Iran stun Morocco to take opening World Cup win with injury-time own goal gift
Heartbreak for Morocco as Iran score with only effort on goal of the second period
Wasteful finishing looked to have consigned this compelling contest at the Saint Petersburg Stadium to a goalless draw but Bouhaddouz’s mistake in injury-time means Iran emerge as the early challengers to Spain and Portugal in group B.
Iran coach Carlos Queiroz, once of Real Madrid and Manchester United, insisted the chaos that has engulfed Spain this week offered no boost to these teams’ chances, but this victory certainly cranks the pressure up a notch.
“Superman is only in the cartoons,” Queiroz said. “Nobody is superman. What can happen once in a while is when a group of people are united, can create super stories and super things.”
When Bouhaddouz nodded in at the near post, Iran’s substitutes could not resist rushing onto the field and when the final whistle blew moments later they were sprinting over again in delight.
Morocco should at least take heart from a blistering first half an hour, during which their zip and zest made them virtually unplayable. But Hakim Ziyach, Ayoub El Kaabi and Mehdi Benatia all failed to capitalise.
“I am very disappointed,” their coach, Herve Renard, said. “I think if I would have come to this press conference with a draw I would also have been disappointed given how the game played out.”