireza Haghighi  12
 RB  Jalal Hosseini  4
 CB  Amirhossein Sadeghi  5
 CB  Pejman Montazeri  15
 LB  Mehrdad Pooladi  23
 CDM  Andranik Teymourian  14
 CDM  Javad Nekounam  6
 RW  Ashkan Dejagah  21
 LW  Ehsan Hajsafi  3
CAM  Masoud Shojaei  7
ST  Reza Ghoochannejhad  16

Here is how Iran will likely line up against Bosnia.

Goalkeeper

Alireza Haghighi will once again man the goalposts for Iran.

He was very solid and perhaps more confident after the Nigeria game and made a string of good saves against Argentina.

There was not much he could do against Lionel Messi’s world-class finish that gave Argentina the late, late victory.

Coach Carlos Queiroz has plenty of confidence in the Rubin Kazan-owned goalkeeper.

Defense

The defense is also unlikely to change much from the past two games, where Queiroz has started the same back four both times.

The defense has made a tournament-high 47 clearances out of 57 attempts, as per FIFA’s official statistics.

Right-back Hosseini, left-back Pooladi and center-backs Montazeri and Sadeghi played well against Argentina, very nearly keeping a clean sheet against one of the most talented front lines in the world.

Hosseini and Pooladi also played very well in a tracking sense, with Hosseini coming close on a first-half header and Pooladi bursting up the flank despite having to deal with Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain and Messi at differing times.

This group will remain the same against Bosnia’s potent attacking force, which will feature Edin Dzeko, Vedad Ibisevic, Zvjezdan Misimovic and Miralem Pjanic. 

 

Midfield

 
Sergei Grits/Associated Press 

Nekounam, as captain, and Teymourian are both automatic starters as the central midfield pair.

Hajsafi was also extremely impressive opposite the highly influential Dejagah. Both should continue to start as wingers given the attacking impetus and the general work-rate on offer.

Shojaei came in to start after coming on as a substitute in the Nigeria match. The former Osasuna star clearly has lost a step but remains a dangerous proposition when on the ball.

Despite his talent, he struggled to really impose himself on the game against Argentina.

Queiroz is likely to opt for a two-striker formation given that Iran absolutely must score to secure progression, leaving Shojaei as the odd man out.

 

 

Attack

 
Sergei Grits/Associated Press 

Ghoochannejhad has been one of Iran’s primary attacking outlets, coming close against both Nigeria and Argentina multiple times.

He remains an undisputed starter under Queiroz.

Iran must win this game to advance, and given their struggles scoring so far, Queiroz may go for a strike partner to pair with Ghoochannejhad.

One of Alireza Jahanbakhsh or Karim Ansarifard will likely get the nod.

It is also possible that Khosro Heydari makes an appearance as an attacking winger, but the most likely starter opposite “Gucci” would be Jahanbakhsh.

Queiroz is going for the kill. Jahanbakhsh a possible starter for Team Melli.

Salvador, Brazil.

News out of Team Melli camp indicates that Queiroz has temporarily shelved his conservative game-plan, and going for the kill against the Bosnians.  It is obvious that there is no other choice for Iran if they are looking forward to qualify. From Group “F’. Argentina also need to beat Nigeria to aid Iran’s case.  

With the poorest offensive data out of all the 32 teams and no goal scored, it will be a hard task for Team Melli to change the approach and the defensive plans that Queiroz has drilled into the team for  a long time. However, the option remaining is just one. A win and nothing but a win else, Iran meet  Bosnia-Herzgovina in the departure lounge of the airport on their way out of the World Cup.

The change that Queiroz is contemplating would probably see the introduction of another offensive player alongside Ghoochannejad and Dejagah and most probably it will be the young Alireza Jahanbakhsh. Masoud Sojaei who started the match against Argentine , did not deliver , registering a low performance data in the FIFA index.

Despite Jahanbakhsh brief minutes against Argentina, the tenacious young  NEC player managed one beautiful run to beat the Javier Mascherano  on the flank in a show of skill. Jahanbakhsh’s pace, powers combined with athleticism, will positively help the team up front.

Our bet is on Jahanbakhsh to start the match with Ansarifard as a second but a remote possibility to start alongside Gucci.

It will be interesting to see who is on the starting line up but whatever it is , it is not going to be the same as the last two matches. Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador will see a different Team Melli. 

Bosnia & Herzegovina vs Iran – Match Preview

By 

Jun-24-2014

Onazi Ghoochannejhad Nigeria Iran Action Images John Sibley
Photo by Action Images/John Sibley

Match: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Iran

Date and Time: Wednesday 26 June 13:00 Local Time, 18:00 GMT, 20:30 Tehran Time

Location: Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador

 

Match Projection:

Bosnia-Iran-Match-Forecasts

Match Preview:

Prior to the commencement of the World Cup, this fixture was earmarked as a potential round of 16 decider with one of these nations requiring Argentina to defeat Nigeria to aid the progression of the other. The expectancy was that Bosnia and Herzegovina would be the nation on the brink of the World Cup knockout stage with Iran heading home; however this is not the case.

Bosnia and Herzegovina can feel aggrieved at this point regarding its early World Cup exit given the performance of the officials during its defeat against Nigeria – so things could have been very different had Edin Dzeko’s first have goal had not been wrongly disallowed for offside. That said, Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama and some poor finishing also contributed to Bosnia’s defeat and elimination.

The question is how Safet Susic approaches this match. Will he revert to the 4-1-3-2 that worked so well during qualification or continue to use the 4-2-3-1 with a more defensive approach? Will he play other members of his squad now that Bosnia have been eliminated? In either scenario, it could mean that Vedad Ibisevic starts for Bosnia, scorer of Bosnia’s only goal of the competition so far. However, the early exit does not mean that players have not impressed; Miralem Pjanic, who is expected to be fit after missing training on Monday, has been the creative influence in the side with 10 shot assists – with everything going through the Roma midfielder – while Muhamed Besic has been a workhorse in the midfield, covering 23.5 km between the two matches while leading the side in passes (65.0 per 90), passing accuracy (91.5%), interceptions (6) as well as providing 2 shot assists.

The story here, however, is Iran’s potential progression to the World Cup knockout stage. While a 1-0 win may well be enough, it does need Argentina to beat Nigeria – and if both matches end up with 1-0 score lines in Iran’s favour it will come down to drawing lots for the first time in the History of the World Cup (and some people claim that penalties are a lottery!).

Iran were moments away from creating one of the shocks of this World Cup and having a wider margin for error entering this contest in the process; however Lionel Messi’s incredible late winner has resulted in Carlos Queiroz’s side requiring the Iran win/Nigeria lose combination of results in order to progress. However, for a national team that failed to play a single game for 119 days following its qualification due to sanctions placed against the nation at a political level, the fact that it enters its final group stage match with a chance of qualifying for the round of 16 is an achievement in itself.

Like Nigeria and Argentina before them, Bosnia and Herzegovina are going to find it tough to break through Queiroz’s hard-working, well-disciplined side set up with men behind the ball in a 4-2-3-1 formation that is more like a 4-5-1. The two defensive midfielders, Andranik Teymourian and Javad Nekounam embody its hard-working nature, covering distances of 21.9 km and 21.8 km respectively as the Iranians spend a lot of time without possession – averaging just 27.4% over its first two matches, the lowest average possession in the World Cup so far. Teymourian and Nekounam are the only players in the Iranian squad to have surpassed 40 pass attempts between the first two matches – with all but four players attempting less than 30.

Still, Iran probably had the best opportunities to score against both Nigeria and Argentina, as well as looking more likely to score during an impressive second half against the South American nation before Messi’s moment of brilliance. While Iran had one good chance against Nigeria – a Reza Ghoochanneijhad header from an Ashkan Dejagah corner – both players had strong opportunities against Argentina as Iran had a number of opportunities in the central zone of the box:

Iran Shots

Ghoochanneijhad and Dejagah are Iran’s main attacking threats but Queiroz may field a more attacking line-up against Bosnia. The Charlton striker embodies Iran’s hard-working nature (21.4 km covered so far) while attempting a team-leading seven shots, but the creative force in the side is Dejagah (five shot assists as 17.9% of his passes have created opportunities). If Iran are going to score at this World Cup, one of these two players will be involved regardless of who else joins them in the Iranian attack – and potentially both. Queiroz knows that his side’s finishing will need to improve.

”My major concern is to keep players focused,” Queiroz told reporters. ”And, they’ll need to convert those chances.”

Bosnia and Herzegovina are the favourites according to the BSports Match Analysis tool, which really is unsurprising given the players available to Safet Susic – so Iran will continue in its underdog role in a match in which it can qualify for the World Cup round of 16.

Bosnia and Herzegovina Injuries & Suspensions: Miralem Pjanic (Probable)

Iran Injuries & Suspensions: None

Other Match Analysis Forecasts:

Dejagah: Iran will be going for goals

Dejagah: Iran will be going for goals
© Getty Images

FIFA.com
 

There are two sides to any successful team and, for 181 minutes at Brazil 2014, Iran have been near-flawless in one. Certainly, few defences at this FIFA World Cup™ have been as disciplined or well-drilled as Carlos Queiroz’s, and it took a goal out of nothing – a moment of pure Lionel Messi inspiration – for all their diligence to be undone.

That flash of Messi magic denied the Iranians a second successive clean sheet, and according to Ashkan Dejagah, there is an inevitability to their campaign having been built on such foundations. As he told FIFA.com: ” We don’t have players like Messi, [Sergio] Aguero and [Angel] Di Maria, so we need to focus on making ourselves as well-organised as possible The shape of the team, making sure we’re tough to get through defensively, is something that has been very important for the coach in the build-up to this tournament.

“He’s spent a lot of time on the training field making sure that we have that we’re compact and ready to take on the best teams in the world. Neither Nigeria nor Argentina had many chances against us and, realistically, that’s the only way we can go about things. If we played a really open game against players like Messi, they would have killed us.”

He’s spent a lot of time on the training field making sure that we have that we’re compact and ready to take on the best teams in the world.

Iran’s Ashkan Dejagah on coach Carlos Queiroz

Opening up and going on the offensive has, though – thanks to Argentina’s No. 10 – gone from being a dangerous option to being Iran’s only option. Anything but victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina will, after all, dash any lingering hopes of reaching the last 16, which makes finding a way to goal the key challenge.

“The fact we’ve not scored yet is something we need to put right,” acknowledged Dejagah. “I think we were really unlucky against Argentina though. We had a lot of chances and it was one of those games where everyone in the team did their job and played well. It’s hard when you lose a game like that, although you have to stand back and give credit to Messi. It’s times like those, when games are really tight, that the great players show how important they are. But we can still take positives and be proud of our performance.

“I actually thought I’d scored in the game against Argentina – that header I had, I thought it was in for sure. But again, you have to applaud their keeper for a really fantastic save. I think a goal will come for us though. We definitely have players who can score and I think we were more dangerous in our second game compared to our first.

“Hopefully this third match will bring another step up. We’ll definitely be going for goals and we still have a chance to go through, I’m sure of that. What we need to do is take the good things we’ve done so far, improve a little bit in other areas and give everything to beat Bosnia. If we do that – and I think it’s a game we can win – we can still qualify.”

Having come up against most of his upcoming opponents either in the Bundesliga or the English Premier League, Dejagah knows better than most that the debutants boast plenty of individual talent. However, the 27-year-old Fulham midfielder – who represented Germany at youth level before declaring for Iran – is relishing his first experience of the World Cup, and has no desire to join the Bosnians in heading for home.

He said: “Being at this World Cup has the highlight of my career, for sure. Every footballer wants to play at this tournament and, here in Brazil, with the atmosphere, it’s even more special. I’m really enjoying it. And, believe me, I really want to make sure we stay here for as long as possible.

Has Queiroz changed his mind?

The camp of Team Melli at  Corinthians , Sao Paulo , witnessed a strange turn of events. Carlos  Queiroz , talking to Iranian journalists said that some people in Iran have been against his continuation with Team Melli job, and when he returns home , meaning Iran , he will expose them to the public !

Meanwhile , Kaffashian in the same venue , said that Queiroz has two main demands to continue with Team Melli , provision of equipment for Team Melli training , and increase in his pay package.  “If the government is ready to support us financially , as promised ,  then we will have the right conditions for Queiroz to continue with Team Melli. Of course we want to re-sign him for three additional years rather than six month.” Kaffashian said today.

Between the cryptic statement of Queiroz and Kaffashian’s umpteen times call for a government handout, it seems that the Portuguese coach had a change of heart. Only a few days ago, it was the same Queiroz who told a Portuguese reporter in an interview, that his relations with Iran will come to an end by the conclusion of the World Cup. Queiroz also confirmed that he is close to signing a agreement with yet to be named African country to take over the job of managing their national team. The only clue he gave to the Portuguese reporter is that this African team has many players in European leagues. The Iranian media misinterpreted the African team and reported that Queiroz is signing with South Africa, which Queiroz again denied today.

In hindsight, it appears that what is publicly announced is quite different to reality and what goes on behind the closed doors. There must be some kind of negotiation going on between Kaffashian and Queiroz , despite the denial by the Portuguese coach. It seems that as a result of the two matches already played in the World Cup, a sudden euphoria of emotions has been generated in Iran. It is a game changer with the situation dramatically turning towards Queiroz who, in turn, is holding the federation at ransom now. The talk of providing extra equipment is simply a farce and nothing but a cover for the most important condition of Queiroz and that is a hefty pay rise that Kaffashian has repeatedly said that FFIRI cannot afford to pay.

It is anyone’s guess what is going on with Queiroz and his job as head coach of Team Melli. Our guess is that a lot will depend on the outcome of Wednesday’s match against Bosnia. A win for Team Melli will make him a national hero and create an unprecedented joy and emotion with demands for Queiroz to stay on whatever it takes. The government PR machine , realizing the importance of football among the masses , and already committed to financing Team Melli , will surely oblige.

It will be interesting few days. Guessing what will happen to Queiroz is as risky as betting on the FIFA 2014 World Cup. 

The field of play is certainly not level.

 

 

 

 

Iran files an official complaint against the Serb Referee

Sao Paulo , Brazil.

The secretary General of Iranian football federation, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi announced today that his federation has filed an official complaint against the Serbian referee Milorad Mazic , the official of Iran’s match against Argentina.

The content of the official complaint denotes the referee’s dubious calls against Iran and the non-awarding of a penalty in the second half.

The two pages letter of complaints to FIFA and World Cup Organizing Committee was shown to the media at Team Melli camp in Sao Paulo. Mohammad Nabi , who is also acting as Team Melli Manager , expressed his satisfaction with all other aspects of the World Cup hosting, including Corinthians Club Training facilities and the hospitality of the Brazilian people.

Mohammad Nabi spoke at length about his team efforts to reach Brazil and the hardships encountered, and advised the referees committee to appoint referees of the highest standards who can ensure fairness and apply the law of the game properly in matches. None of those demands will receive much interest or sympathy with FIFA as almost all the complaints against referees end up under the table in a location called ‘waste bin’ however a standard template response of FIFA investigating the claims and finding nothing wrong with the referees decision making, will be sent to the complainant

Iran has to beat Bosnia-Herzegovina to stand any chance of qualifying , provided Argentina defeats Nigeria in the other match of Group ‘F’.

This-is-the-person-accountable

Milorad Mazic leaves the field unperturbed after hearing and earful from Beikzadeh , Ansarifard and  Oceano Da Cruz.

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?

Metro.co.uk

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.

Argentina's Lionel Messi
 

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.”

Neil LennonFormer Celtic manager on BBC Radio 5 live

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.

It was a laboured effort, but Lionel Messi and Argentina overcame Iran to advance to the second round.
Lionel Messi sidesteps two Iranian defenders. He would go on to score the game-winning goal for Argentina in their Group F clash.

 

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.

[divider]

Maradona’s a curse! El Diego leaves early… Lionel Messi scores Argentina winner v Iran!

Saturday, June 21st, 2014

 

maradona argentina efe2 Maradonas a curse! El Diego leaves early... Lionel Messi scores Argentina winner v Iran!

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…

[divider]

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”.

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