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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Sport
Alexander Abnos at Los Angeles Stadium

Past and present World Cups collide as Beiranvand first gives Iran inspiration, then hope

Iran Alireza Beiranvand World Cup World Cups Saman Ghoddos Alireza Jahanbakhsh Mehdi Taremi Fifa
Iran’s Ramin Rezaeian hugs his goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand during the group G match against Belgium in Los Angeles.
Iran’s Ramin Rezaeian hugs his goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand during the group G match against Belgium in Los Angeles. Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

As they prepared for the future, the Iran national team looked to its past.

Before Sunday’s matchup against a No 9-ranked Belgium with plenty of stars, the team was played a motivational video; a clip containing what midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh said were the indelible moments of Iran’s past two World Cup appearances. These included dogged defending, aggressive closing down, and the few moments of on-field triumph against world powers like Spain and Portugal that have characterized this latest generation of a proud footballing hotbed.

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