Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Extra week’s impact
New football season’s start allows for more games.
IRAN 1, MOROCCO 0
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Aziz Bouhaddouz, head in his hands and face buried in the turf, was probably unaware of the opposing players and coaches swarming all around him in jubilation.
Some teammates tried to console him, but it did little good.
In the second dramatic finish to a World Cup match on Friday, Iran was gifted a 1-0 win over Morocco in Group B because of Bouhaddouz’s own-goal in the fifth minute of injury time.
Only on the field as a 77th-minute substitute, the Morocco striker dived to reach an in-swinging free kick from the left and glanced the ball past his own goalkeeper inside the near post.
“We were crucified,” Morocco coach Herve Renard said.
It was Iran’s second victory in 13 matches at the World Cup, and Asia’s first since the 2010 tournament in South Africa. Showing just how much it meant, Iran’s players threw Coach Carlos Queiroz into the air after the final whistle.
They hugged and danced, savoring the best moment of their careers. Back in Iran, locals poured into the streets in celebration.
Considering Spain and Portugal are the other teams in Group B, the match in St. Petersburg was regarded as a must-win game for the two outsiders. The result has already left Morocco struggling to stay alive in its first World Cup in 20 years.
Renard said his team “fell into the trap” set by Iran, which sat back and relied on the defensive strength that carried the team through Asian qualifying by conceding only two goals in 10 games. Morocco started well but then faded.
“Our plan from the first minute was to create a mental collapse in the Moroccan players,” Queiroz said, “creating frustration and blocking all the playmakers who can create something.”
So maybe it was mental exhaustion that led to Morocco conceding two fouls, one quickly after the other, in injury time.
After the second, wide on the left, Ehsan Haji Safi whipped over a cross between the goalkeeper and the retreating defenders.
Bouhaddouz, covering the near post, dived full stretch. He couldn’t believe where his header ended up.
There was an explosion of joy among the Iran squad as coaches and substitutes leapt out of the dugout and sprinted onto the field to celebrate with the players.
Suddenly, Iran’s blighted and frustrating World Cup buildup — the scrapped friendly matches, the sportswear sanctions from the United States that prevented players from wearing their favorite soccer shoes — didn’t matter anymore.
“The brilliant attitude, the commitment, the soul, the heart,” Queiroz said. “We came here without World Cup preparations. We don’t have camps, we have problems … to (overcome) these difficulties is a source of inspiration, motivation, something special.”
URUGUAY 1, EGYPT 0
YEKATERINBURG, Russia — Uruguay won its opening match at the World Cup for the first time in 48 years, getting an 89th-minute goal from defender Jose Gimenez in a victory over Egypt in Group A on Friday.
Gimenez jumped in the area and headed home a free kick from Atletico Madrid teammate Diego Godin. It was the first time Uruguay won its opening match at the tournament since 1970, when it went on to reach the semifinals.
Russia leads Group A on goal difference after beating Saudi Arabia 5-0 on Thursday in the tournament’s first match. Uruguay, which also has three points, is now second.