Nigeria and Iran settle for a draw

Finally we had the first drawn match of the FIFA World Cup 2014 when the African giants locked horns against Asian powerhouse at Curitiba. The match ended where it all started as both teams failed to break the deadlock in spite of an exciting box to box display of football.

Iran made a shaky start against the Nigerians who tried to grab the initial advantage and threatened to take an early lead both from open play and set pieces. In the 32^nd minute the Iran keeper Alireza Haghighi made a smart save from a Nigerian free kick to keep the score down at 0-0. It was from then that Iran tried to claw back into the match. In the 34^th they  almost took the lead from a corner which the Nigerian keeper saved with great reflex. Nigeria dominated the proceedings in the first half but failed to make a breakthrough mostly because of lack of finesse in the attacking third and partly due to some good piece of defending by the Iranians.

The similar story continued in the second half as Nigeria failed to make use of the opportunities that were coming their way. They continued messing it up during the attacks even from set pieces. Meanwhile Iran got few chances from which they could have easily taken the lead but like their opponent failed to score. And they settled for the first draw in the ongoing edition of the FIFA World Cup.

A draw is like a defeat for Nigeria. Now it’s a must-win situation for them against Bosnia-Herzegovina for it’s unlikely that they will take down Argentina. Iran having drawn their first match may dream of a place in the next round. For that they need to win against Bosnia which will turn out a crucial one in context of the standings in Group F.

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About Argha Ghosh

An ardent follower of sports and die-hard Manchester United fan, Argha's ultimate dream is to watch a Manchester derby from the Stretford End at the Old Trafford.