Argentina 1-0 Iran: Messi leads Argentina to the next round.
On a day when Argentina's qualification for the round of 16 was unconvincing, only Lionel Messi's trademark finish was enough to make a difference in what was considered a heavily one-sided match between Argentina and Iran, the lowest-ranked team in Group F.
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| Messi's star quality was demonstrated at the right moment. |
GOAL:
Female:Messi (91')
Argentina still fielded their formidable attacking quartet of Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain, and Angel di Maria. However, Argentina's super-powerful attack was completely ineffective in the first half when faced with Iran's highly disciplined defense.
Iran replicated performances similar to New Zealand's at the 2010 World Cup. They had little hope of winning against their opponents. But don't expect them to easily accept defeat. After drawing with Nigeria in their opening match, the Iranian players were even more resilient when facing the star-studded team from Argentina. Despite Argentina having four times the possession and four times the number of passes in the first half, Iran's highly disciplined defense held firm for the first 45 minutes.
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In the second half, Argentina's attack remained ineffective against the Asian representatives. Iran even had a chance to open the scoring. In the 67th minute, Dejagah unleashed a powerful header. Unfortunately, goalkeeper Romero's fingertips denied Dejagah and Iran a chance to shock the opposition. Midway through the second half, coach Alejandro Sabella made substitutions for both of Argentina's attacking players. However, both substitutes, Lavezzi (replacing Aguero) and Palacio (replacing Higuain), were unable to get the ball.
Argentina's attack was stalled, and they nearly paid the price for Iran's counter-attacks. In the 86th minute, substitute Jahanbakhsh made a clever pass to Ghoochannejad, who unleashed a dangerous shot towards the left corner of Romero's goal. However, Romero's alertness prevented Argentina from conceding a shocking goal.
It seemed as though Argentina would have to settle for a disappointing draw with Iran. But at the most critical moment, and at the very last minute, Messi demonstrated his superstar class. In the 91st minute, receiving a pass from substitute Lavezzi, Messi unleashed a powerful left-footed shot from outside the penalty area. The ball was too difficult for Iran's goalkeeper Haghighi to save.
Messi's moment of genius was just enough to secure three valuable points for the Tango dancers. For now, Argentina has firmly consolidated its position at the top of Group F with a maximum of six points after two matches. However, the way Argentina earned those six points hasn't been entirely convincing to fans. Although Argentina has already secured their place in the Round of 16, the Albiceleste's attack still has many problems to solve ahead of the 2014 World Cup. In their final, purely formality match against Nigeria, Argentina likely still has a lot of work to do.
STARTING LINEUP
Female:Romero, Zabaleta, Garay, Fernandez, Rojo, Gago, Mascherano, Di Maria (Biglia 91'), Messi, Aguero (Lavezzi 77'), Higuain (Palacio 77').
Iran:Haghighi, Safi, Hosseini, Sadeghi, Nekounam (R.Haghighi 88'), Shojaei (Heydari 77'), Timotian, Montarezi, Ghoochannejad, Dejagah (Jahanbakhsh 85'), Pooldai.