"VAN" (Sports Desk - 22.06.2026) :: Belgium and IR Iran are still both seeking their first win of this FIFA World Cup™ following a goalless draw in Los Angeles.
It was a match marked by some terrific saves from Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and his Belgium counterpart Thibaut Courtois, with Rudi Garcia’s Red Devils dominating possession but ending up with ten men after the dismissal of centre-back Nathan Ngoy.
Belgium had Romelu Lukaku starting up front – his first start for club or country since 9 June last year. Yet for all their possession and crosses and cutbacks, the closest they got to an early goal was a strong near-post drive by Youri Tielemans beaten away by goalkeeper Beiranvand.
Iran sat deep and showed impressive resilience, be it through Beiranvand's saves or defensive blocks. And they produced the more serious first-half goal threat. Courtois did brilliantly to get down low to stop a Hossein Kanani shot on the turn following a long throw into the box. Then, after 25 minutes, Team Melli found the net with an impressively inventive free-kick. Ehsan Hajisafi slid the ball through to Mehdi Taremi in the wall and he shot low past Courtois. Sadly for Iran, Taremi had strayed offside.
In the second half, Alireza Jahanbakhsh came on for his 100th cap and Iran called Courtois into action again with a powerful Taremi volley following another long throw. At the other end Beiranvand excelled with two eye-catching low saves to deny Maxim De Cuyper.
After 66 minutes, Belgium lost Ngoy to a red card after his miscontrol of the ball let in Taremi and the centre-back pulled him down. However, Amir Ghalenoei’s men could not profit from the extra man, leaving both sides with two points apiece from their two games so far.
Cr-FIFA2026
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