Ben Fisher reports from Los Angeles on a pivotal World Cup match where Belgium and Iran fought fiercely to keep their respective campaigns alive. This outcome leaves Group G in a thrilling state, with all four teams still in contention for the knockout stage as the final day approaches.
“There was simply no debate over the moment of the match and it is one that Iran will cherish, even more so if they are to progress to the World Cup knockout stage for the first time. Every angle of Alireza Beiranvand’s preposterous save to prevent Belgium taking the lead approaching the hour adds to the miraculous nature of it all. Perhaps the most ludicrous element was that Beiranvand had seesawed to his left in an attempt to intercept Kevin De Bruyne’s rolled cross into the six-yard box and yet, scrambling on the turf, stuck out a left glove to shut the door in the face of Maxim De Cuyper. Belgium finished with 10 men after Nathan Ngoy was sent off for hauling down Mehdi Taremi.
If Iran advance to the last 32, they will surely reflect on Beiranvand’s divine intervention. De Bruyne glittered in moments, none more so than graciously bringing Leandro Trossard’s lifted pass down on the byline. Beiranvand made it his mission to reach De Bruyne’s pass before Romelu Lukaku, who by starting became the third-most capped Belgium player. In the end, Ali Nemati stopped the cross, legs splayed as Beiranvand thwarted De Cuyper. Iran believes. Meanwhile, Belgium, who went out at the group stage four years ago, are in a spot of bother.
Welcome to live coverage of the match between New Zealand and Egypt at Vancouver Stadium. The kickoff is set for 6 PM local time (9 PM EDT/2 AM BST/11 AM AEST).
In World Cup history, only Honduras has played more matches without a win than Egypt and New Zealand. Egypt has participated in eight matches, while New Zealand has played seven. Both teams narrowly missed their chances to secure victories in their opening games, with Egypt falling prey to Romelu Lukaku’s second-half introduction, while New Zealand managed to equalize twice against Iran.
New Zealand, currently ranked 85th in the world by FIFA, is the lowest-ranked team in the tournament. However, they showed promise in their first match, with Chris Wood performing admirably as a target man, using his physicality to help his team advance down the field. As underdogs in every match, coach Darren Bazeley aims to keep things simple.
In contrast, Egypt focused heavily on defense during their match with Belgium, employing double and triple marking strategies on Jeremy Doku to neutralize Belgium’s main threat. Tonight, they will need to shift their focus to offense if they wish to live up to their reputation, having won seven Africa Cup of Nations titles.
With the earlier Group G match ending in a draw, both teams understand that a victory tonight would yield historic significance.
I will return shortly with team news and a summary of today’s matchday events. Meanwhile, keep an eye on Cape Verde’s impressive tournament debut as they take on Uruguay, and feel free to send your thoughts about the World Cup to jonathan.howcroft.freelance@.
