IRAN 0-0 NIGERIA
First draw, and first scoreless draw of the 2014 World Cup and unsurprisingly it came from 2 evenly matched and offence-deficient teams.
Not the prettiest of matches to watch, nor was it the most compelling as Iran and Nigeria traded possession and trips up and down the field only to see their efforts wasted for the most part.
Despite the lack of on-field action it was an energetic crowd in Curitiba who seemed to enjoy the end-to-end action despite the lack of scoring.
Nigeria opened the stronger of the 2 teams, pressing high up the field and turning the Iranian defence in circles momentarily. First half highlight for them came in the 31st minute when Ahmed Musa nearly caught Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi napping. Barking instructions to his defenders on a free kick, Haghighi was just able to recover and parry away Musa's quick free kick bound for the near post.
Minutes later, Iran nearly scored on a set piece of their own, but Reza Ghoochannejhad's header off a set piece was turned away by Vincent Enyeama.
It was the Iran defence that took over from there. Unable to get any sustained offensive momentum going, Iran played essentially a 5-man back line and refused to allow Nigeria to get near their goal. Ashkan Dejagah missed a wide open header for Iran in what was ultimately an uneventful second half.
Disappointing draw for both teams in a group that both were unexpected to advance from anyway.
Not the prettiest of matches to watch, nor was it the most compelling as Iran and Nigeria traded possession and trips up and down the field only to see their efforts wasted for the most part.
Despite the lack of on-field action it was an energetic crowd in Curitiba who seemed to enjoy the end-to-end action despite the lack of scoring.
Nigeria opened the stronger of the 2 teams, pressing high up the field and turning the Iranian defence in circles momentarily. First half highlight for them came in the 31st minute when Ahmed Musa nearly caught Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi napping. Barking instructions to his defenders on a free kick, Haghighi was just able to recover and parry away Musa's quick free kick bound for the near post.
Minutes later, Iran nearly scored on a set piece of their own, but Reza Ghoochannejhad's header off a set piece was turned away by Vincent Enyeama.
It was the Iran defence that took over from there. Unable to get any sustained offensive momentum going, Iran played essentially a 5-man back line and refused to allow Nigeria to get near their goal. Ashkan Dejagah missed a wide open header for Iran in what was ultimately an uneventful second half.
Disappointing draw for both teams in a group that both were unexpected to advance from anyway.
Goals
Iran: N/A
Nigeria: N/A
Discipline
Iran: Andranik Teymourian (Yellow 75')
Nigeria: N/A
Man of the Match
Not a ton of great individual performances. John Obi Mikel was called MOTM which seems mostly to be a result of name recognition. A pair of other options in Reza Ghoochannejhad who was a bright spot for Iran as the lone striker and Vincent Enyeama who turned in a huge save on Ghoochannejhad late in the first half.
Key Moment
Iran came the closest to a goal in the 34th minute when Reza Ghoochannejhad got on the end of an Ashkan Dejagah corner kick. His header was only turned away from a magnificent reaction save by Bigerian keeper Enyeama to turn the ball away and prevent Nigeria from falling behind.
What we learned from Iran
Absolutely solid on the back end if lacking in the goal department. Nigeria tried time and again to find ways in to the Iran penalty area, inside and outside but were shut down continuously. Iran locked things down in the defensive end but struggled to carry the ball through the midfield and offered little in the way of shots towards goal. Will have to rely on their defence to carry them through it appears.
What we learned from Nigeria
Defensive line held up well even with Godfrey Oboabona going out early to an injury. Didn't face nearly the same test that they will in their later games though. Had the better run of chances going forward but struggled with the tight Iranian defence. Weren't happy with shooting from outside but probably should have more rather then push inside for cross opportunities. Aggressive on the attack which will benefit them in this group.
Going Forward
I said going in that a draw was something neither team could afford and sure enough they put up a goalless draw to boot. Argentina should handle these teams easily and I don't believe either defensive line will be able to withstand Bosnia's 90 minutes of pressure on the attack. Opportunity wasted here for both teams.
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