Review: Argentiva vs Iran- Messi Shines Again

This game was really frustrating as Argentina struggled against Iran. Argentina needed one more win to have themselves set for the 16^th round, but it was a very difficult game for them. However, Lionel Messi saved the day for Argentina by scoring during the extra 4 minutes and had given Argentina one step closer to the 16^th round. And for Iran, if they don’t win their next game against Bosnia-Herzegovina, they will not advance to the 16^th round.

Even though La Albiceleste controlled this game, they had a tough time scoring. Iran’s plan against Argentina was simple; make sure Argentina is kept out of the goal. They had chances to steal the ball away from Argentina and that frustrated Messi and Higuain. Iranian Lions had a few great chances where Reza Ghoochannejhad and Ashkan Dejagah almost switched the tide back to Iran. Ghooch definitely proved to Argentina that he’s one of the most threatening Persian players during this game. Unfortunately, they lacked the finishing touch in order to connect passes to goals and they let Messi get away with a goal.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean that Messi, Higuain, and Di Maria are off the hook. Di Maria had numerous chances to score but he just failed. Messi remained silent throughout the most of the game as he couldn’t do anything with 10 Persian defenders marking him. And Higuain failed to threaten Iran’s backline.

As the first half began, Argentina seemed as they got this game under control. Iran’s backline was busy marking Messi, Higuain, and Aguero as Argentina’s midfield continued to press on. 11 minutes in, Messi had the first attempt from the top of the box, but got deflected’. Argentina had a great chance on 18’ as they countered off an Iran’s corner. Iran had a few moments when their line was empty and Argentina had a chance to exploit that gap but blew it because of poor execution.

Again on 22’ Aguero had a great shot but Haghighi (GK) saved the ball (this goalie is just crazy). After 22’ mark, La Albiceleste started to see more chances and started to understand how Iranian Lions were playing. 26 minutes in, Di Maria got a chance to shoot but his first touch was too clumsy and resulted in corner instead. Later, Messi had a chance to score with a free kick on 33’ but he aimed it little too high (I kept hearing my heart beating when Messi had the ball).

As first half ended, the result was what many expected. Argentina had lot of chances but poor touches hold them back. Iran made sure that the box wasn’t exploited but problem for them was that when they tried to counter attack, they left too many spaces open for Argentina. Overall, this was pretty intensive first half as Argentinian players were left frustrated with Iran’s annoying defense.

Second half started and seemed like there were no changes in their strategies. On 50’ Lionel Messi gave a beautiful pass to Zabaleta but Zabaleta’s shot was far from scoring. Three minutes later, it’s now Iran spearheading the counterattack and Ghooch had a good chance but his header was thwarted by Romero (nice save Romero).

To be honest, this was how Argentina played throughout this game. Their shots were constantly blocked and terrible crosses blew La Albiceleste’s chances away. Messi had a terrific chance on 60’ but again his shot was too wide. I started to notice that Iran started to counterattack little by little as Argentina’s frustration kept building on.

67’ in, Dejagah got the terrific pass and tried to score, but his header tipped over the bar. Argentina’s defense was successfully challenged by Iran’s offense as Ghooch and Dejagh kept pressing. Iran kept countering until 86’ where Ghooch again had a great shot but thanks to Romero, Ghooch failed.

Truthfully speaking, Argentina’s plays were completely sloppy and then… WAIT I CANCEL THAT. Messi blasted from the distance and found the back of the net. This dude just saved the day for Argentina. This dude’s unreal. How in the world? This is why Messi is the best player in the world. This guy was just fantastic. That was a completely a low blow for Iran as they hoped to keep Argentina down but couldn’t stop Messi. Argentina got it lucky! Now, they have the 16^th round completely safe in their hands. But can Iran do better in their next game against Bosnia? Iran must play better in their next game or they won’t be able to advance to the 16^th round.

Starting XI

Argentina: Romero; Rojo, Garay, Fernandez, Zabaleta; Mascherano, Gago, Di Maria; Messi, Higuain, Aguero.
Iran: Haghighi; Pooladi, Montazeri, Sadeghi, Hosseini; Nekounam, Teymourian, Shojaei; Hajsafi, Ghoochannejhad, Dejagh.

Man of the Match

MOM for today goes to Lionel Messi. Although Messi struggled against Iran’s defense, Iran couldn’t keep up with Messi’s transcendent talent. It seemed like Argentia would end this game with draw but Argentina had Messi. During the extra time after the second half, Messi scored with his left foot. His goal determined Argentina’s victory and road to the 16^th round. Without Messi, Argentina would have walked out of stadium with draw instead.

Player Ratings

Sergio Romero 8- Great saves against Ghooch and Dejagh. Indisputably the best defender of the team.
Pablo Zabaleta 5.5- should be thankful that ref didn’t call penalty after fouling Dejagh. Couldn’t really do anything against Dejagh when he was trying to find the back of the net.
Ezequiel Garay 5- Looked very stiff when Iran was initiating their counterattacks.
Federico Fernandez 5- Sloppy defense put up by him as Ghooch was constantly pressuring.
Marcos Rojo 7.5- Although he was kind of silent throughout the game, he helped Argentina by going forward and helping Messi out.
Fernando Gago 5- Failed to be effective as he played with the ball. Nice touched though.
Javier Mascherano 5- Sluggish throughout the game as Iran overran him.
Angel Di Maria 5- Really? Is this dude serious with his game? Completely flopped over when he had chances to score. Ugh, I’m done with him.
Lionel Messi 8.5- He was the man who tried to make things happen for Argentina but couldn’t do too much when he was guarded by 6 Iranian defenders. He almost could have received criticisms after the game, but he shined when they really needed him by scoring at the very end.
Sergio Aguero 5- Completely crippled by Iran’s backline.
Gonzalo Higuain 5- He definitely threatened Iran’s backline with his presence but not much of an impact.
Ezequiel Lavezzi 6- His speed tired out Iran’s backline ultimately.
Rodrigo Palacio 6- Had couple of good chances but he could have done better.
Lucas Biglia 5- Not much of an impact as he was subbed in late.

Iran

Alireza Haghighi 8- Was challenged more often during the second half. Had a great performance throughout the game but was beaten by Messi’s brilliance.
Ehsan Hajsafi 5- More involved in second half.
Syed Hosseini 8- Excellent performance. Successfully hold Argentina’s back.
Amirhossein Sadeghi 7.5- Watchful throughout the game.
Javad Nekounam 6- Great shift for Iran’s defense until Messi outsmarted them at the end.
Masoud Shojaei 5.5- Decent performance but not amazing.
Andranik Teymourian 6- Man, this dude worked hard against Argentina’s creative counterattacks. Kudos for him.
Pejman Montazeri 6.5- Hold on his side well but had hard time against Argentina’s attackers.
Mehrdad Pooladi 6- Played his part but struggled when Argentina counterattacked.
Ashkan Dejagah 8- Led Iran to counterattack. Had really great set pieces that caught Argentina off guard.
Reza Ghoochannejhad 7- Did the best he could for the team. But Iran didn’t do much to use him more effectively. Caused a havoc in Argentina’s defense
Alireza Jahan Bakhsh 5- Not enough time to make an impact.
Khosro Heydari 5- He played??
Reza Haghighi 5- Not enough time as well.

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