Battle of the Odds- Argentina versus Iran
There
was no need to spend much time analysing this group F match. With the likes of
Lionel Messi, Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta and Angel DiMaria to name a few, Argentina
was expected to be a World Cup
powerhouse. They started a bit slowly, but beat Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2-1, in
their first match.
Iran
too did astonishingly well, permeating their way to a 0-0 draw against Nigeria,
even though the Iranians spent a lot more time chasing the ball than possessing
it. Hence they were mostly expected to sit back and defend in this one as well.
Against Argentina, Iran was seen as a team going for the
offensiveand not for the defensive. Argentina knew that a win in this one would preserve their place
in the final 16. Iran on the other hand weren’t expected to win this match. The
two sides in their first meeting against each other in the history of FIFA,
tried their best to outdo each other.
The match was perceived to be reap expected results. Which
it did by the way. However, for Argentina to win it was a long drawn effort.
Courtesy, Iran’s strong defence. The goalkeeper of Iran, did a brilliant job.
There were surprising moments in the match. The 14th minute of the
match saw Higuain receiving a pass in the box , the first real chance for
Argentina, but Iran’s keeper came out
and met him, trapping the ball between his legs. It was an exceptional show. The 17th
minute saw Iran exploring a new terrain with a corner kick taken by Dejagah,
which couldn’t however, be converted to a goal. The 21st minute saw
Higuain leaving a ball for Aguero which he hit hard toward the corner, but the
Iranian keeper made a diving save. There were many such jaw gripping moments in
the match.
The first half of the match saw Argentina struggling to
score and ended up missing almost half a dozen chances of scoring a goal for
the team. Argentina dominated possession and Iran defended. The biggest
question mark for Argentina was its defense. The drama to the match was added by
the towering pressure mounted on by a sea of Argentine fans. Also present in
the stands was Argentine legend Diego Maradonna.
The second half of the match saw a drastic change in Iran
which was a bit more confident after curbing goals from Argentina in the first
half. Key players like Messi and Aguero could not show much.
The second half saw
enough action. One such moment came about in the 68th minute where Dejagah
received a perfect cross and hit a perfect header, it was however fingertipped
by Argentina’s GK Romero, pushing it over the goal post. Aguero and Higuain were replaced by Palacio
and Lavezzi in the 76th minute in hopes of bringing about better luck.
The argentine side was losing hope when Messi played his
magic and scored a beautiful goal.
He found a crevice just outside the box and curled it right
into the corner. It was the penultimate strike. That’s why he’s MESSI!
The game was the father of all upsets. Poor Iran fought
incredibly hard till almost the end but couldn’t fight Messi. Iran did a
commendable job in diluting some of the world’s finest players . Their defence
proved to be a complete nightmare for Argentina. Hats off to Iran!. It indeed
was a battle of the odds. And guessing
the odd one isn’t a difficult task!
Argentina makes it to the final 16! Lucky them.
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