#20 Iran 0-1 Spain - Match thread ~ Group B

[sendô]

I thought it was a good game.

Some of you lot seem to be turning into Americans - you can only find it entertaining if there's non stop action and goals galore. Watching plucky little Iran defend for their World Cup lives against the embarrassment of attacking riches that the Spanish possess was enthralling.

Even more so when the likes of Roy Keane were bemoaning their "cheating" at half time (the ****ing irony).

They nearly managed a point too, with Spains goal a lucky deflection off of John Merrick's leg and Iran's goal unluckily ruled offside.

I'm not sure what people expected - Iran to play open expansive football and let Spain pick them off at will?

[rare as rockinghorse shat]

Yes.
Iran were a ****ing disgrace and it was all a shitfest, the whole lot of it.

You've got it in your head as a convenient return argument that some of us need a bucket load of goals.
That's just a nonsense that you have just made up right there.

1-0 - 0-0 - 0-1 doesn't matter - it's the manner of it that does.

These games have been ****ing boring and the opponents in them a disgrace whether it's a bigger team playing a weak team and sitting back, or a weak team trying to cheat, dive and waste time for a goalless draw.

[e17]

If somehow, miraculously, Iran knock portugal out playing like that, how many will be complaining?

Probably not many.

[rare as rockinghorse shat]

If Iran time wasted, cheated, dived and manipulated their way to a 2nd round game in place of a team that cam here to win it?

I ****ing would and so should most. If you don't, you need your footballing head checked.


Thing is e17, this mob already have 3pts on the board and have a real chance to upset Portugal and go at them. They have a chance to go down in the World Cup history books the same as South Korea, Senegal, Cameroon previously.
Will they? Will they f***.

At least the Saudi's gave it a go. But even then it was at the expense of the pathetic Uruguayans playing out for a 1-0 win against a team that was spanked 5-0 in the game before by one of the weaker sides in the competition.

That's what makes the whole thing a disgrace.

[sendô]

Well I found the game interesting, and in truth I never really expect the group games to be "exciting" as such. The nature of modern tournament football is such that the majority of teams are going to avoid defeat before they go for the win. Don't expect the knockout games to be much different, and expect plenty of penalty shootouts.

[rare as rockinghorse shat]

The problem is, that after every game, there is a singular analysis of each team and each match, which causes the attention to focus a bit too much on one particular smaller part, than the bigger sum:

The nature of modern tournament football is such that the majority of teams are going to avoid defeat before they go for the win.

Which is exactly it.

Whether it be this team in that game, or that team in that game, whatever, the overall thing is just a mess at the moment.
The VAR issue doesn't actually bother me. The inconsistency in it's use does.

What IS bothering me most in this World Cup, is the lack of cards shown in matches and retrospective punishments and thus the lack of attempt to stamp half this niggly fouling, play acting and provocation out from the very outset.

[sendô]

Hmm, I'm minded to agree. I'd be happy to see VAR used to exclusively punish play acting and diving if it meant refs getting the odd penalty or offside decision wrong.

[vietnammer]

Can't agree with you RARS about the whole game. You've described the first half pretty accurately, but not the second when Iran started playing football. Agree about the simulation and timewasting though.

[rare as rockinghorse shat]

I don't completely disagree with that, but it was only when they needed to, Viet

They broke through the Spanish ranks a couple of times in the first half and were in not for a couple of wasteful passes, could have caused them further issues.

Wouldn't it have been nice to see them having a proper go from minute 1?
They may have lost 4-1, but had they gone 1 up, or pulled back to 1-1 (which they nearly did with the offside) then they'd have earned a lot of plaudits along the way.

If they failed against Portugal, they'd have done so giving it a go.

I really hope they do give it a go. Last game of their entire World Cup potentially.
They aren't completely anonymous, they've had some good players in the past such as Makhadavikia (probably spelt that well wrong), Karimi and Bagheri and have the all time international leading goalscorer in Ali Daei for crying out loud.

Turn up and be THAT team that no one gave a chance, but gave everyone a scare and gained some fans in the process.
It's not as if your country is already Mr Popular on the world stage, is it? You go out and play like cheating cowards in front of a billion people... way to go.

[Cockneyboy311]

Has somebody pissed in your tea RARS?

I thought Iran were great last night. They worked incredibly hard, especially when not in possession. Spain just did there usual pass it to death and hope the other team gets bored and falls asleep.

[sendô]

Someone flogged him an antique Persian rug for top dollar that turned out to be a knock off from Romford market.