Story by
Nathan Ngoy sent off as 10-man Belgium held by Iran
- Story by
- Nathan Ngoy sent off as 10-man Belgium held by Iran
Belgium had defender Nathan Ngoy sent off as Iran held firm in a 0-0 World Cup draw in Los Angeles.
Ngoy was dismissed after 66 minutes when he carelessly lost control of the ball and stopped Mehdi Taremi bearing down on the Red Devils' goal.
Advertisement
The stalemate means both sides have drawn two games and will have everything to play for in the final round of Group G matches.
Iran weathered early pressure as Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne went close before posing serious questions of their own.
Thibaut Courtois did well to push away Hossein Kanani's effort and Iran then found the net with an inventive free-kick.
Ehsan Hajisafi shaped to shoot from 25 yards but instead played a pass to Taremi, who made a gap between the wall and a defender and rolled the ball past Courtois.
Iran's joy was cut short by a VAR check that showed Taremi was marginally offside.
Advertisement
Courtois came to Belgium's rescue again in the second half by denying the lively Taremi, while Alireza Beiranvand made two excellent saves from Maxim De Cuyper to secure a crucial point.
Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei bemoaned his side's preparation as, due to the political situation, they have been forced to commute to Los Angeles from their Mexican base, saying: "This was a very beautiful game. We are playing the 10th-ranked team in the world with great players in our worst condition.
"They could have won, we could have won, but I want to thank our goalkeeper, Alireza Beiranvand, who had a fantastic day. The players who came to this World Cup need to be congratulated because we have two games without losing."
Belgium boss Rudi Garcia said: "We weren't efficient enough. We had many attempts, but when you're down a man you have to be organised because 10 versus 11 is hard.
"Now we have to turn to the next match. We have to rest because we played 10 versus 11 for 30 minutes, but we need to beat New Zealand to move to the round of 32."
