June, 20, 2006
FIFAworldcup.com

Iran will be playing their last game against Angola in Leipzig for pride rather than a place in the Round of 16, the target which they set themselves before the FIFA World Cupâ„¢ began.

However, despite their exit at the first stage, Branko Ivankovic's men are looking to end their time in the tournament on a high by defeating the Palancas Negras in their final group game. “We will be happy to go home with a victory,” said Iran midfielder Ferydoon Zandi, “We have nothing to lose now and so we can play without pressure.”

Inconsistency to blame

Iran were hoping to take their opening opponents Mexico and the watching world by surprise when they opened their campaign in Nuremberg. However, their good performance was limited to a first half in which they more than matched El Tri. The second half saw them concede two quick goals inside three minutes to put them on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline.

Go to the Iran team page

Their first two performances in this FIFA World Cup are reminiscent of their disappointing qualifying campaign for the previous edition in 2001. Despite starting the preliminaries brightly, their results quickly took a turn for the worse, ending with a 3-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia. Now, five years on, Iran are determined not to see a similar ending.

Enlarge Photo
Photo Gallery
“We'll give 100 per cent in our final game and bid the tournament a worthy farewell,” said Zandi. “We'd like to finish third in the group, but we're well aware Angola will provide tough opposition.”

Questions about defence

Iran, who have been praised for their offensive strengths, realise that they still have work to do on their defensive skills, harshly exposed in the matches with Mexico and Portugal.

Their task in the final match against Angola has been made all the more difficult by the absences of tough-tackling midfielder Javad Nekounam and central defender Yahya Golmohammadi, who scored the team’s equalising goal against Mexico. Nekounam is suspended after collecting two yellow cards while Golmohammadi suffered a shoulder injury in the team’s 2-0 defeat by Portugal.

Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh, who replaced Golmohammadi in the final minutes of the game in Frankfurt, looks likely to start in the centre of defence