Spain 1 Iran 0: Diego Costa flukes winner to spare La Roja blushes against Group B minnows
Iran's Saeid Ezatolahi had goal ruled out for offside after Costa netted second of tournament to leave Spain a draw away from last 16
THE pain from Spain is mainly in Iran.
The World Cup minnows from the land of the Ayatollahs were cruelly undone Diego Costa’s knee and a video assistant referee more than 500 miles away in Moscow.
Carlos Queiroz’s Asian qualifiers were convinced they had pulled off one of the greatest World Cup shocks of all time.
But they were denied a second-half equaliser by VAR after Costa had unwittingly fired Spain into a 54th-minute lead.
And now they are heading for an early exit unless they can pull off something even more spectacular in their final group game against Portugal next week.
Yet the men from the Islamic Republic certainly didn’t look as though they were planning to catch the first flight back to Tehran.
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After winning their opening game against Morocco to briefly top Group B, they clearly were not going to be overawed by the superstar reputation of their opponents.
Mehdi Taremi served early notice of Iran’s intentions when he clattered into Spanish skipper Sergio Ramos in the opening minutes.
Real Madrid’s master of the dark arts was none too impressed by that one and quickly made his own presence felt with a hefty challenge on Sardar Azmoun.
Yet Iran were more than happy to turn it into a scrap if it disrupted Spain’s natural rhythm.
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With every man behind the ball to keep the opposition at arm’s length, it was a tactic designed to test the patience of the former world champions.
Patience, though, is not one of Costa’s greatest virtues so it was only a matter of time before we saw the beastly side of El Cholo.
In fairness to Costa, it was by no means the worst challenge of his career, but his crafty tread on the toes of keeper Ali Beiranvand was still enough to provoke a reaction.
The former Chelsea striker was far from impressed by the keeper’s dramatic collapse to the ground.
Yet given his own track record for histrionics, he really was in no position to complain.
Having battered the Portuguese defence to score twice in last week’s 3-3 draw, Costa was clearly Spain’s main hope of breaking down the stubborn Iranians.
Unfortunately for acting Spanish boss Fernando Hierro, the few first-half chances which came his team’s way all fell to David Silva.
The Manchester City forward forced an early block from defensive midfielder Saeid Ezatolhi before a 25th minute free-kick was comfortably held by Beiranvand.
Two more shots from the edge of the area were charged down by desperate last-ditch challenges from centre-half Mortez Pouraliganji.
His best opportunity, though, came on the half hour when a moment of panic in the Iranian penalty area ended with Silva hooking the ball high over the bar on the turn.
With star defender Roozbeh Cheshmi already ruled out by an injury sustained in training, the last thing Queiroz needed was the sight of skipper Ehsan Haji Safi in apparent agony after a collision with team-mate Majid Hosseini.
But the full-back was able to continue after lengthy treatment to his right thigh as Iran continued to frustrate La Roja.
If ever there was a time for Hierro to come up with an inspiring half-time team talk, this was it.
It was only a week since the former Bolton midfielder had been asked to step into the breach following the shock sacking of Julen Lopetetgui.
And many Spanish supporters remain to be convinced that he is the right man to lead their national team on a permanent basis.
But whatever was said in the dressing-room clearly had the desired effect for Spain emerged for the second-half with a renewed sense of purpose and urgency.
Sergio Busquets had a 49th-minute header cleared off the line from Isco’s corner and Lucas Vazquez’s long-range effort was beaten away at the second attempt by Beiranvand.
Spain now clearly had the bit between their teeth and finally broke Iran’s stubborn resistance in the 56th minute.
Andres Iniesta’s through ball allowed Costa to turn Pouraliganji on the edge of the area and as Ramin Rezaeian tried to clear, he booted the ball against Costa's left knee and could only watch in horror as it flew into the net.
It was safe to say that Costa knew bugger all about his third goal of the tournament.
But that wasn’t going to stop him celebrating like a mad thing.
Yet the drama was not over yet and Iran were convinced they had levelled when Ezatolahi lashed a 62nd minute shot past David de Gea.
It was a strike which sparked a mass pitch invasion from the Iranian bench, but their joy was cut short by an eagle-eyed linesman who had spotted Ezatolahi straying offside in the build-up.
Uruguayan ref Andres Cunha, who awarded a VAR-assisted penalty to France at the weekend, was once again happy to let the men in the TV studios make the big call.
And despite Iran’s protests to the contrary, the video replays backed the linesman’s judgement and lucky Spain were off the hook.