Iran 0-1 Spain: World Cup highlights and recap

Spain beat Iran 1-0 in Group B of the World Cup in the Kazan Arena on Wednesday, June 20. Here are all the highlights from the match.

Spain entered their match against Iran needing a win after they had drawn with Portugal in their opener and Portugal had beaten Morocco earlier in the day. Iran, meanwhile, were simply determined not to lose, lining up in what looked for most of the match like 6-4-0.

The strategy worked for almost an hour, before La Roja broke through thanks to a slightly fortunate deflection. Ramin Rezaeian tried to clear the ball, only to see it ricochet off Diego Costa and past Alireza Beirenvand into the bottom corner.

Still, lucky or not, the goal was well deserved for a Spain side that had seen over 70 percent of the ball. It was hard to argue with Iran’s approach given the gulf in quality between the sides, but only one team was playing for the win.

Going behind seemed to galvanize Iran, however, and they thought they had the equalizer within five minutes, only to see Saeied Ezatolahi’s goal correctly ruled out for offside following a VAR review.

The win wasn’t particularly convincing for Spain, but it’s unlikely they’ll face another opponent so defensive as they advance in the tournament. They still need to pick up at least a point against Morocco in their last group match to go through, but it’s hard to see them slipping up now.

Next: Russia 2018: The best player on every team at the World Cup

Highlights

Spain’s next match is against Morocco on Monday, June 25. Iran play Portugal at the same time.