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On Saturday, the second round of Group D games will take place, in which the national teams of Portugal and Iran will face each other. After the Mexican draw with Iran, there are still good chances for Iran to advance to the next stage, but defeating the Portuguese will certainly not be easy, as a victory for the Portuguese team would guarantee a place in the next stage.
Portugal - Iran
Time: 16:00 (Lithuanian time)
Location: Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt (52,000 seats)
Team news, comments
It can be really difficult to win without the all-time top scorer of the national team. Forward Ali Daei may miss his team's second Group D match against Portugal on Saturday due to a back injury.
"Ali Daei did not participate in the team training due to back pain and I think it will be very difficult for him to recover in time for the match against the Portuguese team," coach B. Ivankovičius told journalists.
"Now we face another difficult task. We have to recover from the loss and prepare for the match against Portugal," said Iran's coach after the first match.
Better news for Portugal - in the match against Iran, Portuguese playmaker Deco is likely to appear, who missed the first match against Angola because he had not fully recovered from an injury. According to coach F. Scolari, Deco did not play because there was fear that the injury to the player would become even more serious.
"His injury could have worsened and taken him out of action for even longer. In our opinion, the best solution was to field a fully prepared player," the coach said.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who did not perform very successfully in the first match, promised that the team's game would improve: "We started the tournament successfully, and in the next match our game will be even better," said C. Ronaldo.
The national team's coach F. Scolari also views the match optimistically. The coach's determination to perform well is also symbolized by the fact that F. Scolari announced that he would be willing to extend his contract with the Portuguese Football Federation. Although the federation does not reveal all the details, it is believed that a new contract will be offered to the Brazilian if Portugal performs successfully in this World Cup. A victory in the match against Iran would almost guarantee a place in the next stage.
Previous meetings
So far, the teams have only played one match against each other. The Portuguese secured a 3-0 victory in 1972.
Predicted lineups
Portugal: Ricardo, Miguel, Carvalho, Meira, Valente, Petit, Maniche, Sabrosa, Figo, Ronaldo, Pauleta.
Iran: Mirzapour, Kaebi, Rezaei, Golmohammadi, Nosrati, Nekonam, Teymourian, Mahdavikia, Hashemian, Karimi, Borhani.
