| Yugoslavia and Iran, the two sides that only just qualified for France 98 after
winning play-off matches against Hungary and Australia respectively, produced
as bad a game of football that the World Cup has ever witnessed. Even the
deciding goal for the Yugoslavs came courtesy of some dire goalkeeping from
Iran's Nima Nakisa from Sinisa Mihajlovic's 73rd-minute free-kick as a 30,392
crowd in the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, St Etienne were far from entertained.
Yugoslavia and Iran fielded sides that, at least on paper, appeared would ensure
an enjoyable attacking game, with flair players like Mijatovic, Stojkovic, Jugovic
and Milosevic, whilst the Iranians boasted the best scoring record in qualifying,
with 57 goals, of which Karim Bagheri top-scored with 18 of them. With the
Yugoslavs starting very cautiously and the Iranians sitting back the game was
sadly devoid of goalmouth action with unforced errors from both sides leading to
an extremely scrappy opening half an hour. Iran at least started to push men
forward in the last ten minutes before the break, but the only noteworthy efforts
in a woeful first half came from set-pieces, with Goran Djorovic and Dejan
Jankovic going close with headers from corners and Bagheri firing a free-kick
straight at Ivica Kralj. After the break the game continued in the same vein as
supposed quality international players were incapable of passing the ball to each
other and the crowd continued to amuse themselves with the now customary
"Mexican wave", which had begun after just 22 minutes. The Yugoslavs
introduced a couple of young substitutes in Stankovic and Ognjenovic who
provided a little more pace in attack and the breakthrough came as this drab
encounter entered it's final 20 minutes. Mihajlovic lined up his third free-kick in
an eight-minute spell and after the first couple of sighters, this time he found the
target, striking a left-footed curler into the space occupied by Nakisa who had
anticipated a shot over the wall. The goal spurred Iran into action and Daei had
a great chance to equalise but failed to get enough power into a downward
header, before the referee put everyone out of their misery by blowing the final
whistle. Yugoslavia will be delighted with the three points from this Group F
clash after a below-par performance in one of the most instantly forgettable
matches in World Cup history. |
(1-0) Mihajlovic (73). He lined up a free-kick from 25-yards and struck a curling left-footed shot around the wall towards the
left-hand side of the goal, but with Nakisa anticipating an effort over the wall, the ball ended up in the
back of the net with the 'keeper flat-footed. |
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