Iran used seven saves from Alireza Beiranvand and a power play on a Belgian red card to earn a 0-0 draw in the second straight draw for the two teams in World Cup Group G on Sunday afternoon in Inglewood, California.
Beiranvand, 33, earned his second clean sheet in his seventh appearance in three World Cups. He also made six saves in Iran’s opening 2-2 draw against New Zealand.
Iran took a one-man lead in the 66th minute when Belgium’s Nathan Ngoy was sent off with a red card for dragging an Iranian attacker to the ground after a poorly weighted back pass to the goalkeeper presented a goal-scoring opportunity.
Even though Iran played 10 men for the final 30 minutes of the match, they still had only 32% possession, were outshot 7-3 and outshot 608-269.
Even down a man, Belgium had the best scoring chance of the rest of the match, Beiranvand diving to the ground to save a shot from Maxim De Cuyper, who had scored four shots on goal, in the 86th minute.
The second straight draw leaves Belgium and Iran with two points from two Group G matches. While each can still advance with a win on the final day, June 26, that leaves the door open for New Zealand or Egypt to take the top spot if either wins Sunday night’s match in Vancouver.
Belgium will face New Zealand in Vancouver on the final day of Group G, while Iran will simultaneously face Egypt in Seattle.
While Belgium controlled the game from the start, Iran created the most threatening chances. They appeared to take the lead in the 25th minute when Mehdi Taremi sent a slow set-piece pass through the Belgian wall and into the back of the net. VAR overturned the goal for both an offside call and an encroachment by Taremi.
An earlier chance required a diving save from Thibaut Courtois (three saves) in the 14th minute.
In the 53rd minute, Taremi took a point-blank shot into the box, but ripped it straight to Courtois, who caught it to keep the game scoreless.
Beiranvand made four saves in the first half, but none were as threatening as Iran’s early chances.
Beiranvand had to raise his game with his first save of the second half, reaching out while lying on the ground to stop a point-blank shot from De Cuyper in the 59th minute and securing the ensuing free ball.
