Reuters - Iran fought back from two goals behind to beat
Bosnia-Herzegovina 5-2 in a FIFA World Cup™ warm-up match that raised
serious questions about their defence ahead of the trip to Germamy.
Bosnia-Herzegovina dominated the early exchanges, forcing Iranian keeper
Ebrahim Mirzapour to make a sharp diving save from a free-kick just outside
the box in the first minute.
The pressure on Iran's ragged midfield and defence paid dividends in the
fourth minute when Bochum's Zvjezdan Misimovic threaded a left-foot shot
past Mirzapour from close range.
Iran's lax defending was then exposed again in the 17th minute when veteran
right back Yahya Golmohammadi slipped, allowing Hamburg SV's Sergej Barbarez
to tap in a point-blank cross past Mirzapour for 2-0.
Iran regrouped and struck back in the 25th minute when Hanover 96's Vahid
Hashemian floated a perfectly-weighted pass from the centre circle to
Mehrzad Madanchi, who sliced through the Bosnian defence and rifled the ball
home for 2-1.
Iran drew level in the 44th minute when Messina's rugged defender Rahman
Rezaei connected with a deft pass from skipper Ali Daei and thumped the ball
into the net from a tight angle on the right wing.
Just before half-time, Hashemian put Iran into a 3-2 lead with a simple
finish low to the goalkeeper's left. Iran had by far the better of the
second half, building fluid and composed attacks against the Bosnians, who
lost fluidity when playmaker Barbarez came off during the break.
Iran finally struck in the 88th minute when Gholamreza Enayati dribbled
through a clutch of Bosnian defenders and slotted the ball past Bosnian
keeper Romeo Mitrovic.
Rasoul Khatibi made it 5-2 in the last minute of the game, sprinting forward
to connect with a cross from Madanchi. Iran face Mexico in their first FIFA
World Cup game on 11 June.
