Both Thibaut Courtois and Alireza Beiranvand made a number of impressive saves as ten-man Belgium ground out a goalless draw with Iran on Sunday evening. Medhi Taremi thought he had given his side the lead as he scored from a clever free-kick routine in the first-half, but saw his strike ruled out for a marginal offside offence. The match opened up considerably in the second half after Nathan Ngoy was given his marching orders for a cynical foul on last-man Taremi and both sides enjoyed late chances, but the affair ended in a goalless stalemate, leaving top spot in Group G up for grabs.
After appearing to suffer an injury minutes into the match, 33-year-old shot-stopper Beiranvand produced a rash of fine saves to keep Iran in the tie, including one which denied Maxim De Cuyper from close range late on.
The picture of the final standings will be made clearer in the small hours of Monday morning when New Zealand face Egypt in Vancouver. Catch up with the action as it happened below with Standard Sport’s dedicated match blog, with expert insight and analysis.
Belgium vs Iran latest news
- RED CARD! Ngoy sent for early shower
- SAVE! Courtois denies Taremi from close range
- NO GOAL! Clever Taremi opener disallowed for marginal offside
FULL-TIME: Belgium 0-0 Iran
22:01 , Arthur Ferridge
It ends all square in Los Angeles.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
22:00 , Arthur Ferridge
90+5mins: And Lukebakio curls one narrowly wide of the left post! Heartbreaker!
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:58 , Arthur Ferridge
90+2mins: That could have been it! Mechele heads over from close range. Not long left to find a breakthrough now.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:56 , Arthur Ferridge
There will be five minutes added on here.
The match has opened up significantly - we’re in for an all-action finish.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:51 , Arthur Ferridge
86mins: Another huge save from Beiranvand to deny De Cuyper!
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:49 , Arthur Ferridge
84mins: Beiranvand punches the free-kick clear in decisive fashion.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:48 , Arthur Ferridge
83mins: Lukebakio wins a free-kick high on the right flank. What can Kevin do with this, I wonder?
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:47 , Arthur Ferridge
82mins: Courtois is spotted off his line and Ezatolahi has a pop, but the Belgian is equal to it and keeps this match goalless.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:46 , Arthur Ferridge
80mins: And just like that we are into the final ten minutes! It has been all Iran since the red card, but they are struggling to actually generate shots on goal.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:42 , Arthur Ferridge
75mins: Just a quarter of an hour left now, and you start to wonder whether Iran have it in them to put Belgium to the sword. Taremi has looked lively - he forced Ngoy’s error for the red card and has enjoyed a couple great chances. Can he be the man of the moment?
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:38 , Arthur Ferridge
72mins: And Lukaku has been hooked. A pretty poor performance from the big man, all things considered.
RED CARD! Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:32 , Arthur Ferridge
66mins: Ngoy gets his marching orders! He plays a poor pass and Taremi goes through on goal, but he pulls him back and is rightly dismissed. Advantage Iran!
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:28 , Arthur Ferridge
63mins: And Beiranvand is back in action, punching Lukebakio’s shot away from trouble.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:26 , Arthur Ferridge
59mins: How has that stayed out! Belgium attack down the left and De Cuyper shoots from the edge of the six-yard box, but Beiranvand makes a remarkable reaction stop.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:23 , Arthur Ferridge
58mins: Three changes for Belgium! Raskin, Salaemaekers and Meunier are replaced by Castagne, Vanaken and Lukebakio.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:23 , Arthur Ferridge
57mins: Lukaku makes a hash of another tidy Trossard cross, which he seems to misjudge and it comes off his shoulder.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:21 , Arthur Ferridge
55mins: Lukaku gets on the ball in the box with his back to goal, but fails to turn in time and loses possession.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:18 , Arthur Ferridge
53mins: What a save from Courtois! Jahanbaksh’s long-throw is rifled goalwards on the volley by Taremi but Courtois does brilliantly to stop it.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:16 , Arthur Ferridge
50mins: Well, it is the best of the three, for what that’s worth. Salaemaekers volleys into the side netting.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:15 , Arthur Ferridge
49mins: Ali heads the free-kick over the bar, and it will be a corner for Belgium now. That also comes ot nowt, but Belgium manage to win a third consecutive left-sided set-piece. Will this one be the charm?
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:14 , Arthur Ferridge
48mins: Trossard, belatedly, is back to his feet. Looks like Jahanbaksh caught him on the back of the ankle. Sore one, but no great malice in it.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:13 , Arthur Ferridge
Trossard seems to be in some discomfort here, but the medics have not been waved on.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:13 , Arthur Ferridge
47mins: An early chance for Belgium as Trossard plays De Bruyne into space, but his shot is blocked and the resultant corner comes to nothing.
Trossard, however, has won himself a free-kick high on the left flank.
2ND HALF: Belgium 0-0 Iran
21:11 , Arthur Ferridge
We are back underway!
Half-time changes
21:11 , Arthur Ferridge
Hardani has been replaced by Jahanbaksh for Iran. Who remembers that goal he scored against Chelsea back in the day?
First half in pictures
21:08 , Arthur Ferridge
HALF-TIME: Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:54 , Arthur Ferridge
It is goalless at the break.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:53 , Arthur Ferridge
45+8mins: De Bruyne’s cross is just over the head of Lukaku. It has been a very quiet half for the centre-forward.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:51 , Arthur Ferridge
45+5mins: A tidy attacking move from Belgium sees Salaemaekers played in behind, but Iran do well to cut out his cross, but he was offside anyway.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:48 , Arthur Ferridge
45+3mins: Lukaku looks to barrel his way through the middle of a very congested penalty area and manages to move the ball for Trossard, but the return pass is wayward.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:46 , Arthur Ferridge
There will be eight added minutes here, mostly due to Beiranvand’s injury in the early stages.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:44 , Arthur Ferridge
44mins: De Cuyper shoots from a tight angle and Beiranvand saves well.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:43 , Arthur Ferridge
43mins: This has been quite a bitty first half. Save for Taremi’s disallowed strike, there hasn’t been a huge number of clear-cut chances.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:39 , Arthur Ferridge
39mins: De Cuyper dishes a free-kick into the Iran box in search of Lukaku, but the big man in the middle cannot get his head on it.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:38 , Arthur Ferridge
37mins: Taremi catches De Bruyne from behind as he looks to play the ball forward, and a foul is awarded. It was a clumsy one from the Iranian, who just took his man’s leg from under him.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:37 , Arthur Ferridge
37mins: A semi-automated offside graphic shows Taremi had strayed a matter of centimetres too far from his marker. Feels so cruel to see those disallowed, but what can you do?
Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:34 , Arthur Ferridge
And we are back underway following the first-half hydration break.
The match resumes almost immediately with a booking to Ezatolahi for a cynical foul on Tielemans.
NO GOAL! Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:27 , Arthur Ferridge
Taremi’s goal is struck off! It is all square again.
20:26 , Arthur Ferridge
The VAR check is ongoing...
20:26 , Arthur Ferridge
Hold on... hold the fort! VAR will surely check this - Taremi may have strayed just slightly offside.
GOAL! Belgium 0-1 Iran
20:26 , Arthur Ferridge
Iran punish Raskin’s error! The free-kick is slid between the lines, and Taremi buries it!
Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:24 , Arthur Ferridge
24mins: Raskin inadvertently handles the ball and gifts Iran a free-kick in the centre of the pitch, about 30 yards from goal.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:22 , Arthur Ferridge
22mins: Taremi is down in a heap following a crunching tackle from Mechele, which the referee has deemed unproblematic. Tielemans shoots wide from the resulting attack.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:18 , Arthur Ferridge
18mins: Iran have ridden out the early Belgium pressure and seem a lot more confident now.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:15 , Arthur Ferridge
14mins: That could have been the chance! Kanaani gets a snap-shot off in the area but Courtois does well to turn it round the post.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:11 , Arthur Ferridge
10mins: Belgium have Iran well and truly under the cosh - they really need to make this pressure count. We saw last week that Iran can be quite opportunistic on the attack - they may only need one attack to hurt their opposition.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:08 , Arthur Ferridge
8mins: De Bruyne looks to curl one at goal, but misjudges it quite badly. High, wide, well away. We restart with an Iran goal-kick.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:06 , Arthur Ferridge
6mins: Beiranvand requires treatment after that collision, but seems set to continue here despite his understudy being sent to warm up. Lukaku still looks somewhat bemused by the whole incident.
Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:04 , Arthur Ferridge
4mins: It has been a lively start from Belgium! De Bruyne sticks a low cross into the corridor of uncertainty and Lukaku slides to turn it in, but clumsily clatters the Iran goalkeeper and is booked.
KICK-OFF! Belgium 0-0 Iran
20:00 , Arthur Ferridge
We are UNDERWAY in Los Angeles!
Here we go!
19:50 , Arthur Ferridge
The flags are unfurled and the players are heading to the pitch. Let’s hear those anthems...
Team news reminder
19:45 , Arthur Ferridge
With 15 minutes left until kick-off, a reminder of today’s starting XIs.
Belgium XI: Courtois, Mechele, De Cuyper, Meunier, Ngoy, De Bruyne, Tielemans, Saelemaekers, Raskin, Lukaku, Trossard
Iran XI: Beiranvand, Hardani, Hajisafi, Kanani, Nemati, Rezaeian, Ezatolahi, Mohebbi, Ghoddos, Taremi
An impressive run
19:38 , Arthur Ferridge
Iran come into this match unbeaten in their last 14, per FotMob, and will hope to extend that impressive loss-less run with another win or draw here.
Regardless of the result, though, they will be forced to wait until the final matchday of the group stage to confirm their progression to the next round.
Amir Ghalenoei slams FIFA organization
19:28 , Arthur Ferridge
Amir Ghalenoei has hit out at FIFA’s organisational standards, which saw their travel from a Mexico training base to this match in Los Angeles disrupted.
“They [FIFA] phoned me and said: ‘Are you ready if we get you a flight at 6 p.m.?’ I welcomed that but we sat and waited and waited.
“We waited until 7 p.m., nothing happened. ‘OK, sorry, we weren’t able to do that.’ That’s going to affect us mentally, especially me as a head coach… I know FIFA is trying its best, I thank them for that but it doesn’t mean they have succeeded.
“I wish they could have done it for the first two games. To arrive in optimal conditions, they robbed us of this.”
Fans begin to filter in
19:23 , Arthur Ferridge
Where is Jeremy Doku?
19:18 , Arthur Ferridge
Jeremy Doku has been at the centre of intense debate this week after it was revealed he planned to desert Belgium’s World Cup camp to attend the birth of his first child.
But that is not expected to take place until July - so where is the Man City man?
The Belgian FA have confirmed to the BBC that he will miss this match through illness.
It remains to be seen whetther he will return to Belgium for the birth of his child.
How many minutes will Romelu Lukaku play today?
19:08 , Arthur Ferridge
Romelu Lukaku was injured for much of this Serie A campaign and arrived in Belgium’s camp lacking match fitness.
Rudi Garcia has been clear that he will work to manage the player’s minutes despite handing him a start today.
“We need to be careful about not wearing him out,” he said. “We need to be at 100 per cent of our capacity tomorrow to beat them (Iran).”
Iran team news
18:58 , Arthur Ferridge
Both Iran goalscorers against New Zealand - Ramin Rezaeian and Mohammed Mohebi - are reinstated to the starting XI here.
Saman Ghoddos starts despite reportedly picking up a knock last week, with Mehdi Taremi leading the line.
What to make of the Belgium team
18:48 , Arthur Ferridge
There are a few changes from Rudi Garcia here. Maxime de Cuyper replaces Timothy Castagne at left-back, and Amadou Onana drops to the bench.
Romelu Lukaku impressed off the bench against Egypt and gets the nod up top here.
IRAN CONFIRMED TEAM NEWS
18:38 , Arthur Ferridge
Iran XI: Beiranvand, Hardani, Hajisafi, Kanani, Nemati, Rezaeian, Ezatolahi, Mohebbi, Ghoddos, Taremi
Subs: Niazmand, Hosseini, Mohammadi, Yousefi, Iri, Jahanbaksh, Cheshmi, Torabi, Ghorbani, Razaghinia, Ghayedi, Alipour, Hosseinzadeh, Moghanloo, Dargahi
BELGIUM CONFIRMED TEAM NEWS
18:35 , Arthur Ferridge
Belgium XI: Courtois, Mechele, De Cuyper, Meunier, Ngoy, De Bruyne, Tielemans, Saelemaekers, Raskin, Lukaku, Trossard
Subs: Lammens, Penders, Theate, Winter, Seys, Castagne, Witzel, Moreira, Vanaken, Onana, Lukebakio, De Ketelaere, Fernandez-Pardo
Belgium predicted XI
18:25 , Arthur Ferridge
Predicted Belgium XI (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Meunier, Ngoy, Mechele, De Cuyper; Onana, Tielemans; Trossard, De Bruyne, Doku; De Ketalaere
Belgium vs Iran head to head
18:15 , Arthur Ferridge
This, believe it or not, will be the first-ever meeting between Belgium and Iran.
Standard Sport prediction
18:05 , Arthur Ferridge
Belgium need a convincing performance here to calm fears that this could be shaping up into a third successive frustrating major tournament, following their last-16 exit at Euro 2024 and shock group stage departure from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
But Iran are certainly no pushovers, defying all their well-documented off-field issues at this tournament to play their part in a thrilling opening contest against New Zealand.
We expect them to push Belgium all the way, only for the Red Devils to produce a tense and narrow victory that will all-but seal their place in the last 32.
Belgium to win, 1-0.
Iran early team news
17:55 , Arthur Ferridge
Midfielders Roozbeh Cheshmi and Saman Ghoddos - formerly of Brentford - have both been dealing with knocks for Iran, along with ex-Brighton winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh.
Iran squad
Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand, Hossein Hosseini, Payam Niazmand
Defenders: Danial Eiri, Ehsan Hajsafi, Saleh Hardani, Hossein Kanaani, Shoka Khalilzadeh, Milad Mohammadi, Ali Nemati Omid Noorafkan, Ramin Rezaeian
Midfielders: Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Saeid Ezatolah, Mehdi Ghaedi, Saman Ghoddos, Mohammad Ghorbani, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Mohammad Mohebi, Amir Mohammad Razzaghinia, Mehdi Torabi, Aria Yousefi
Forwards: Ali Alipour, Dennis Dargahi, Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, Amirhossein Mahmoudi, Mehdi Taremi
Belgium early team news
17:45 , Arthur Ferridge
Sporting defender Zeno Debast is expected to remain sidelined for Belgium as he continues to work his way back from a thigh injury suffered on club duty.
Red Devils boss Rudi Garcia is not believed to have any fresh fitness concerns, though may opt for changes after a disappointing performance against Egypt.
All-time leading scorer Romelu Lukaku will be pushing to start ahead of Charles De Ketelaere up front, having forced the own goal by Hany last week.
Belgium squad
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois, Senne Lammens, Mike Penders
Defenders: Timothy Castagne, Zeno Debast, Maxim de Cuyper, Koni de Winter, Brandon Mechele, Thomas Meunier, Nathan Ngoy, Joaquin Seys, Arthur Theate
Midfielders: Kevin de Bruyne, Amadou Onana, Nicolas Raskin, Youri Tielemans, Hans Vanaken, Axel Witsel
Forwards: Charles De Ketelaere, Jeremy Doku, Matias Fernandez-Pardo, Romelu Lukaku, Dodi Lukebakio, Diego Moreira, Alexis Saelemaekers, Leandro Trossard
How to watch Belgium vs Iran
17:35 , Arthur Ferridge
TV channel: Belgium vs Iran will be televised live and free-to-air in the UK on ITV1, with coverage beginning at 7pm.
Live stream: UK viewers can also watch the match live online via the ITVX website or app, which is free with a sign-up.
Live blog: Follow the game as it happens with Standard Sport’s live blog.
Free highlights: World Cup highlights are being broadcast on FIFA’s official YouTube channel, along with the BBC iPlayer, ITVX app and their websites.
Good evening
17:29 , Arthur Ferridge
Hello, and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Belgium vs Iran at the World Cup!
Both of the opening fixtures in this group ended in draws last week. Which of these sides will take top spot after today’s match?
All will be revealed! Stick with us for all the latest from Los Angeles, where we will get underway at 8pm BST.
