Late goals give Uruguay, Iran wins
In a team that boasts one of the World Cup’s most potent attacks, two defenders combined to give Uruguay a late 1-0 victory over Egypt in Group A on Friday.
Uruguay captain Diego Godin and teammate Jose Gimenez did their job in front of their own goalkeeper and then combined for the winning strike in the 89th minute.
Godin, who was making his 117th international appearance, sent a free kick from the right into the area. Gimenez jumped and got his head to the ball, directing it into the net and giving Uruguay its first opening-match victory at the World Cup in 48 years.
“Sometimes the ball will go to the back of the net, sometimes it won’t,” Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez said. “I’m very proud of the team and the attitude they played with throughout the match.”
Egypt forward Mohamed Salah was on the bench for his country’s first World Cup match since 1990 after injuring his shoulder while playing for Liverpool in last month’s Champions League final. Salah was the Premier League’s player of the season after scoring a league-leading 32 goals and 44 overall.
“He didn’t play today because we didn’t want to have any risk or danger,” Egypt coach Hector Cuper said. “But I think he will be OK for the next match.
“Mo Salah is an important player for us. Perhaps if Mo had been on the pitch today the outcome could have been different, but we’ll never know that.”
IRAN WINS ON OWN GOAL >> An own-goal by Aziz Bouhaddouz in the fifth minute of second-half injury time gifted Iran a 1-0 victory over Morocco in Group B.
A 77th-minute substitute, Bouhaddouz dived for a cross but headed the ball past his own goalkeeper. While Bouhaddouz buried his face in the turf and was consoled by some teammates, there was an explosion of joy among the Iran squad.
It was Iran’s second win 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.
IRANIAN FANS SEEK CHANGE >> Iranian fans at their team’s World Cup opener unfurled
a banner protesting the nation’s ban on women attending soccer matches back home.
The banner read “#NoBan4Women” and “Support Iranian Women to Attend Stadiums.” After it was initially unfurled in first half of the game, there was a brief commotion and it was put away until the second half.
Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iranian women have been banned from attending soccer matches and other male-only sporting events. EMPTY SEATS A MYSTERY >> More than 5,000 people with tickets skipped the UruguayEgypt match, the worst-attended World Cup game in eight years.
FIFA said it allocated 32,278 tickets and the official attendance was 27,015, and is investigating why.
At the 2010 World Cup, 23,871 attended a 1-1 draw between New Zealand and Slovakia, the smallest number recorded for any World Cup game this century. SHOW OF SPORTSMANSHIP >> The mere presence of striker Paolo Guerrero on Peru’s national team could have been a big distraction.
Any Peruvian success in Russia might have been tainted if opponents made a fuss that Guerrero, Peru’s alltime leading scorer, had no business playing in the World Cup after failing a drug test last year.
Instead, the situation has been largely diffused by a show of solidarity among players in and outside of Peru, including the captains of the other teams in Group C — France, Denmark and Australia.
“It was an important example of support and solidarity by all captains,” Peru defender Alberto Rodriguez said ahead of today’s match gainst Denmark. “Having him here — of course, it’s great and important.”