The World Cup Group F match between two-time champions Argentina and Iran
Published : 21 Jun 2014, 10:02 PM
Final score: Argentina 1 - 0 Iran
Goal scorer: Lionel Messi (90+1')
90+4' Final whistle! Final score Argentina 1-0 Iran. Messi has done it again for Argentina.
90+3' Di Maria off, Luis Biglia is on.
90+1' GOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!! MESSSSSSIIIIII!!!!!!! Lionel Messi from Argentina finds the net with a finish from outside the box!
Well that is the moment of genuis/magic/something special everyone talks about. Messi picks the ball up on the right corner of the box, takes a touch inside, and curls an amazing shot high into the opposite corner. He's done that so many times but it never gets less special. What a shot.
90' Four minutes of added time to be played before the final whistle is blown.
89' Ezequiel Lavezzi from Argentina tries to send the ball into the area but his cross is blocked by an opponent.
87' Another Iran sub: Safi off, Reza Haghighi (no relation to the keeper) is on.
86' Argentina have a corner. They take it short and move it quickly from left to right. Mascherano loops in back to the left post but Haghighi grabs it. Another Argentina corner. Thee blue shirts get to it but nothing comes of it.
And tyhen Alireza is played though on the left channel. He's in the box with Mascherano on the shoulder. He shoots to the far post and Romero makes a good save.
84' Lavezzi wins a corner but it's cleared. Then Rojo takes a crack from wide and 25 yards. Haghighi dives but it's not on target.
Argentina don't seem to have a way through right now. And then Iran go down and win a free kick about 40 yards out on the right. It's an awful ball. Over everyone's head and out for a goal kick.
82' Mehrdad Pooladi from Iran clears the danger with a good tackle
81' Ezequiel Lavezzi from Argentina directs the ball behind the defence, but the keeper comes out and claims it.
80' Marcos Rojo from Argentina tries to send the ball into the area but his cross is blocked by an opponent.
80' Today's attendance is 57698
77' Sergio Aguero is leaving the field to be replaced by Ezequiel Lavezzi in a tactical substitution.
77' Di Mario finds space to the of Iran's goal and drills a low show straight at Haghighi. That was a good opportunity, but Di Maria could have done better than shooting straight at the keeper.
76' Masoud Shojaei is leaving the field to be replaced by Khosro Heydari in a tactical substitution.
76' Andranik Teymourian is injured and is taken off the field to receive medical treatment.
76': Sergio Aguero and Higuain are off. Lavezzi and Palacios is on. Aguero in particular has been less than stellar today.
75' Andranik Teymourian is down injured and receives medical attention on the field.
75' Angel Di Maria shoots and hits the target, but the keeper has it covered.
74' Free kick for Argentina on the left corner of the box. Messi goes for the left side of goals but only hits the side netting.
71' Argentina have had 73% of possession compared to Iran's 27%
67' DEJAGAAAAAAHHHH!!! Big save! Ashkan Dejagah has a great chance to score, but his header is turned behind for a corner by the keeper!
64' Iran get some possession and Safi shoots from what seems to be about 40 yards. No way he's scoring, but the ball takes a huge deflection and goes wide with Romero scrambling. From the corner, the ball is loose and Argentina look panicked but manage to clear it.
62' Pablo Zabaleta from Argentina tries to send the ball into the area but his cross is blocked by an opponent.
60' MESSSSSIIIIII!!! BIG CHANCE - Lionel Messi from Argentina has space and runs with the ball. He has a great chance to score but somehow manages to miss the target!
58' Angel Di Maria from Argentina tries to send the ball into the area but his cross is blocked by an opponent.
55' IRAN APPEAL FOR PENALTY! Denied.
53' Iran picks up a yellow card. Javad Nekounam cautioned.
53' REZZZZAAAAAAAAA!!! Best chance for Iran by far. They break out of Argentine pressure and get a free header oh Romero in goal. Romero saves the day for Argentina.
50' ZABALETTTTAAAAAA!!!! Latches onto a Messi pass inside the box and fires wide.
46' The second half is underway.
Half time
45' Two minutes of added time before the break
45' ANOTHER MISS FROM ARGENTINA!!! And this time it's Fernandes who gets a head on it, but not much of one. It's over the top.
42' Hosseini Ohh big miss from Iran! They win a corner. Dejagah hits it to the near post. Hosseini drives a header a few feet wide from four or five yards out. That would have changed the game!
40' Closing in towards half-time. Still goalless.
37' Gago is fouled on the left edge of the penalty area by Reza. Messi whips in a cross. Garay heads it over, but not by much. Maybe he should have scored there. That's two good chances from sets plays for Argentina.
34' One way traffic here at the moment with Iran offering no offensive threat.
32' Messi plays a one two with Higuain and is chopped down by Andranik . Free kick is a central spot for Messi. He lines to take it and it goes high and wide.
26' Di Maria breaks out from the left. Eventually overruns it but for an Argentina corner.
24' Aguero wins a corner on the left. Di Mariia takes it and Rojo gets up and heads it wide. That would have been a very atypical goal for this team to score and for Iran to concede, but they almost did.
18' Corner to Iran. And Argentina break through Di Maria and there's tons of space but the move breaks down with a bad touch from Higuain.
16' Good chance for Argentina! Gago plays a diagonal through ball from the wide right for Higuain, who is cutting in from the center left. He's through against Haghighi, who gets down and makes the save. In the collision, the keeper is injured and receives treatment.
12' Di Maria is having his way on the left wing. Argentina are pushed all the way up with their center backs on the halfway line and Iran can't get the ball.
8' Argentina's approach seems very direct so far, much quicker on the ball than on Sunday evening against Bosnia.
7' Messi drifts wide, interchanges with Zabeleta on the right. Zabaleta races into the box and finds Aguero, who spins and shoots wide. That's the sort of thing you expect to see from this team. Hard to see how Iran can defend against it for 90 minutes.
4' Jalal Hosseini struggles to make contact with the in-swinging free-kick and his header goes wide.
3' Jittery start for both teams.
1' Iran get things underway in Belo Horizonte.
Argentina are expected to start with a 4-3-3 formation this evening. A back five ensured a boring first half against Bosnia when they lacked any attacking creativity but switched to 4-3-3 in the second half and looked much more lethal up front.
Injury news now: Rodrigo Palacio is expected to return to the Argentina squad, while Iran's Sardar Azmoun is expected to miss out after picking up an injury in the game against Nigeria.
Queiroz: ""I think our primary mission is to go beyond our limits, to put in an outstanding performance because we're up against a team of great quality."
Iran's Portuguese manager Carlos Queiroz has said that this is the most "eagerly anticipated" match in the nation's history.
The starting lineups for Argentina vs Iran:
Iran: Haghighi, Haji Safi, Hosseini, Sadeghi, Nekounam (c), Shojaei, Timotian, Montarezi, Ghoochannejad, Dejagah, Pooladi
Argentina: Romero, Garay, Zabaleta, Gago, Di Maria, Higuain, Messi (c), Mascherano, Rojo, F. Fernandez, Aguero