KAZAN, KOMPAS.com - Timnas Spanyol berhasil meraih kemenangan pada pertandingan lanjutan Grup B Piala Dunia 2018 melawan timnas Iran dengan skor akhir 1-0 di Kazan Arena, Rabu (20/6/2018) atau Kamis dini hari WIB.
Gol kemenangan Spanyol dicetak oleh Diego Costa pada menit ke-54. Total, penyerang Atletico Madrid ini sudah mengemas tiga gol bagi timnas Spanyol di Piala Dunia 2018.
Selain itu, pada hari ketujuh ini, belum ada pertandingan yang berakhir dengan skor imbang 0-0. Selain itu, tiga laga hari ketujuh berakhir dengan skor identik, 1-0.
Baca Juga: Legenda Man United Sebut David de Gea Layak di Kritik Usai Lakukan Blunder
Berikut 5 fakta menarik pertandingan Iran vs Spanyol:
3 - Diego Costa berhasil mencetak tiga gol melalui tiga kali tendangan ke arah gawang yang dilakukannya selama dua kali pertandingan Spanyol pada Piala Dunia 2018.
5 - Spanyol selalu memenangi lima laga terakhir Piala Dunia dengan skor 1-0 ketika bermain imbang 0-0 pada babak pertama.
22 - Spanyol belum terkalahkan pada 22 pertandingan terakhir mereka. Catatan itu merupakan yang terpanjang bagi sebuah tim nasional.
Spain are unbeaten in their last 22 matches (W15-D7-L0), the longest active unbeaten run in international football. #ESP #WorldCup
Recover your password.
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Diego Costa, right, celebrates after scoring Spain’s only goal against Iran. (Frank Augstein/Associated Press)
Spain 1, Iran 0
Group B, Kazan Arena, Kazan
The win Spain desperately needed came after 94 minutes of desperate, sprinting, all-out soccer that yielded only one goal and very nearly another. La Furia Roja defeated Iran, 1-0, to earn a much-needed three points in Group B and keep alive its hopes of advancing to the World Cup’s knockout stage.
The result left Portugal and Spain tied atop Group B, with Iran one point behind. Only two teams can advance, and only one match remains for each team in the group stage. Spain is guaranteed to advance with at least a draw against Morocco on Monday.
Iran committed to defending Spain’s possession attack for much of the game, allowing La Furia Roja to complete 720 passes and control the ball for 68 percent of the game. That proved too much for even Team Melli’s best defensive effort.
In the 54th minute, Andres Iniesta beat two defenders and caught Iran’s back line out-numbered around the 18-yard box. He played a nice pass into the box to Diego Costa, who controlled the ball and spun between two defenders. One tried to make a tackle and instead flicked the ball off Costa’s shin and then past Alireza Beiranvand, the goalkeeper, to open the scoring.
Sometimes luck is all you kneed.
(we'll see ourselves out) pic.twitter.com/B6arwyukFU — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 20, 2018
Iran looked like it had a response 10 minutes later after earning a free kick in the attacking half. The ball fell into the box undefended and wound up in a scrum until Saeid Ezatolahi found it and struck it past Spanish keeper David de Gea, inciting a frenzy in the Iranian technical area and on the field.
The World Cup is here. Want smart analysis, opinions, viewing guides and more? Sign up for our month-long newsletter. Every match day through the final July 15.
But after a 20-second delay, officials took the goal off the board for an offside call, which was confirmed by video review.
Iran thought they had equalized but VAR ruled it was offside! pic.twitter.com/CObtXL78Sq — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 20, 2018
***
What’s next
Iran: vs. Portugal in Saransk, June 25, 2 p.m.
Spain: vs. Morocco in Kaliningrad, June 25, 2 p.m.
Complete World Cup scores and schedule
***
In-Game updates
Yellow card to Iran’s Ebrahimi
In the 92nd minute.
Iran substitution: Ghoddos for Amiri
In the 87th minute.
Iran not dead yet
Team Melli is still fighting and nearly equalized in the 82nd minute. Amiri put the ball through the legs of a Spanish defender, then lofted a cross that was indefensible. Mehdi was on the other side, but his header was a foot high of the goal.
It's OK, Pique. Iran fails to convert after the nutmeg. 😱#IRNESP pic.twitter.com/Hk6fcBOy09 — FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 20, 2018
Spain substitution: Ascensio for Vazquez
In the 79th minute.
[Egypt is denied its roar for Mohamed Salah as Russia rolls to World Cup win]
Yellow card to Iran’s Amiri
In the 79th minute.
Iran substitution: Jahanbakhsh for Ansarifard
In the 75th minute.
Spain substitution: Koke for Inesta
In the 71st minute.
Iran substitution: Mohamedi for Haji Safi
In the 70th minute.
Goal Iran — or not
Team Melli won a free kick 30 yards out that fell into the box without a Spanish answer. Saeid Ezatolahi found the ball and a struck it past de Gea, inciting a frenzy in the Iranian technical area and on the field.
But after a 20-second delay, officials took the goal off the board.
Iran thought they had equalized but VAR ruled it was offside! pic.twitter.com/CObtXL78Sq — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 20, 2018
Goal, Spain!
Finally, La Furia Roja breaks through. Iniesta played a nice ball into the box to Diego Costa, who controlled the ball and spun between two defenders. One tried to make a tackle and instead flicked the ball of Costa’s shin and past Beiranvand, the goalkeeper, to open the scoring.
Iran misses a chance
Really, that should have scored, too. Iran won a throw in the attacking zone, and Karim Ansarifard was able to put a foot on an ensuing cross. He had Spanish keeper David de Gea cleanly beaten but pulled a shot from 12 yards out just wide. The ripple off the outside of the net made it look like he had scored.
Spain getting even closer
How hasn’t it scored yet?
It’s the 49th minute now, and Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand swatted away a header that was inches from trickling over the goal line, then punched away a strong drive from the 18-yard box after a semi-clearance moments later. And he saved the rebound, too!
DOUBLE SAVE! IR Iran keeper Beiranvand makes a flying stop from a stinging Busquets strike and then has the piece of mind to palm the ball away to safety pic.twitter.com/WBf9nLBOtF — ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 20, 2018
Halftime: Spain 0, Iran 0
After 45 minutes, Iran and Spain are scoreless in Kazan, just how Team Melli likes it. Spain held the ball 73 percent of the half and fired 10 shots, four of them on goal. But Iran dropped all 11 men behind the ball and foiled each and every Spanish surge to go to halftime in a scoreless tie.
Spain knocks on the door
The Spaniards are edging closer and closer to the goal with every wave of attacks. Andres Iniesta was three yards from the net when this ball came on to his foot in the 42nd minute, but Team Melli’s back line rose to the task and deadened his shot. It’s an early game-saver for Iran, and another frustrating miss for Spain.
Look at #Iran defending here. Putting 11 men behind the ball. They're going to stay like this for 70 minutes of this game.#IRN #ESP #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/1zf4yxuLFD — ((( Jacob Bogage ))) (@jacobbogage) June 20, 2018
Iran committing to defense
Team Melli is perfectly content to let Spain control the ball and dance around the box, but Iran has done well to foil any promising Spanish chances.
Spain off to a strong start
Through 16 minutes, La Furia Roja has been on the ball 77 percent of the game and are playing with 85 percent pass accuracy.
Starting lineups announced
Opening thoughts
It will take a miracle for the Islamic Republic to defeat La Furia Roja, the 2010 World Cup champions who were somehow bounced in the group stage of the 2014 tournament. But Team Melli is in the upset business after a surprising win against Morocco last week. Spain is in the odd position of needing a win after conceding a draw to Portugal last week in the tournament’s most exciting match to date.
Team profiles
Iran (1-0-0, 3 points)
Last World Cup showing: Group stage, 2014.
Best finish: Group stage, 2014, 1998, 1978.
Notable: Coach Carlos Queiroz previously guided South Africa and his native Portugal to the World Cup, but he has yet to win a knockout-round game in two previous World Cup trips.
FIFA world ranking: 37. ELO world ranking: 20.
Spain (0-1-0, 3 points)
Last World Cup showing: Group stage, 2014.
Best finish: Champion, 2010.
Notable: Spain conceded just two goals in seven matches en route to the 2010 championship. In four World Cup matches since, La Furia Roja have been outscored 10-7.
FIFA world ranking: 10. ELO world ranking: 2.
Read more about the World Cup:
Portugal vs. Spain was a symphony, and Cristiano Ronaldo hit all the high notes
Iran held him captive for 544 days. Now he’s rooting for its World Cup team.
Global opinions: Sorry, Iran. The World Cup is for women, too.
Nike tells Iran’s World Cup team to find other shoes
‘Iranian Messi’ feels at home at World Cup before Spain game
It was about as visceral a challenge as football can present: a hugely attritional contest played out to the relentless, infernal sound of Iranian vuvuzelas, which drowned out any means of communication and thought. It was just as well that Spain had the man for such a test.
Diego Costa's goal, just after half time, came as you wondered whether they had what it took to knock down the door built by Iran in a partisan atmosphere straight out of central Tehran. The goal was not an object of beauty but the winners of this tournament will need much more than artistry.
Someone had brought a banner which read 'Iran 0 Spain 0' because even the thousands or Iranians who swarmed up the walkways with their vuvuzelas knew what the game plan would be.
CLICK HERE to read Sportmail's Ian Herbert's match report from the Kazan Arena.
If you're viewing this on our mobile app, CLICK HERE to re-live the full coverage.
Privacy policy
