In contrast to the previous game, Iran versus Nigeria was likely the least anticipated game of this World Cup, and maybe even the least anticipated game of the last decade of World Cup games. Regardless, it had to be played anyway. Seriously, Iran, Nigeria though.
Nigeria started well. Out of form winger, Victor Moses skipped away from his marker but his shot was saved by the Iranian goalkeeper. Moses had already contributed more to this game than he did for his full season at Liverpool. Nigeria continued to have a number of attacks in the opening stages of the game but were unable to convert any of their chances.
They actually did have the ball in the goal, but it was ruled out for a foul on the goalkeeper.
The Iranians seem nervous, and disjointed. Their passes were astray and their positioning poor but they soon began to sort themselves out but they were far from threatening. It took all of 34 minutes for them to register a corner. The resulting header from Charlton Athletic’s Ghoochannejhad was well kept out by the Nigerian goalkeeper.
The game was just as dull and uneventful after the break as well. Moses hit a corner that was as awful as ‘that’ corner by Iago Aspas for Liverpool. Moses came off soon after.
Then it happened, the moment we had all been waiting for happened. The Nigerian Prince, Shola Ameobi came off the bench and made his World Cup debut, at the age of 31. He did score against Barcelona all those years ago, so it was expected he would score here against the dire Iranian outfit. He did have a few headed chances but none changed the score line.
Very little continued to happen for the rest of the game, the Super Eagles tried their best to take the lead. Nigeria dominated possession; the stats showed a 63%-37% split in the Africans favour. Iran - under the guidance of ex-Portugal and Real Madrid coach Carlos Queiroz - were happy to settle for a draw and contain the luminous green shirts.
Finally the referee put this game out of its misery. The only shining light in this otherwise dire game was the appearance of legendary striker Shola Ameobi. Shola Ameobi at a World Cup though.
These teams should not expect to progress from this group and both their next two games should end in defeat. Hopefully Ameobi nicks a goal though. That’s the dream.
Iran 0 – 0 Nigeria 
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