In the Brazil Independence Cup tournament of Brazil, dubbed the mini world cup , Chile beat the Asian representative Iran 2-1 in Estádio do Arruda, Recife.
All the three goals were scored in the second half. Humberto Caszely , Chile’s top scorer scored both of his team goals , while Majeed Halvaei scored Iran’s consolation goal. Chile had most of the ball possession however; their finishing was marred by inaccuracies and some wild shots.
In the beginning minutes of the match, Chile had two golden opportunities to open the scoring; the first ball hit the bar and rebounded back while the second was brilliantly saved by Nasser Hejazi.
Hejazi was again put into a serious test near the end of the first half. A free kick by Fouilloux and later on Caszely’s shot just outside the box after he dribbled past two of his markers, created clear scoring opportunities. Hejazi once again showed his top class and deflected both those strikes to corners.
It did not take Chile long to score a goal after the halftime to compensate for their failed efforts in the first half. In the 48th minute, Alberto Foulioux cleverly dribbled past Mostafa Arab , Iran’s left back and crossed neatly for Humberto Caszely to slot the ball past the hapless Hejazi to make it 1-0 for Chile.
In the 77th minute Humberto Caszely scored again for Chile. Nasser Hejazi parried a shot from a Chilean substitute Rogelio FarÃas , the unmarked Humberto Caszely pounced on the rebound and sent the ball out of Hejazi’s reach to score Chile’s second.
Iran managed to cut down the Latin American’s team to the minimum when they scored in the 85th minute. It was a stunning goal by Majeed Halvaei who shot from just outside the box into the left top corner of the goal. Chile Goalkeeper Adolfo Neff, could do absolutely nothing against Halvaei’s brilliant strike.
Iran suddenly got a lifeline as both Mazloomi and Iranpak came so close to scoring but they ran out of time as the match ended 2-1 for Chile. |