Carlos Queiroz 'got the thorn out': that's how he beat Uruguay with Iran

Iran surprised this Friday by defeating Uruguay 1-0 in a friendly match played in Austria, where both teams qualified for Qatar-2022 played a mostly discreet match with few scoring chances.

Although La Celeste had more chances and greater possession of the ball, after a very good combination by the Iranian team, Mehdi Taremi scored the only goal of the game in the 79th minute, played at the NV Arena in the city of Sankt Pölten, 65 kilometers from Vienna.

The Asians thus took away the unbeaten record from Uruguayan coach Diego Alonso, who since taking office in January had won five wins and a draw for La Celeste.

Next Tuesday, Uruguay will face Canada and Iran will play Senegal at the end of this double FIFA date, which will be the last stop before the World Cup that starts in November.

Queiroz’s victory

Carlos Queiroz, in the Colombian National Team, in 2020.

Photo:

Eph. Archive THE TIME

The beginning was bumpy. They were barely 30 seconds into the game when the Barcelona defender Ronald Araújo was injured due to a stretch in the crotch and had to be replaced by Agustín Rogel.

After that unexpected start, Iran showed more initiative and control of the ball, but the first move close to goal came from the South Americans’ side in the 15th minute, with a powerful mid-range shot from Darwin Nunez which passed just above the horizontal pole.

Beyond that shot, Uruguay had a hard time chaining an attack. Playing as a block and with quick starts, the Asians pressed well, limiting the light blue. However, they could not generate danger in the Charrúa area, which had a good stop to their defense.

In this way, a slow meeting took place, somewhat boring and with few incidents. Before halftime, the South Americans had more shots on goal, two that went outside the goal again, and another by Mathías Olivera that ended in the goalkeeper’s hands. Iran, meanwhile, after a start that promised more verticality, did not achieve concrete results, without generating concern in the celestial field.

The Uruguayan team started the second half more focused on the attack, with an overtaking that led to more well-directed shots but without goal, either due to deflections or interventions by the Iranian goalkeeper.

Even with these arrivals, as in the first half, the clash did not generate great emotions. At 64 it was the clearest for the Asians, who with a wall reached the gates of the goal defended by Sergio Rochet, who managed to stop a ball that ended up running parallel to the goal line.

Two minutes later, Uruguay came close to opening the scoring, first with a shot that saved a defender on the line, and immediately with another dangerous ball saved by the goalkeeper.

The crash was more dynamic and entertaining, but soon began to get too rough and stuck. The hinge came at 79, when, after a great combination of the Iranian attack, Taremi scored the winning goal for those led by the Portuguese Carlos Queiroz.