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- Only one goal stood between IR Iran and qualification
- The penalty saved has given Team Melli hope
- Men of Queiroz "kept the dream alive"
By Siavash Rahmani with Iran
The Iranian IR faced Portugal in his last group match, knowing that he would probably need the three points to qualify in Group B, since Spain was favorite against Morocco, already eliminated.
Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to be Portugal's most dangerous player, given his four-goal lead in the tournament. The Melli team managed to marry him well, and the famous CR7 has been deprived of any goal opportunity. But suddenly, an unstoppable shot by Ricardo Quaresma put Portugal in the lead in the final moments of the first half.
A penalty for Portugal was scheduled to double the lead in the second half. But Ali Beiranvand managed to save Ronaldo's kick. "I am proud to have prevented him from scoring, he is one of the best players of all time," commented the goalkeeper.
"This penalty brought us back into the game, and we created some scoring opportunities," he added. But the equalizer for Iran, also via the penalty spot, arrived very late and gave Carlos Queiroz's men little time to pursue a winner. With the draw, Iran missed the qualifying race, finishing only one point behind Portugal and Spain.
Iran, however, achieved another good performance. In the words of striker Karim Ansarifard, they faced the best teams in the world.
In the end, it was only one goal – one more goal against Portugal would have qualified them. In fact, they would have outstripped Group B ahead of Spain and Portugal. "We are here to make this dream live as long as we can." That's what Carlos Queiroz repeated on several occasions during his interviews in Russia. And his team kept the dream alive until the very last moment.
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