Belgium and Iran played out a goalless draw in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Here are our Scout Notes from the game, which include match stats from our World Cup Toolkit page.
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BELGIUM 0-0 IRAN
- Tackle bonus: Ezatolahi
- Top points scorers: Beiranvand (11), De Cuyper (9), Mechele (9), Rezaeian (9), Kanani (9), Khalilzadeh (9), Hajisafi (9), Nemati (9)
TEAM STATS
PLAYER STATS
SCOUT NOTES
- There was plenty of action in this match, but in the end, nothing to separate the two sides. Belgium dominated possession (70%) and racked up 23 shots, but were left frustrated by a resolute Iran defence.
- The Red Devils have now had 38 shots across their first two World Cup matches, but have managed to score only one goal, an own goal.
- Rudi Garcia rewarded Romelu Lukaku ($7.4m) with a start here, having been involved in Belgium’s equaliser in Round 1 just seconds after coming on. However, the Red Devils were without Jeremy Doku ($7.5m) due to illness, with his absence felt.
“He was fine, and he managed to play against Egypt. But since then, well, there are ups and downs in life, and the medical staff decided to take things a little bit further and help him recover.” – Rudi Garcia on Jeremy Doku
- In addition to Lukaku, Maxim De Cuyper ($4.7m), Nicolas Raskin ($5.3m) and Alexis Saelemaekers ($5.7m) were promoted to the starting XI. Timothy Castagne ($4.7m), Amadou Onana ($5.9m) and Charles De Ketelaere ($5.6m) dropped to the bench, while Doku missed out completely.
- De Cuyper and Kevin De Bruyne ($7.5m) had five shots apiece, the former getting four of them on target. However, they were repeatedly denied by the heroics of Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand ($4.2m), the game’s top scorer with 11 points.
“We could have won by three goals against Iran but we weren’t efficient enough. We had many attempts and when you don’t score, you don’t win a match. We dominated, so tactically and in terms of the game plan we played as we wanted to play. But we were wasteful and lacked efficiency.” – Rudi Garcia
- Leandro Trossard ($6.6m) created six chances for his teammates, the most of any player.
- Belgium’s cheap defensive pairing, Nathan Ngoy ($3.7m) and Brandon Mechele ($3.9m), continued at the back, but the former was sent off in the second half. Ngoy still finished on seven points, having banked a clean sheet and the Scouting Bonus, but will now be suspended for Round 3, with Onana or Arthur Theate ($4.5m) likely to replace him.
- With the Red Devils down to 10 men, the largely ineffective Lukaku was hooked shortly after. Thomas Meunier ($4.8m) had earlier been subbed off for Castagne on 58 minutes.
- For all of Belgium’s probing in the final third, Iran still had some very decent chances. Lining up in a 5-4-1 formation, with Ramin Rezaeian ($4.0m) ‘out of position’ on the right wing, talisman Mehdi Taremi ($6.1m) had a goal ruled out from a well-worked free-kick. Hassan Kanani ($3.9m) had earlier forced Thibaut Courtois ($4.9m) into a fine save, too.
- Overall, it was a solid performance from Iran, who battled hard for a point.
- Cheap defender Rezaeian is a player to consider against Egypt in Round 3, having banked 22 points in his first two matches.
- The result means Group G remains wide open. Stuck on two points, Belgium will at least face the tournament’s lowest-ranked team, New Zealand, in their final match.
