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Aron Wright - June 23, 2018
Iran vs Portugal
World Cup Group B
Date: Monday, 25 June 2018
Kick-Off at 19:00 UK / 20:00 CET
Venue: Mordovia Arena, Saransk.
Iran and Portugal take on each other in the direct battle for the knockout stage on Monday evening at Mordovia Arena in Saransk. The draw works out well for Selecao das Quinas following their narrow 1-0 victory over Morocco in the second round on Wednesday.
A real buzz is expected in and around Mordovia Arena as Iran and Portugal are about to lock horns in the direct battle for the knockout phase.
Can Cristiano Ronaldo continue his dream campaign at the World Cup as he comes into the game having bagged each of his team’s four goals so far in the competition?
Iran will enter the affair encouraged with a strong display against one of the main title contenders Spain.
World Cup 2018 Group B – Qualification Scenario
Iran pushed one of the event favourites so close on Wednesday evening. They showed a huge determination in spite of conceding a rather odd goal from Diego Costa ten minutes into the second half. The Asian hopefuls, who have not lost a single competitive affair ever since the previous edition of the World Cup, went on to equalize later in the game, but Saeid Ezatolahi’s goal was disallowed for an offside position.
Team Melli created a host of other goal-scoring chances against the European heavyweights, the one which saw Olympiacos’ Karim Ansarifard fire just into side net with a lashed volley being the most lethal of all. Iran still have the opportunity to fix things up on Monday when they take on Portugal.
However, the tradition does not speak in their favour ahead of the decisive fixture against the European champions. Iran lost as many as six and drew just one of last seven clashes against the European opposition at the World Cup. Interestingly, Iran did not manage a single shot on goal in the clash with Spain, the first such contest in last 14 World Cup outings for them.
Beiranvand – Rezaeian, Pouraliganji, Cheshmi, Hajisafi – Ezatolahi – Jahanbakhsh, Ebrahimi, Amiri, Ansarifard – Azmoun.
Rui Patricio – Soares, Pepe, Fonte, Guerreiro –Bernardo Silva, Joao Moutinho, William Carvalho, Bruno Fernandes – Cristiano Ronaldo, Guedes.
Iran and Portugal are about to cross each other’s paths for the second time over the course of history. The lone previous meeting took place at the World Cup in Germany back in 2006 when Selecao das Quinas took a comfortable 2-0 victory with second-half goals from Deco and Cristiano Ronaldo.
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The statistics is heavily on Portugal’s side as the European champions have not lost a single clash against the non-European opposition since 2002 at the World Cup. They’ve won six and drawn three ever since, a streak which includes the aforementioned 2-0 victory over Iran in 2006.
Nevertheless, it will be anything but a one-way street for Fernando Santos’ men who are about to take on highly-motivated opposition who proved to have what it takes to stay competitive against the world-class outfits on Monday against Spain.
The affair has a massive importance representing the direct battle for the knockout stage which is why we expect to see a huge tension on the court, meaning you should back “Over” in the number of cards market.
There should not be a host of goal-scoring chances, meaning the Under 2.5 goals FT is our top suggestion. We will alternatively go for the value and back Iran not to lose at the 2.10 odds.
Iran vs Portugal Predictions from Statistical Analysis, ©LeagueLane®
