FIFA World Cup:
‘Written in history’: Iran coach Qalenoei hails hard-fought point against Belgium
Iran head coach Amir Qalenoei was full of praise for his players after Team Melli produced a resilient performance to hold Belgium to a goalless stalemate at the FIFA World Cup in Los Angeles on Sunday.
The result took both sides’ tally to two points in Group G, keeping Iran well in contention for a maiden knockout-stage spot at the global showpiece ahead of Friday’s game against Egypt. The African side came from behind to beat New Zealand 3-1 later on Sunday to move atop the group standings with four points.
Alireza Beiranvand delivered a goalkeeping masterclass to spearhead a solid display by Iran, who lined up with an unprecedented five-man backline. The pinnacle of his man-of-the-match performance came in the 58th minute, when he pulled off a heroic save to keep out Maxim de Cuyper’s close-range effort, which is already being tipped as one of the saves of the tournament.
Iranian center-back Shoja Khalilzadeh, who was on the receiving end of severe criticism after a shaky performance in the 2-2 draw against New Zealand, also deserves credit for his composed display, which was reflected in the Opta statistics after the game.
Despite dominating possession throughout the match, Belgium was fortunate not to fall behind in the 25th minute after Iranian striker Mahdi Taremi converted an inventive, well-worked set piece, only for VAR to rule that he had been in an offside position before finding the net.
The Belgians also had Thibaut Courtois to thank for keeping them level, as the Real Madrid goalkeeper denied Hossein Kan’anizadegan and Taremi in either half.
The pivotal moment of the contest at SoFi Stadium came in the 66th minute, when Belgian defender Nathan Ngoy was sent off for denying Taremi a clear goalscoring opportunity. Iran enjoyed more possession thereafter and found the courage to push forward, with Qalenoei making a couple of attacking substitutions in pursuit of what would have been a dramatic victory.
The game still finished goalless as Iran avoided defeat in back-to-back World Cup matches for the first time in the history of the tournament, while the European Red Devils – ranked 10th in the FIFA rankings – were left frustrated by another draw.
‘Great achievement’
Qalenoei believes Iran’s unbeaten start will be talked about for years to come, having arrived at the tournament after a politically charged build-up that was hampered by extraordinary circumstances.
Iran’s World Cup participation was in doubt because of the country’s war with co-hosts United States, while the team had several pre-tournament friendlies cancelled by prospective opponents.
“I want to go back six months,” the Iranian said after the game. “We were in war conditions for six months; we didn’t have our league operating.
“Many teams cancelled the games they would play against us. We came to the World Cup in the worst conditions possible.”
Iranian players have continued to face disruption at the World Cup. They are based in Mexico and, for their games on U.S. soil, must fly in a day before each match and leave on the same day because of visa restrictions.
A win against Egypt would see Iran reach the knockout stage, while even a draw could be enough to progress as one of the best third-placed teams. However, Qalenoei says his players have already achieved something remarkable given the circumstances.
“The players who came to this World Cup in this condition need to be congratulated,” he added.
“We had the opportunity to win [against Belgium], but I think this is a great achievement.
“We have played two World Cup matches under these conditions – we had less than 16 hours to train before the game.
“This will be written in the history of our football and future generations will talk about what we have achieved.”
Qalenoei was also grateful to “all the Iranians, with different attitudes regarding politics, who supported us and gave us energy.”
The Iranian head coach, however, was disappointed by the limited impact of his substitutions after Belgium went down to 10 men, although he acknowledged that Iran was “lucky not to lose” against such strong opposition.
“I don’t think any team in the world could have coped with such conditions and played like this – the conditions have been extremely hard for us,” he said.
“Our players are really giving everything; they are playing with their hearts,” added Qalenoei, who also reserved special praise for Beiranvand for keeping Iran in the contest.
“Tomorrow we need to focus on the game with Egypt. Egypt are a very strong team and have very good players. Our first and foremost aim is to reach the next round,” said the manager.
Beiranvand, meanwhile, said the result was down to the teamwork shown by the entire squad and coaching staff.
“The game was very tough. After all, the Belgian team is one of the best in the world. They put incredible pressure on us, especially in the first half.
“After the red card, Belgium sat back a bit more. They were looking to intercept a pass from us and capitalize on our mistakes through counterattacks. We could have won the game if we had been more focused, but hats off to all the players who played today. They played with their hearts.”
Iranian midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who earned his 100th international cap after coming on as a halftime substitute, also paid tribute to the team’s “spirit” and “amazing performance.”
He said the team would draw upon the experience of narrowly missing out on progression at the last World Cup, when they were eliminated following a 1-0 defeat to the United States.
“Last World Cup, we tried to do our best, but at the very last minute, we couldn’t do it,” he said.
“But now I think the most important thing is that we recover well and make sure we are ready for the next game.”