Iran shut out Belgium as Jahanbakhsh turns taunts into fuel

Iran hold Belgium, Jahanbakhsh fires back

Your team took a point off Belgium. The 0–0 draw on Saturday keeps Iran on two points from two games in Group G, perfectly placed for the knockout push.

And it was personal. Before the match, Belgian players talked, and Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Mehdi Taremi took it as fuel. "They want to drive us crazy, but it does not work that way," the pair said, quoting a Belgian taunt back at them (2). Jahanbakhsh used the phrase as motivation, and on the pitch your team backed it up.

The same defensive discipline that held Egypt to a 1–1 draw in the opener shut down Kevin De Bruyne and company (1). Amir Ghalenoei has built a side that absorbs pressure and strikes on the break, and Belgium had no answer.

Two games, two results. No stars, no problem.