Wednesday 20th June 1900hrs Iran v Spain Football – International – World Cup You would have gotten long odds before a ball was kicked that Iran would top Group B after the first round of games but that’s the case. Due to Spain drawing with Portugal on Friday evening, in what has been the game of the tournament by a distance, Iran’s late winner earlier that day against Morocco means they are currently best placed. It would be a surprise if that was still the case come this next week but lets see if we can pick a winning betting tip as Iran face off against Spain.
Iran were as we would expect them to be as a team managed by the very shrewd Carlos Quieroz. They were well organised, difficult to play through and set up to counter when the chance presented itself. Despite their opponents having most of the possession, Iran were able to make the most of their opportunities and kept pressuring Morocco throughout the 90 minutes. They had their reward in the closing stages as an own goal secured them their first win at a World Cup finals since 1998. A 20 year wait is an awful long time but it would have made the win even more sweeter. Their toughest tests lie ahead of them though with tomorrow’s match against Spain followed be their final group game against Portugal. They need something from these games to qualify.
It will be little to no comfort for Spain that they were involved in one of the best games in World Cup history when drawing 3-3 with Portugal in their opening game – they will only see it as two points dropped. The 2010 World Champions came back from a goal down twice to take the lead in the second half but were undone in the final minute by a tremendous free kicky from Cristiano Ronaldo to ensure the game ended in a draw. Performance wise, it was a really positive one for the Spanish, especially on the back of all the drama that preceded the start of the World Cup. They now have to build on that and gain the points against Iran and Morocco they need to progress to the knockout stages. Another major positive was the form and goals from Diego Costa who has struggled for the majority of his international career with Spain. His two goals and overall performance bodes well for the remainder of the competition.
Iran v Spain Betting Tips
This looks like a mismatch on paper as the limited quality of Iran comes up against a Spain team who were on top form and only failed to get the win they deserved against Portugal courtesy of a very rare mistake from David De Gea and wonder strike from Ronaldo. It was the best the Spanish have performed since 2012 at a major championship and if they can shore things up at the back then there’s few teams who will be able to live with them. Of those who can, Iran are not one of them. They will look to frustrate Spain and deny them space in the final third but this opponent has far more to their arsenal than Morocco and will eventually prove too good. Back the Spanish to cover 1.5 on the Asian handicap.
Betting Tip Spain (-1.5 AH) 7/11 @ 888 Sport
