Some further reading …
Match report: Morocco 0-1 Iran
Nick Miller is at the St Petersburg Stadium for the Guardian and was no doubt effing and jeffing to beat the band when Iran bagged their late, late winner. Here’s his on-the-whistle report.
So, heartbreak for Morocco. It’s difficult not to imagine that with games to come against Portugal and then Spain, their World Cup is already over. While Aziz Bouhaddouz will be feeling very sorry for himself after scoring that own goal, he’s entitled to wonder what on earth his fellow substitute Sofyan Amrabat was doing giving away such a daft free-kick in that position so late in the game.
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Player ratings: If you’re reading this report you probably didn’t see the match, but don’t let that stop you getting your player ratings in tout suite.
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Full-time: Morocco 0-1 Iran
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeep! It’s all over and ... somehow, Iran have won their first World Cup match since 1998. Their winner came deep into added time and was a gift. Under no pressure of any kind, Morocco substitute Aziz Bouhaddouz put an unstoppable near post header past his own goalkeeper while attempting to defend a free-kick that was needlessly given away by another substitute, Nordin Amrabat.
Morocco gifted Iran that winner long after their opponents had shut up shop and clearly settled for the draw. Both sides will be sitting in their dressing rooms in a state of shocked disbelief; Morocco wondering how they lost a game they dominated for long periods and Iran wondering how they won a game in which they were dominated for long periods.
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90+5min: The substitute Bouhaddouz scores past his own goalkeeper with a near post header as he attempts to defend the free-kick taken by Ehsan Hajsafi. That is a horror show! The ball was crossed, there was nobody in an Iran shirt near him and for reasons best known to himself, he sends a bullet header past his own goalkeeper.
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GOAL! Morocco 0-1 Iran
Unbelievable, Jeff! Iran score in the knockings! It’s an own-goal!!!
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90+3min: Amrabat 2.0 concedes a free-kick in a dangerous position on the left, between the left side of the penalty area and the touchline.
90+2 min: There’s a bit of a skirmish on the touchline, where Herve Renard and Carlos Queiroz get in a bit of a set-to. Renard’s coaching staff drag him away from the Iran manager, he calms down and offers Quiroz a handshake ... which is accepted. Meanwhile back on the pitch, Iran’s Karim Ansarifard’ has been booked for something or other.
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90 min: There’ll be six minutes of added time. Iran have clearly settled for the draw in the hope they can beat Portugal or Spain, but Morocco are still trying to win this one.
86 min: It’s been a game of two halves in St Petersburg, where the second has been quite flat. A series of injuries and substitutions punctuating the play hasn’t helped, but there seems a distinct lack of urgency from two teams who now seem more interested in not losing the match than they are in winning it. It’s understandable, but ultimately a draw is unlikely to be much use to either side.
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83 min: Alireza Jahanbakhsh off on a stretcher with cramp, Saman Ghoddos on.
82 min: Morocco substitution: West Ham old boy Manuel Da Costa comes on for Amine Harit. There’s another break in play as Iran’s Jahanbakhsh goes down with cramp.
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79 min: Hakim Ziyech goes close for Morocco with a sweet strike from 20 yards that forces a very good save from Alirez Berianvend, who puts the ball out for a corner. That’s a great save.
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76 min: Morocco substitution: Sofyan Amrabat comes on to replace his brother Nordin. Elsewhere in the Morocco ranks, striker Ayoub Kaabi is replaced by Aziz Bouhaddouz.
74 min: Bad news for Morocco, as Amrabat is caught by an accidental shoulder from Hajsafi and wallops his head off the ground. He looks very dazed and confused but is anxious to come back on. Thankfully, Morocco’s medical staff opt to take him off despite his protestations.
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71 min: A truly momentous occasion in this World Cup, as I get my first accusation of bias from a reader for ... describing what’s happening in a football match. “It’s astonishing how bias your reporting toward Iran is!” writes Aarta Alkarimi, who I suspect may actually think I am being biased against Iran. “You can’t even hide it.” It is true that I am fabled for my anti-Iran bias. And now I’ve been rumbled.
69 min: For Iran, Jahanbakhsh gets down the inside left but his attempted cross is put out for a corner. Again, the delivery is poor and another decent attacking opportunity goes to waste.
66 min: Iran substitution: On a yellow card, their skipper Masoud Shojaei goes off. He’s replaced by Mehdi Tarem. He comes on as his team wait to take a free-kick from deep, which is duly wasted when the ball is larruped high and wide.
63 min: Shepherding the ball out of play near the corner flag, Iran’s Ehsan Hajsafi is challenged from behind by Hakim Ziyech. Hajsafi goes to ground with a roar of pain so loud it can be heard over the din of horns and vuvuzelas. It’s quite the over-reaction from a nothing challenge and Ziyech turns to the ref with a look of bafflement on his face and shrugs his shoulders ostentatiously.
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61 min: From a Morocco corner, Iran attack on the break with Alireza Jahanbakhsh on the ball and two men up in support. Morocco get back in numbers at high speed to snuff out the danger.
60 min: Little in the way of chances being created in this second half, in a match that remains – not so much on a knife-edge, as hanging in a Dali-esque fashion over the back of a spoon. The first half was a lot more entertaining, but the players seem to be getting more tense the longer it goes on. A goal would spice things up nicely.
56 min: Throw-in for Morocco, deep in Iran territory. From that, Iran win a throw-in of their own and lump the ball forward. Remember, with Spain and Portugal in this group, a draw almost certainly won’t be much use to either of these sides here.
55 min: There’s a break in play as Iran’s Omid Ebrahimi receives treatment for a rib injury.
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53 min: More good play from Iran, who enjoy a rare period of sustained possession. They lose the ball, however, and it’s Morocco’s turn to attack on the break. Their attack breaks down when Hakim Ziyech is harshly penalised for a handball he couldn’t possibly avoid.
50 min: Another promising counter-attack from Iran, who advance up the field with a four-on-four. It comes to naught on the back of a poor final pass.
48 min: Another chance squandered by Morocco, as Amine Harit completely miscues a volley at the far post after being teed up by an excellent cross from Amrabat, who has been excellent for Morocco on that right flank.
47 min: Iran’s Alrireza Jahanbakhsh picks up a needless booking for stamping on the instep of Hakim Ziyech.
Second half: Morocco 0-0 Iran
46 min: Play is back under way at the St Petersburg spaceship. Morocco immediately go on the attack, but Amrabat cuts in from the right and sends in a wayward cross with way too much welly on it.
Footballers, eh? All about bling and fast cars and fancy clothes. Well, Iran’s goalkeeper is quite the exception.
45 min: We’re into added time of what has been a thoroughly entertaining 45 minutes of football, despite the paucity of goals thus far. It’s been really enjoyable. Having been on the back foot from the get-go, Iran have gradually found their feet and this has evolved from what looked a certain Morocco win, to a very hard game to call.
44 min: For Iran, Sardar Azman is played in behind by a nicely weighted through-ball from Jahanbakhsh and finds himself one-on-one with Muniz in the Morocco goal. He gets down and spreads himself and saves with an outstretched foot. That was a fantastic chance for Iran, who have grown into this game and are looking potentially lethal on the counter-attack.
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42 min: It’s worth noting that this match is being played to the soundtrack of a cacophony of horns above what sounds suspiciously like the low, irritating drone of thousands vuvuzelas.
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38 min: From the left touchline, Moroccan winger Hakim Ziyech tries to pick out Ayoub El Kaabi with a wafting cross. It’s a perfect height for the Morocco frontman, but a mite too far in front of him and he fails to make contact despite stretching every sinew. Could he have made more of an effort to fling himself at the ball, there? I thought so.
34 min: From the ensuing free-kick, Alireza Jahanbakhsh shoots high over the bar from almost 40 yards. That was an optimistic effort.
34 min: Medhi Benatia loses the ball high up the field and with Iran on the break, Karim El Ahmedi is left with little choice but to clip the heels of Sardar Azmoun. Yellow card.
32 min: Free-kick for Iran, wide on the right. Mortez Pouraliganji floats the ball into the box, where it’s Rouzbeh Cheshmi hooks it over the bar.
30 min: Amine Harit picks up the ball on the edge of the Iran penalty area and drifts past two defenders before unleashing a shot. It’s a weak effort that doesn’t trouble Alireza Berianvend. He should have done better, truth be told.
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28 min: Romain Saiss wins a free-kick for Morocco just inside his own half after getting bundled over by Karim Ansarifard.
26 min: More pressure from Morocco, which leads to Iran central defender Rouzbeh Cheshmi having to get in front of a 35-piledriver from Younes Belhanda and block. I reckon that stung.
23 min: Getting caught on the break is something Morocco need to look out for, as their full-backs Hakimi and Amrabat are playing in ridiculously advanced positions, leaving centre-backs Medhi Benatia and Romain Saiss as a back two.
I think Wolves fans will be more used to seeing Saiss playing in midfield, but he’s used as a centre-back while playing for the national team.
21 min: Having been totally dominated for the opening quarter, Iran go close to taking the lead. Attacking on the break in a two-on-two, Karim Ansarifard’s attemot to pick out the man up in support is deflected out for a corner, from which nothing comes.
18 min: Morocco have three or four shots in quick succession blocked in and around the six yard box after another long diagonal is headed back into the penalty area from the byline. Medhi Benatia has the pick of the shots, but his effort is saved by Alireza Berianvend and an unseemly – but always welcome – goalmouth scramble ends when the ball is hacked clear by Iran.
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17 min: “Yeah, but this is all well and good, but is Morocco manager Herve Renard wearing one of his trademark pristine, out-of-the-wrapper fresh white shirts?” you ask. I can confirm that he is.
15 min: For Morocco, Amrabat crosses from the wide right in an attempt to pick out Mbark Boussoufa at the far post. Iran right-back Ramin Rezaeian is on hand to get a vital touch.
13 min: Morocco continue to dominate and seem to have acres of room in which to operate. It’s almost as if Iran don’t have a full complement of 11 players out on the pitch. They seem outnumbered.
10 min: Iran’s Masoud Shojaei gets booked for raking his studs down the shin of Mbark Boussoufa. He’s an interesting character, the AEK Athens midfielder - he was exiled from the Iran team until quite recently, as he was considered a troublemaker. He once played against an Israeli side with his club and repeatedly agitated to have women allowed into Iranian football stadiums, so his mum and sisters could come and watch him play.
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8 min: Morocco play the ball over the Iranian defence and a backpedalling defender can only head the ball as far as Ayoub El Kaabi on the edge of the area. He shoots high and wide. Morocco are running amok here - they could be three up already and Iran don’t seem to know what’s hit them. They can’t get the ball out of their own half.
6 min: There’s a break in play as Morocco’s Amine Harit goes down under a bad two-footed challenge from Omid Ebrahimi. The Iranian midfielder is lucky to escape a booking ... or worse.
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4 min: Morocco have already taken control of this match with less than five minutes on the clock - they look in danger of completely overwhelming Iran.
3 min: Morocco win an early corner, which Younes Belhanda takes. It’s a training ground move and he rolls the ball towards the edge of the penalty area, where Hakim Ziyech is in acres of space. With the goal at his mercy, he hits an air-shot and falls over. That was a fantastic opportunity!!!
2 min: For Morocco, Medhi Benatia plays a long diagonal towards to the corner flag in a move that leads to a half-chance from the edge of the penalty area for Amine Harit. He doesn’t quite connect with his snap-shot and fires the ball wide.
Morocco v Iran is go ...
1 min: Morocco kick off,, their players wearing red shirts, green shorts and red socks. Iran’s players wear white shirts, white shorts and white socks. I can also confirm that Iran’s players are all wearing boots, although in the wake of that Nike snub, I can’t see what brand.
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Not long now ...
The teams are in the tunnel at the St Petersburg Stadium and click-clack their way out on to the pitch for a match that is pretty must-win for both sides, even if it is the first game of Group B. Kick-off is just a few minutes away, but first: the National anthems.
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ITV are showing this one in the UK: With 13 minutes to go until kick-off between Morocco and Iran, they’re focussing exclusively on ... England and telling viewers nothing whatsoever about either of the teams playing in the match they’re actually covering. It’s understandable, I suppose, if a little disappointing. Oh ... hold on, they’re now discussing the two managers involved in this encounter - specifically their English links.
It is, of course, possible that none of their pundits –Slaven Bilic, Eni Aluko and Ryan Giggs – know anything about Morocco or Iran and if that is the case, you’d have to wonder what exactly it is they’re doing in the studio? It should be noted that BBC were equally guilty of this anglo-centric focus in today’s earlier game between Uruguay and Egypt.
Morocco v Iran full line-ups
Morocco: Mohamedi, Hakimi, Benatia, Saiss, Boussoufa, Ziyech, El Ahmadi, Harit, Nordin Amrabat, El Kaabi, Belhanda.
Subs: Bounou, Mendyl, da Costa, Fajr, Boutaib, Ait Bennasser, Dirar, En-Nesyri, Bouhaddouz, Sofyan Amrabat, Carcela-Gonzalez, Tagnaouti.
Iran: Beiranvand, Rezaeian, Cheshmi, Pouraliganji, Ansarifard, Ebrahimi, Hajsafi, Shojaei, Jahanbakhsh, Azmoun, Amiri.
Subs: Mazaheri, Torabi, Mohammadi, Khanzadeh, Ghoddos, Montazeri, Ghoochannejhad, Taremi, Hosseini, Dejagah, Abedzadeh.
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey)
Morocco v Iran line-ups ...
Morocco: Munir, Amrabat, Benatia, Saïss, Achraf, El Ahmadi, Belhanda, Harit, Boussoufa, Ziyech, El Kaabi.
Iran: Beiranvand, Rezaeian, Pouraliganji, Cheshmi, Hajsafi, Ebrahimi, Masoud, Jahanbakhsh, Ansarifard, Amiri, Azmoun.
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Question: Will Iran have football boots?
Nike incurred the wrath of Iran manager Carlos Queiroz last week after refusing to supply his players with boots under the terms of sanctions that won’t actually be imposed until after the World Cup. “US sanctions mean that, as a US company, Nike cannot supply shoes to players in the Iranian National team at this time,” announced the famously ethical sportswear company.
“They should come out and apologise because this arrogant conduct against 23 boys is absolutely ridiculous and unnecessary,” harrumphed Queiroz by way of response. “Players get used to their sports equipment, and it’s not right to change them a week before such important matches. We are only managers and footballers, and should not get involved in such matters. But we are asking Fifa to help us with this.”
This isn’t the first inconvenience Iran’s footballers have suffered in the build-up to the World Cup. A friendly between them and Greece was cancelled due to tensions between Greece and Turkey, before a second warm-up against Kosovo was also cancelled.
World Cup Football Daily: Our Football Weekly podcast has gone daily for the duration of the World Cup and last night’s opening episode featured Max Rushden, John Brewin and I in the studio, with Barney Ronay and Sid Lowe on the phone from Russia.
Early team news: Moroccan right-back Nabil Dirar is a doubt after missing his country’s recent friendlies with a calf injury. Otherwise, coach Herve Renard has a full squad to choose from.
Combative midfielder Saeid Ezatolahi will be a big loss to Iran as misses out on the first of their group games through suspension. Midfielder Askhan Dejagh and striker Mehdi Taremi could also miss out through injury.
Group B: Morocco v Iran
Greetings one and all. The Atlas Lions take on Team Melli at the St Petersburg Stadium in the first of two Group B matches to be played today. With the Iberian heavyweights of Portugal and Spain going head to head later tonight, it’s difficult to see how a draw will be any use to either Morocco or Iran and an extremely cagey encounter seems likely. Kick-off is at 4pm (BST), but stay tuned for team news, build-up and lots of other treats.
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