In spite of Iran’s disciplined defending for most of the game, Spain managed to grab three points and win 1-0, thanks to Diego Costa‘s goal on Wednesday.
Carlos Queiroz’s men battled hard against World Cup favourites Spain in their second game of the tournament, but were perhaps unlucky not to have salvaged at least a draw.
Here, we take a look at player ratings for Iran, who gave a tough fight to the 2010 winners but still ended up on the losing side.
Alireza Beiranvand – 6: Safe handling except for a patchy stop from Busquets, and had no chance with the lucky only goal.
Ramin Rezaeian – 7: Showed plenty of energy up and down the right flank and made a remarkable goalmouth block to deny Ramos.
Morteza Pouraliganji – 7: Strong in the air and made an outstanding block from Silva’s shot. Excellent rearguard effort under constant pressure.
Jalal Hosseini – 7: Stood up manfully to the physical challenge provided by Costa and made several timely clearances inside the box.
Ehsan Hajsafi – 6: Made a couple of good runs down the left and competed with determination before being forced off with injury.
Mehdi Taremi – 5: Sent a header narrowly wide after an hour and wasted his team’s best chance with another header over the top ten minutes from time.
Omid Ebrahimi – 6: A workhorse in midfield, covering lots of ground and playing with discipline to close down Spain’s creators.
Saeid Ezatolahi – 8: Did a fabulous job blocking passing lanes on the edge of the box. Nearly a hero but his goal was rightly disallowed for offside.
Vahid Amiri – 6: The most attacking presence in Iran’s midfield, showing plenty of attacking intent with well-timed runs to support Azmoun.
Karim Ansarifard – 6: Dragged a hopeful long-range shot wide and blasted a decent chance into the side-netting early in the second half.
Sardar Azmoun – 6: Battled on his own up front, showing willingness to chase lost causes and causing problems for Pique with his aerial strength.
SUBSTITUTES
Milad Mohammadi – 6: Worked hard after coming on and produced a bizarre moment with an aborted somersault throw-in.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh – 5: Replaced Ansarifard on the left flank as Iran chased an equaliser, but couldn’t get involved.
Saman Ghoddos – 6: Barely had a touch as a late sub.
