One moment of authentic genius was enough here in Belo Horizonte to defeat 90 minutes of extraordinary courage, effort and organisation. Iran, the country whose socks reportedly shrank in the wash and whose preparations were largely derailed by political sanctions, had contained and even threatened to beat the most extravagantly gifted attacking team in the tournament.
It had been a truly heroic performance but then, just as fourth official Norbert Hauata lifted his board to signal five minutes of added time, the ball fell to Lionel Messi. Argentina’s captain and talisman had been negated until that moment but, with a quick shift of his feet, he created a yard of space in front of a tiring Iran defence. It was all that was needed, with his deadly subsequent finish almost inevitable even from outside the penalty area.
Twenty-eight years to the day since his 'Hand of God’ goal against England, Diego Maradona had actually just left the Estadio Mineirao when Messi scored but will have been relieved to learn that Argentina are now safely qualified for the last 16. “I was very happy with the strike - then I heard people screaming and smiling and it was a wonderful,” said Messi. Tehran had been poised to erupt in spontaneous street parties for what would have been the best result in Iran’s entire history but, instead, an abiding memory was of one fan leaving the stadium literally wailing in distress at such a cruel defeat. Earlier, despite completing the fewest passes (114) in any World Cup match for 50 years, Iran had actually created the best chances of the game. Goalkeeper Sergio Romero was Argentina’s best player and the subsequent brilliance of Messi will not completely camouflage another unconvincing performance. “We know we’re not playing as well as expected but I think we’ll reach our real potential,” said Messi.
The team’s formation has become an issue of major controversy, with manager Alejandro Sabella even asked before the match if his authority has been questioned after Messi openly admitted that he preferred to play in a 4-3-3 formation. Sabella was adamant that the discussion about tactics had all been constructive but, aside from his goal, Messi has rarely looked so ineffective.
If England are still building their team around playing Wayne Rooney through the middle, surely Argentina should be doing the same with the world’s best player. Instead, Messi started on the right and Gonzalo Higuain was the pivotal attacking figure, with Sergio Aguero to his left. The match soon settled into an entirely predictable test of whether Argentina could turn more than 70 per cent of ball possession into goals. Against Iran, who had conceded just once in their previous five matches and so diligently drilled by Carlos Queiroz, it was never going to be a formality. Queiroz’s system is nominally 4-2-3-1 but once Argentina had the ball it was only Reza Ghoochannejad, the Charlton striker, who had licence to occasionally roam into the Argentina half. Ángel Di Maria’s intricate dribbling skills fashioned the first chance but his cross travelled harmlessly along Iran’s six-yard ball without an Argentine touch. Fernando Gago then fed Higuain with a clever defence-splitting ball from the right but Alireza Haghighi, the Iran goalkeeper, was alert to quickly come off his line and smother the danger.
Aguero had Argentina’s best chance of the first half, his curling shot initially looked destined for the top corner but more excellent goalkeeping from Haghighi kept the scores level. By the 50th minute, the relentless chanting and singing of Argentina’s fans was descending into whistles of frustration. Twice in the space of only five second-half minutes, Iran might have scored. First Ghoochannejad forced an excellent reflex save from Romero after Pejman Montazeri had exploited space down Argentina’s left. Then Askhan Dejagah was convinced that Iran should have been awarded a penalty when he went down under a challenge from Zabaleta. Replays suggested that the Manchester City full-back had made the faintest of contact with the ball although Queiroz complained that referee Milorad Mazic, as well as Messi, had been the dominant “personality” of the game. Yet even amid the injustice, Iran were visibly growing in confidence and, roared on by the Brazilian neutrals, they began pushing their more illustrious opponents back. A series of corners followed and only a truly wonderful fingertip save from Romero prevented Dejagah from heading Iran into the lead.
When Ghoochannejad was sent clear one-on-one, only for Romero to make another vital save, it even looked like Argentina might be the happier with a draw. But then Messi awoke to devastating effect.
