Football World Cup: Belgium disappoints again at the World Cup: 0-0 against Iran

After an emergency stop by Nathan Ngoy (66th minute), Belgium played outnumbered for almost half an hour. Before the final duel with Egypt, Iran has a real chance of reaching the knockout phase for the first time at a World Cup.

The game started as expected: Belgium led by superstar Kevin De Bruyne immediately took control and brought the ball into Iran’s penalty area early on. Because Romelu Lukaku, who was called into the starting line-up, came too late and crashed into Iran’s goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, the goalscorer was already booked in the third minute to make it 1-1 against Egypt. Beiranvand was always there when he was needed. The 33-year-old kept the score 0-0 against Maxim De Cuyper (9th), Tielemans (22nd) and again De Cuyper (44th).

Iran’s anthem is booed again

Iran concentrated mainly on defending and had great difficulty keeping the ball in their own ranks for more than a few seconds. Most of the time, a technical impropriety when receiving or an inaccurate pass quickly brought Belgium back into possession of the ball. However: In front of an audience that loudly booed the Iranian anthem, as in the 2-2 draw against New Zealand, but then celebrated every successful move by Iran during the game, the Asians also came dangerously in front of the Belgian goal.

The Belgians often acted without ideas. The absence of Man City star Jeremy Doku due to illness had an impact on the Belgian side.

Courtois has to show all his skills

Thibaut Courtois had to show his class in the 14th minute when he turned Hossein Kanaanizadegan’s shot towards a corner. In the 25th minute, the Real Madrid goalkeeper even had to admit defeat. Iran took a flat free kick, Mehdi Taremi scored from the turn – but after minutes of review the goal did not count. Taremi’s butt was offside.

Belgium was warned, the many Iranian fans among the 70,317 spectators in the stands at the Los Angeles Stadium had reason to hope. Both the current Iranian flag and the older one from before the Islamic Revolution were on display again. The latter is seen as a symbol of the opposition, which has many supporters in the Southern California diaspora. As with Iran’s first game in the state-of-the-art arena, there was a cheerful atmosphere during the game.

In the 53rd minute, Taremi forced Belgium’s goalkeeper Courtois to make another brilliant save when he finished from eleven meters after a long throw-in in the penalty area. Belgium appeared to be out of ideas against the defensive Iranians, and their final attempts repeatedly failed due to an outstretched leg of an Iranian defender or goalkeeper Beiranvand – as in the 59th minute, when he was already lying on the ground, defusing De Cuyper’s follow-up shot and causing horror among all the Belgian supporters.

Red card after emergency brake undisputed

From the 66th minute onwards, Belgium played outnumbered. Ngoy stumbled on a back pass and knocked Taremi to the ground, who would otherwise have run towards Courtois alone. The Iranian fans’ jubilation over the red card was so great that the stands of the stadium shook.

However, the unexpected responsibility in possession of the ball presented Iran with a challenge. Even when they had the advantage, the team tried to get close to the Belgian goal through quick advances at every possible opportunity. In the 81st minute, Ezatolahi managed to get a long-range shot, which Courtois only saved in the follow-up.