Red Devils put through hell: Ten-man Belgium barely survive Iran scare

Things aren’t looking good for Belgium.

After a 1-1 draw against Egypt in the first group-stage round, the Red Devils tonight drew 0-0 with Iran, further complicating their situation in Group G.

Rudi Garcia’s men dominated possession, but failed to create many chances. Even when they did, the amazing Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand was there to keep his net intact. His duels against Maxim De Cuyper - one of the two tragic figures of the game - were particularly interesting, as the 33-year-old goalie denied the Brighton defender in four outstanding chances.

Curacao's World Cup hero Room becomes immortal

The other tragic figure was Belgium centre-back Nathan Ngoy, who was sent off in the 66th minute, closing the door to his team’s potential win.

As for Iran, they were more concrete, as most of their decent attacks ended in a good goal-scoring chance. Still, Thibaut Courtois stopped Mehdi Taremi on several occasions, failing only once when the striker’s goal was disallowed for offside.

Now each team has two points, and everything will be decided on the final matchday.

Having learned from his side's attacking struggles in the 1-1 draw against Egypt six days ago, Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia included Romelu Lukaku in the starting lineup against Iran, but the burly striker had little impact.

In fact, Belgium's closest opportunity to break the deadlock in the first half fell to left-back Maxim De Cuyper, whose two close-range efforts were denied by Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, who also kept out a powerful long-range strike from Youri Tielemans.

Field Yamal and don't worry: Barca's gem pulls strings as Spain demolish Saudi Arabia

At the other end, the Asian side rarely threatened as the Red Devils dominated possession. However, whenever they ventured forward, they caused panic in the Belgian defence.

Thibaut Courtois produced an excellent save to deny Hossein Kaanani from inside the box in the 14th minute, while Mehdi Taremi had the ball in the net 11 minutes later, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside. As a result, the two sides went into the break level.

The story from the first half continued in the second with Courtois stopping another Taremi's powerful effort and Beiranvand denying De Cuyper's third chance with a point-blank save - this one the most outstanding than all the previous.

At that point it was clear that despite being on the back foot most of the time, Iran were more concrete, as almost every decent attack they organized led to a terrific chance. However, everything changed in the 66th minute, as one situation completely turned the tables.

Belgium centre-back Nathan Ngoy reacted clumsily in the 66th minute, losing the ball as the last defender and than bringing down Taremi. The referee Dario Herrera immediately sent the 23-year-old off, while Garcia was forced to replace a forward with a defender, Arthur Theate. His choice was Lukaku, who headed to the bench vividly exhausted.

Nevertheless, unused to the role of a dominating side, Iran found it harder to threaten Courtois with a man up, than before Ngoy's dismissal, while the amazing Beiranvand completed a poker of saves in close-range encounters against De Cuyper, frustrating him to the fullest.

The match eventually ended in a goalless draw, as now New Zealand and Egypt who face each other later (04.00) now have a chance to go clear at the top of the Group G. Either way, the final outcome of the group will come on the last matchday.

WORLD CUP - GROUP STAGE (ROUND 2)

Group G

Sunday 21.06.

Belgium - Iran 0-0

Monday 22.06.

04.00: (6.00) New Zealand (3.60) Egypt (1.67)

***odds are subject to change***