Iran takes solace in cuffing Cristiano
SARANSK, Russia — Iran’s goalkeeper is sure his team can now compete with the best after stifling Cristiano Ronaldo.
After Alireza Beiranvand saved a penalty from Ronaldo in Monday’s 1-1 draw with Portugal, the Iranians nearly scored a winner deep into stoppage time.
An Iran victory would have put the team at the top of Group B, ahead of Spain.
Even though Iran is eliminated, Beiranvand sees a
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bright future for Iran and his eyes are set on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“I waited until the last second to stop that penalty and I feel our hard work could have earned us a spot among the last 16 in Russia,” he said.
“But I can definitely see that in the future no one will think of us as a surprise. We played hard, we deserved better and people saw that.”
Ricardo Quaresma’s goal just before halftime made him the only player other than Ronaldo to score for the Portuguese in three games in Russia.
If Ronaldo had converted the penalty in the 53rd minute, it would have given Portugal a 2-0 lead and the Real Madrid player a fifth goal of the tournament to tie Harry Kane at the top of the Golden Boot standings. The miss, however, cost Portugal first place in the group.
Ronaldo was later lucky to stay on the pitch after receiving just a yellow card for an apparent elbow on Morteza Pouraliganji following a VAR review.
Karim Ansarifard scored a stoppage-time penalty to equalize for Iran after another review. And fans gasped when Mehdi Taremi hit the side netting with one of the last kicks of the match.
Despite the disappointment, Iran captain Masoud Shojaei predicted a bright future for his country’s team.
“We learned a lot in Russia, we learned a lot from coach Carlos Queiroz and you can see that our younger players have stepped up their game,” the 34-year-old AEK Athens midfielder said.
“Although we did not qualify to the next stage, we have thousands of Iranians seeing a competitive team that can make them dream.”
Portugal coach Fernando Santos said: “Those thinking it would be easy for Portugal were certainly not on the pitch.”