INGLEWOOD — It didn’t take long for the Iranian soccer team supporters, which seemed to make up a large majority of the crowd, to erupt in cheers Sunday.
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In the 25th minute, Mehdi Taremi scored off of Ehsan Hajsafi’s free kick through the wall for an apparent 1-0 lead. However, after video review, the goal was disallowed.
That celebration was subdued until another flashpoint in the 67th minute. Belgium’s Nathan Ngoy was sent on a red card, giving Iran, with a man advantage and another opportunity to steal the win and three points.
Ngoy lost possession near midfield and then tackled Iranian forward Mehdi Taremi and was sent off for denying a goal-scoring opportunity.
Unfortunately for Iran, it was never able to recapture that goal-scoring momentum and was forced to settle for a scoreless draw in front of 70,317.
Both teams move to two points in the Group G standings with New Zealand and Egypt meeting in Canada later this evening.
The goalkeepers Thibaut Courtois (Belgium) and Alireza Beiranvand were on their jobs. Courtois was credited with three saves. While, Beiranvand, who was in a violent collision with Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku in the third minute, made seven.
As expected, Belgium dominated possession, leaving Beiranvand to have to face numerous shots. One of his best came in the 58th minute as he made a left-hand save on a point-blank shot from Maxim De Cuyper, while sprawling on the ground to keep the game scoreless.
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The Red Devils attack went into the game lacking, with forward Jérémy Doku missing the game due to illness. Lukaku was inserted into the starting lineup. Lukaku missed all but five games during the club season with Napoli due to a thigh injury. Lukaku had a substitute role in Belgium’s opening 1-1 draw against Egypt. Lukaku finished the with just 24 touches and no shots.
All four teams in the group entered the second round of games on one point. New Zealand and Iran played to a 2-2 draw Thursday.
The final group stage game is set for Friday with Iran facing Egypt in Seattle and New Zealand taking on Belgium in Canada.
For their second consecutive game, Iran had to deal with their travel restrictions. The team didn’t arrive in Los Angeles until Saturday for the Sunday afternoon game. Thursday, the Iranian Federation filed a complaint against FIFA.
In a statement, the federation called their travel restrictions “inconsistent with the principle of providing equal conditions for all participating teams and may negatively affect teams’ preparation processes.”
The statement continued: “Consequently, the federation will formally express its dissatisfaction and lodge an official complaint with FIFA through the appropriate channels. Despite these limitations, Iran’s national team will continue its preparation programme and remain fully focused on its upcoming match against Belgium.”
Iran will conclude its Group G schedule Friday in Seattle. Saturday, coach Amir Ghalenoei said he was “optimistic” that FIFA would convince the U.S. government to ease its travel timing restrictions with Iran having to travel further than from Mexico to Los Angeles.
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