The national teams of Belgium and Iran ended in a 0-0 draw in Inglewood, California, in their second match of Group „G“ at the 2026 World Cup.
The „Red Devils“ had the initiative for most of the match, and the „Persians“ made several dangerous shots, but the saves of both goalkeepers Thibaut Courtois and Alireza Beiranvad contributed to the second consecutive draw for the two teams. The Belgians were also hurt by the red card of their defender Nathan Ngoy (67').
This match, like every other of the World Cup, was broadcast live on bnt.sportal.bg
Rudi Garcia made four changes to Belgium's starting lineup after the 1-1 draw with Egypt. In defense, the new name was left-back Maxime De Kuyper, who replaced Timothy Castanet. In midfield, Amadou Onana gave way to Nicolas Raskin. Leandro Trossard was moved to the left flank of the attack due to the absence of the sick Jeremy Doucoux, so Alexis Salemaekers operated on the right. Romelu Lukaku played in the center of the attack this time, not Charles De Quetelare. Amir Galenouei, on the other hand, arranged Iran in a defensive 5-4-1 formation, in which Mehdi Taremi was the only striker.
In the third minute, Lukaku received a yellow card after kicking the opposing goalkeeper in the right shoulder while trying to play with the ball. After receiving medical attention, Alireza Beiranvad still remained on the field. The first shot of the match came in the eighth minute. minute, when Kevin De Bruyne shot inaccurately. In the next attack, the experienced midfielder's shot was blocked, and De Kuyper's addition was saved by the goalkeeper. In the 15th minute, the Iranians also threatened the opponent's goal, after Thibaut Courtois knocked the ball into a corner after a volley from Hossein Kanaani. In the subsequent execution, Said Ezatollahi shot with his head, but it was not on target.
In the 22nd minute, Beiranvad knocked out a shot from Youri Tielemans, and in the subsequent corner, Ngoy failed to score with his shot. Three minutes later, Taremi sent the ball into the opponent's net with a clever execution of a direct free kick, but VAR canceled his goal due to his offside. After the hydration break, the pace of the game dropped, and only in the 42nd minute did De Bruyne attempt a shot from the air, which Beiranvad did not make difficult. Shortly after, the goalkeeper also dealt with a shot from De Kuyper.
More In the opening seconds of the second half, substitute Alireza Jahanbakhsh took a shot on the ground, which, however, turned out to be disappointing. Immediately afterwards, the winger committed a serious foul on Trossar, but he was not even shown a yellow card. In the 50th minute, Salemakers tried a nice volley from a corner, but sent the ball wide of the goal. Three minutes later, the Iranians surprisingly could have taken the lead, but Courtois saved Taremi's dangerous shot.
In the 59th minute, the Belgians also squandered a clear goal opportunity, after Beiranvad saved a shot from De Kuyper's point-blank range. A little later, the goalkeeper knocked out a long-range shot by Dodi Lukebakio, after which another substitute, Hans Vanaken, sent the ball over the goal. The Iranians responded with an unsuccessful shot by Shoja Khalizadeh from a corner. In the 67th minute, the "Red Devils" were left with a man less on the field after a direct booking by Ngoy. The defender tried to return the ball to Courtois from the center of the field, but his play turned out to be too weak. So Taremi chased the ball, which forced the Belgian to foul him, for which he was sent off.
As expected, this brought an end to the Belgian pressure, but the next blow of the “Persians“ came only in the 81st minute, when Courtois dealt with a long-range shot by Said Ezatollahi. After that, the Europeans briefly rallied, with first Tielemans and Vanaken accounting for misses, and then Beiranvad catching the ball after a shot by De Kuyper from a clear position. In added time, only the “Red Devils“ were looking for a winning goal, but Brendan Mechele, reserve Matias Fernandez-Pardo and Lukebakio were unable to convert one with their shots. This means that the team did not score a single goal after 23 shots - his worst performance in this aspect since the match with Saudi Arabia in the 1994 World Cup, when he fired 28 unsuccessful shots.
So both teams have two points each after their first two matches in the tournament. Due to their higher-scoring 2-2 draw with New Zealand, Iran is currently the leader in the group, while in their first match Belgium drew 1-1 with Egypt. Tonight the “Kiwis“ and the “Pharaohs“ play each other, so if one of them wins, there will be a new leader in the standings.
BELGIUM - IRAN 0-0
Belgium: Courtois, Meunier, Ngoy, Mechele, De Kuyper, Raskin, Tielemans, Salemakers, De Bruyne, Trossard, Lukaku
Iran: Beiranvad, Hardani, Nemati, Khalizadeh, Kanaani, Hajsafi, Mohebi, Godos, Ezatolahi, Rezaeyan, Taremi
Source: sportal.bg