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Iran hope for history when they meet Portugal
After a late-game lapse resulting in a 3-1 loss to Mexico, Iran will need a historic victory over Portugal on Friday to keep their second-round hopes alive.
Portugal are -250 favourites to win the match Iran are +800 outsiders The Draw is priced +300
Drawing 1-1 halfway through their game against Mexico, Iran looked in good shape for the second half. But they went on to give up two goals in the last 15 minutes of the match, handing the game to the Mexicans.
Meanwhile, Portugal are coming off a 1-0 victory over Angola, a game they could have easily won 5-0 had they capitalized on their scoring chances. Coming into this match against Iran, Portugal’s success is built on Pauleta and Cristiano Ronaldo. Pauleta netted Portugal’s only goal against Angola and nearly scored 15 seconds into the match. Ronaldo had several chances in the first half, hitting the crossbar on one of them. When Ronaldo was taken out of the game in the 60th minute, Portugal’s offence deflated, almost allowing the Angolans to get back into the match.
Portugal have not qualified for the second round of the World Cup since 1966, when they finished in third place. A win over Iran on Friday will guarantee them a place in the next round this year.
The Iranians have only one victory in their previous seven World Cup matches: a famous 2-1 win over the United States in 1998. They will need to duplicate that sort of performance against Portugal to have any chance of getting out of the group stage for the first time in their history.
After a late-game lapse resulting in a 3-1 loss to Mexico, Iran will need a historic victory over Portugal on Friday to keep their second-round hopes alive.
Portugal are -250 favourites to win the match Iran are +800 outsiders The Draw is priced +300
Drawing 1-1 halfway through their game against Mexico, Iran looked in good shape for the second half. But they went on to give up two goals in the last 15 minutes of the match, handing the game to the Mexicans.
Meanwhile, Portugal are coming off a 1-0 victory over Angola, a game they could have easily won 5-0 had they capitalized on their scoring chances. Coming into this match against Iran, Portugal’s success is built on Pauleta and Cristiano Ronaldo. Pauleta netted Portugal’s only goal against Angola and nearly scored 15 seconds into the match. Ronaldo had several chances in the first half, hitting the crossbar on one of them. When Ronaldo was taken out of the game in the 60th minute, Portugal’s offence deflated, almost allowing the Angolans to get back into the match.
Portugal have not qualified for the second round of the World Cup since 1966, when they finished in third place. A win over Iran on Friday will guarantee them a place in the next round this year.
The Iranians have only one victory in their previous seven World Cup matches: a famous 2-1 win over the United States in 1998. They will need to duplicate that sort of performance against Portugal to have any chance of getting out of the group stage for the first time in their history.
