After IR Iran secured a memorable draw with European heavyweights Belgium to continue their unbeaten start to their campaign, Team Melli captain Mehdi Taremi pulled the squad into a huddle. He was not happy at all.
With the Red Devils going down to ten men midway through the second half at Los Angeles Stadium following Nathan Ngoy's sending-off, Taremi felt his team under-performed And he let his team-mates know.
"I said we lost the game," Taremi told FIFA. "We did not [actually] get a draw because of the situation after the red card. We could have played much better and because of our mentality and experience, we have to do much better. That's why I said we lost the game."
IR Iran may consider it two points lost, especially after Taremi had a well-executed first-half effort chalked off for offside, but Team Melli are still dreaming of reaching the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time in their history. Their final fixture comes against Egypt on 26 June in Seattle.
"For sure, we are looking [to reach the knockouts]. We have two points now and one [game] left. We will have to see what happens in the future," Taremi added.
IR Iran's precious point was secured in large part thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, who overcame an early clash with Romelu Lukaku to produce save after save and be named the . Belgium had a remarkable 23 shots without scoring.
It was another honour for a player who holds two Guinness World Records — for the longest throw and drop-kick in professional football history.
"Our goalkeeper is in his third World Cup. The first game is always tough for everyone and he was a little bit nervous [against New Zealand] but this game he was more relaxed," Taremi added. "He did an amazing job and we are really appreciative of him because of this point."
IR Iran winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh was also full of praise for Beiranvand.
"We have been together [as a squad] for 12 years and we know how good Ali is. He has been important for us many times and this is one of those times that we could rely on him," Jahanbakhsh told FIFA. "I am very happy for him. It was a great performance. We showed how strong we are and hopefully we can push for a great result in the last game as well."
Jahanbakhsh, who is the second Iranian to play in four World Cups, also expressed mixed feelings afterwards about the draw but he remains positive about the campaign ahead.
"It's a double feeling. We wanted to show a good team spirit and we did a good job in the first half and after Belgium being one man down we pushed to win the game," he added. "We had three very good chances and we made one but it was a very close offside. In general, it was a good game."
Sources: FIFA Official
