Queiroz is Vindicated

Iran kept more clean sheets than any nation in qualifying, while Nigeria were the lowest scoring, so perhaps it was no great surprise that their meeting in Curitiba should produce the first draw—and the first goalless draw—of the World Cup. This was a game of stolid, resolute defending from Iran and, after an initial burst, largely witless attacking from Nigeria. It wasn’t great to watch for the neutral but a hard-earned point is a hard-earned point and Carlos Queiroz will regard the draw as vindication for his approach.

Nigeria hasn't won any of their last nine World Cup matches and have scored only five goals in those fixtures. For them, a lack of flair has become endemic, and Iran will find it far harder to shut out not only Argentina, who shimmer with creative players, but also Bosnia. Whatever the shortcomings of Zvjezdan Misimovic and Izet Hajrovic defensively, both have a capacity to unlock a defense that was missing from the Nigerians.

The game had descended into stalemate long before half time, yet it started as though it would continue this tournament’s streak of high-scoring games. For the first 10 minutes Iran were shambolic, so much so that their fine defensive record in qualifying seemed baffling. Alireza Haghighi was fortunate after dropping an early corner for Ahmed Musa to stab in that the referee Carlos Vera decided he had been fouled by Mikel John Obi—although replays seemed to suggest he had collided with his own player. Then Emmanuel Emenike hurtled past Jalal Hosseini before sending in a low cross that Musa almost got on the end of, but the ball was only half-cleared.

Ogenyi Onazi fired just wide. All that was in the first ten minutes. Three times Mikel hit long balls from deep in midfielder behind Pejman Montazeri and with Victor Moses and Musa linking well with the mobile Emenike, it seemed a case of when rather than if Nigeria would take the lead.

Slowly, though, Iran began to gain a foothold and to rediscover the solidity they had shown in qualifying. As the England manager Roy Hodgson has noted repeatedly, the simplest way to defend zonally is to play with two banks of four with no more than 10-15m between them. That’s all Iran did, but they did it was great discipline, Khosro Heydari looking every inch the converted full-back on the right of midfield, Javad Nakounam screening the back four, with Andranik Teymourin alongside him venturing forward only occasionally. Ehsan Hajsafi on the left perhaps might have been expected to offer the greatest attacking thrust from midfield, but he was largely occupied by dealing with Musa, the most threatening of Nigeria’s forward line.

Lacking a really guileful creator – their coach, Stephen Keshi, perhaps regretted omitting Sunday Mba who fulfilled that role in last year’s Cup of Nations; he was left out after arriving late for the pre-World Cup training camp, he said because of visa problems. Nigeria were too hurried, to lacking in imagination. Again and again they ran into the twin white walls, unable to find space, forever frustrated by the diligence and organization of the Iranian back eight. When a team is set on defense and almost nothing else, simply packing men behind the ball, it is very difficult to mount the sort of pressure that will force and error: goals, if they come in those circumstances, tend to be from a moment of brilliance or from a cross. Shola Ameobi, who came on seven minutes into the second half for Moses, taking the central striker’s spot with Emenike moving out to the left, did put one diving header just wide under pressure from

Sadeghi, but Nigeria seemed reluctant to get balls into the box.

Peter Odemwingie, having come on for Azeez after 69 minutes as Nigeria shifted from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1, almost brought produced the requisite magic, flicking a ball up with his chest and volleying just wide – although he was pulled back anyway, incorrectly, for a supposed handball. That, though, was a rare moment of quality. There’s a tendency after games like that to ask why the more fancied team didn’t attack more, but the truth is that Nigeria did try to attack; they just couldn’t break Iran down.

As an attacking threat, Iran offered next to nothing, their only real chance coming from a first-half corner from Ashkan Dejagah that Reza Ghoochani Nejad directed goalwards only for Vincent Enyeama to make a fine reaction save to his right.

Really, though, this wasn’t an Iranian performance about scoring goals; their entire game-plan seemed based around not conceding and Queiroz, as he showed in his time as assistant manager at Manchester United, is a master at that; it’s no coincidence that they were at their most effective in shutting out opponents in the Champions League during his time at the club.

Perhaps Keshi could have got his full-backs forward more and tried to overload Iran on the flanks, but an element of caution in the first game of the tournament was probably understandable: after all, a draw was frustrating for Nigeria but a defeat would have been disastrous for their hopes of making it through to the next round. As it is, they have to look to beat Bosnia in their next fixture, and that’s a game that ought to be better suited to them: Keshi’s side is far more effective when it can sit deep and absorb pressure then spring on the break than when it is called upon to take the game to the opposition.

According to whoscored.com., Iran had only 30% of possession, which says much for their discipline; playing without the ball is a test of mind as much as anything. Nekounam excelled in fort of the back four, Hosseini was impressive in the air, while Pooladi, after that slightly awkward first ten minutes, was superb in stifling the threat of Musa before making two late interventions to thwart Ameobi. Having taken a point and frustrated Nigeria, Iran face a far sterner test against Argentina, but the good news for them is that if Nigeria fail to beat Bosnia they will go into the final group game with a chance of qualification. They’re off the mark, and there may be more to come.