Goals: Bosnia-Herzegovina—Dzeko 23’ Pjanic 59 Vrsajevic 83’; Iran—Ghoochannejhad 82’
Recap: Iran was unable to obtain the result it needed, falling to Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-1 on Wednesday.
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An opening strike from Edin Dzeko gave the Dragons a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute. Miralem Pjanic would double the advantage in the second half. Reza Ghoochannejhad was able to pull one back for Iran, but Bosnia-Herzegovina proved to be too much on the afternoon. Avdija Vrsajevic sealed the victory in the 83rd minute with a right-footed shot from the right side of the area.
Both teams have been eliminated from the 2014 World Cup.
Key Moment: Pjanic ended Iran’s World Cup dreams in the 59th minute, but it was Tino Susic’s dribbling penetration that created the moment. The 22-year-old, dribbling with pace, pulled Iran’s center-back pairing out of position and created a pocket of space to put his ball through. Pjanic ran onto it with ease. The rest is history.
Man of the Match: Pjanic was a catalyst for Bosnia-Herzegovina in the midfield. The 24-year-old was directly responsible for two of the team’s three goals, finishing the 90 minutes with one goal and an assist.
Lesson Learned: Bosnia-Herzegovina was the second best team in Group F. If not for a poor offside call that cost Dzeko a goal against Nigeria, the Dragons would have secured advancement to the Round of 16. Instead, the debutants of the 2014 World Cup are heading home.
Up Next: Both teams return home to prepare for the 2018 World Cup cycle.
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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