Portugal and Iran are two teams with quite different destinies: one continues the World Cup, the other leaves.

Luis FIGO (POR)
I’m delighted with the win, and we’re all looking forward to taking on the next big-name opponents. We threw away possession at the start and misplaced our passes. We really should have taken the lead well […]

Portugal is qualified and Iran leaves World Cup. The coaches reflect the situation in their reactions.

Luiz Felipe SCOLARI (POR)
This was the best performance by my team in the last seven or eight games. Now we have qualified we can concentrate on other things for the next match. We can look at who has got yellow […]

Iran in defence, Portugal in offence. This quite puts it.
Still, you have to understand that Iran had one or two chances, Portugal being caught on counterattack. More, Iran is playing a very tough game, with hard attacks.
The question is: will Iran be able to resist?

Well, everybody thinks Iran is the likely victim here, but is it the case? Well, I think so too, actually. Here’s a little preview of the game.

How things stand
Former Colombian national coach and FIFA Technical Study Group member Francisco Maturana was among those who felt that despite their 3-1 defeat, Iran were far from […]

The World record holder for international goals, the Iranian Ali Daei is answering some questions, regarding his injury, his team and the dreams for World Cup.

FIFAworldcup.com: Is there a lot of pressure on you because of your status in Iranian football?
Ali Daei: I think there is too much pressure from some Iranian journalists. They […]

Iran’s coach, Branko Ivankovic said there will be some changes in the Iranian team that lost 1-3 to Mexico.

Skipper Ali Daei looks like being the most high profile casualty with the veteran striker, who was roundly criticised in the Iranian press for his lacklustre performance against Mexico, suffering from a back injury.
“We will have to […]

Iran;s Ali Daei will not play against Portugal because of back problems.

Coach Branko Ivankovic said Daei, who holds the world record for international goals with 109, took a knock during Iran’s 3-1 Group D defeat to Mexico on Sunday.
“He suffered a hit in the back during yesterday’s game and probably won’t be fit to play […]

Did you know Portugal never drawn at the World Cup? Never did I.

Portugal’s narrow victory over Angola in the FIFA World Cup Stadium Cologne on Sunday continues their record of never having drawn a FIFA World Cup™ match. Their 12 matches to date have produced seven wins and five draws.
The Netherlands’ single-goal victory over Serbia […]

Players and coaches from both teams tell us what they think and feel about the match they played.

Coaches:
Ricardo LA VOLPE (MEX)
Despite the goal, we were tense and nervous in the first half. The opening game in the World Cup is never easy and the players know that. We started to play a bit after the […]

Mexico scores again in the 79th minut, Zinha the scorer, with a header. He is only 1m63cm high, being the smallest player on the field, yet he scored a header. This should tell you about the defence of Iran a lot.