Costa grabs lucky goal as relieved Spain edge Iran

REUTERS: A fortuitous second half goal by Diego Costa broke a Persian stonewall and lifted Spain to a 1-0 win over a courageous Iran in a nerve-jangling World Cup clash on Wednesday.

Costa claimed his third goal of the tournament in the 54th minute at Kazan Arena but the striker hardly knew about it, the ball deflecting off his knee from an attempted clearance by hapless Iran defender Ramin Rezaeian.

The result put Spain joint top of Group B with Iberian rivals Portugal on four points ahead of their last match against the already eliminated Morocco. 

Iran remain on three points and can reach the knockout rounds for the first time with victory over Portugal.

After a match played out to a deafening blare from vuvuzelas blown by a huge army of Iranian fans, Spain will feel relieved to have emerged with the points and content that they played the better football against Carlos Queiroz’s stingy side.

“We were not lying yesterday when we said in the press conference Iran is a tough team,” said Spain Coach Fernando Hierro, who replaced the sacked Julen Lopetegui only two days before their opening match against Portugal.

“It is very hard to score against them ... We are very happy with three points.”

Boasting Asia’s meanest defence, Queiroz’s well-drilled Iran were typically grudging, but they will again rue the lack of a clinical touch after a number of chances went begging.

They have yet to score a goal off their own boot this tournament and fans will have torn their hair out after Mehdi Taremi headed over the bar from six yards out in the 82nd minute.

Queiroz was nonetheless proud of his players, and said they would head into the Portugal decider with confidence.

“We go for it, with great belief and great determination to try to win the game,” the master tactician told reporters.

“When we arrived, no-one gave us a chance, but we still fight for our dreams.”

Hierro brought winger Lucas Vazquez into his starting side in place of midfielder Koke, seeking more dynamism to break down Iran’s wall.

But the Persians kept their shape superbly, restricting Spain to a handful of chances from David Silva in the first half.

It was not until the 25th minute that Spain had a shot on target, with Silva sending a free kick straight into the arms of keeper Ali Beiranvand.

Spain pushed hard after the break, with Sergio Busquets unleashing a searing long-range strike that forced Beiranvand into a brilliant double save.

From an unedifying grind, the game suddenly roared into life, and minutes later, Karim Ansarifard had latched onto a poor clearance and fired just wide of the left post.

The Iranian rally faltered when Silva found Costa in the area, and Rezaeian was desperately unlucky that his challenge ended pinging off the striker’s knee and into the net.

Queiroz’s side pushed hard for the equaliser and thought they had it when the recalled Saeid Ezatolahi struck from close range in the 63rd minute, latching onto a ball headed down.

But he was ruled off-side by the VAR, prompting howls of derision from white-clad Iranian fans.

Another chance came and went some 20 minutes later, when Vahid Amiri brilliantly nutmegged Gerard Pique and sent in a cross from the left to find Taremi in the box.

Taremi’s header sailed over harmlessly, however, leaving Spain to complete one of their tougher World Cup wins.

The dream goes on for Iran despite Spain defeat

REUTERS:Iran’s dream of reaching the knockout stage of the World Cup survived Wednesday’s loss to Spain and Coach Carlos Queiroz promised his team would give their absolute all to take their second chance against his native Portugal next week.

Queiroz said his players deserved huge credit for their battling performance after going down 1-0 to a freak Diego Costa goal and having a score of their own rubbed out after being reviewed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

“We were ready to suffer and ready to compete and ready to try our chances to win the game. Football is not like this but it is fair to say we deserved a better result,” said Queiroz.

“But this was our first match point, if we compare this to tennis, our second match point comes against Portugal. We’re still alive and dreaming.”

Iran had relied almost entirely on their steely defence to keep them in the match for the first 54 minutes and it was only after the ball had deflected off Costa’s knee and into the net that they took the game to the Spanish.

Queiroz had no complaints about the VAR decision which ruled out Saeid Ezatolahi’s strike for offside, preferring instead to rue that it had not been around at the 2010 World Cup when his Portugal were beaten by a contentious Spain goal. Iran’s opening victory over Morocco means they trail the two Iberian powers by a single point in Group B with all to play for against the European champions in Saransk next Monday.

 “We are not shy, we go for it, we are really determined,” Queiroz added. “We know it will be tough but we don’t come here expecting easy things. We only have one thing in mind.”

Iran went down narrowly to Argentina at the last World Cup with a similarly battling performance only, exhausted by their efforts, lost 3-1 to Bosnia and Herzegovina in their final group match.

For Iran to finally achieve their dream against Portugal, Queiroz thought, would be all the more remarkable given the gulf that has opened up between European countries and the rest of the football world.

“I think two years ago European football took off and they are far away from all the national teams,” he said.

“The other continents are struggling. The gap is just getting bigger and bigger.”