The second match of Group F of the 2014 FIFA World Cup went underway today as Iran faced Nigeria. Iran doesn’t have the pace capabilities that the Nigerians bring but Iran can still provide a challenge. Both teams went with a 4-3-3 formation in today’s matchup.
It was slow start to the first half for Iran as Nigeria pressured and pressured. Nigeria had chances but they couldn’t find a way to finish any of them. It took about midway through the first half for Iran to wake up as we saw a lot more of Iran after the 23rd minute. Joseph Yobo came in for Godfrey Oboabona in the 29th minute after suffering from what seems a twisted ankle. The Nigerians didn’t want to risk further injury for the defender. The Iranians were losing too many balls in the midfield which was the cause of the sloppy start. They couldn’t keep possession for long. The lack of possession wasn’t allowing the Iranians to create chances. Reza Ghoochannejhad kept pressuring the Nigerian defense and it looked like he was created holes in the defense which was allowing Iran to move up more in their plays.
Iran had their first corner kick in the 33rd minute which led to a dangerous header from Reza. Vincent Enyeama came to Nigeria’s rescue as he blocked what seemed to be a goal. It isn’t only the Nigerian keep that has kept his team in the game but the Iranian goalkeeper as well. Alireza Haghighi had some key saves in the first half allowing Iran to remain in the game. The score at halftime remained at 0-0 as neither team was able to score.Both teams stepped it up later on in the first half. In Iran’s case, it is tough to score when you don’t have chances but when a chance comes up you make the best of it. Nigeria’s lack of finishing could The second half began with a bang as both teams came out with the hunger to score.
Iran began the second half with a lot more pressure. With the increased pressure came more opportunities. Reza continued to be a burden for the Nigerian’s back line as he continued to create holes which the Iranian’s used to find opportunities to try to score. Victor Moses was subbed out for Shola Ameobi on the 52nd minute so they could have some fresh legs in the Nigerian attack. Ramon Azeez was brought off in the 69th minute in order to prevent a serious injury after suffering a cramped leg. Peter Odemwingie came in for the Nigerian midfielder.
Both teams looked stronger in the second half. The Iranian midfielder, Andranik Timotian received the first yellow of the match on the 75th minute. The crowd began to boo on the 78th minute as Alireza Jahan MasouBakhsh came in for Ashkan Dejagah. Dejagah was on the opposite wing of Reza and both of them were the ones that were causing damage to the Nigerians. The substitution was a tactical one as Iran wanted some fresh legs in their attack to hopefully score. The final substitution of the game came from Iran on the 89th minute as Masoud Shajaei came in for Khosro Heydari. Merdad however came to the rescue as he headered the ball out of the way as the Nigerian forwards had a chance to header in for a goal.
The match finished at 0-0 as neither side was able to score. Both teams stepped it up greatly in the second half but neither was able to score. Iran and Nigeria lacked the ability to finish which was one of the reasons neither side was able to net a goal. The backlines from both sides were also the cause of no goals as they prevented each other from scoring a goal. Argentina leads the Group with 3 points and Nigeria and Iran both following with 1 point each from today’s match draw. Bosnia however is in last place with 0 points because of the loss against Argentina. Who else will make it out of Group F besides Argentina?
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