FIFA World Cup: Scrappy Spain ride Costa goal to down gritty Iran 1-0
Kazan, June 21 : Diego Costa scored a scrappy second-half winner to help Spain edge past doughty Iran in a key Group B FIFA World Cup game here on Wednesday.
After a barren first-half where Spain were left frustrated as Iran defended brilliantly, Costa (54th) broke the deadlock albeit in fortuitous circumstances.
Costa's neat turn and quick shot took a deflection off Iranian defender Ramin Rezaeian to beat goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand.
Iran tried to launch a comeback and almost equalised when Saeid Ezatolahi's goal was correctly ruled out because of offside by Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Vigliano Mauro.
Karim Ansarifard also rifled into the side netting for the Asian side as Spain were on the tenterhooks for most parts of the second-half.
This was Costa's third goal of the tournament after netting a brace in Spain's rip-roaring 3-3 draw against Portugal in the group opener.
Spain are now level on points with Portugal in Group B, while Iran are in third and Morocco are eliminated following their loss earlier in the day.
In need of a win after the draw, Spain had to wait for more than 20 minutes to get their first shot on target.
David Silva, who saw a lot of the ball until then as his team dominated possession, sent a free kick straight into the arms of keeper Beiranvand in the 25th minute for Spain's first shot on goal.
Manchester City's Silva had at least a couple of more chances to draw first blood. First, he fired over the bar at the half-hour mark and in the dying minutes of the half saw his shot bounce just wide of the far post off an Iranian defender.
With just one shot on target, Spain were bottled up throughout the half by a sturdy Iran defence.
Spain looked to up the ante after change of ends with Sergio Busquets unleashing a rasping long-range strike that forced Beiranvand into a brilliant double save.
Minutes later, Ansarifard latched onto a poor clearance and let loose a stinging effort that fizzed wide of the left post. Costa then was in the right spot at the right time to swivel sharply and then get the lucky deflection to break Iran hearts.
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Who is Iran's first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, appointed acting president after crash?
Dubai (AP/PTI): Iran's first Vice President Mohammad Mokhber was appointed as acting president of the Islamic Republic on Monday after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in the country's northwest.
Raisi's death under the constitution thrust Mokhber into public view. He is expected to serve as caretaker president for some 50 days before mandatory presidential elections in Iran.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the announcement of Mokhber's appointment in a condolence message he shared for Raisi's death in the crash Sunday. The helicopter was found Monday in northwestern Iran.
Despite his low-key public profile, Mokhber has held prominent positions with in the country's power structure, particularly in its bonyads, or charitable foundations.
Mokhber oversaw a bonyad known in English as the Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order, or EIKO, referring to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
The US Treasury said the organisation oversaw billions of dollars in assets as “a business juggernaut under the direct supervision of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that has a stake in nearly every sector of the Iranian economy, including energy, telecommunications, and financial services”.
“EIKO has systematically violated the rights of dissidents by confiscating land and property from opponents of the regime, including political opponents, religious minorities, and exiled Iranians,” the Treasury said in 2021 in sanctioning Mokhber. The European Union also had sanctioned Mokhber for a time with others over concerns then about Iran's nuclear programme.
As the head of EIKO, Mokhber oversaw an effort to make a COVID-19 vaccine during the height of the pandemic, pledging to make tens of millions of doses.
Mokhber previously worked in banking and telecommunications. He also worked at the Mostazafan Foundation, another bonyad that's a major conglomerate that manages the country's mega-projects and businesses. While there, he found himself entangled in a bitter legal dispute between mobile phone service providers Turkcell and South Africa's MTN over potentially entering the Iranian market.
Iranian media reports suggest Mokhber, who holds a doctorate in international law, was crucial in Iranian efforts to bypass Western sanctions on its oil industry.
Mokhber has been a member of Iran's Expediency Council since 2022, which advises the supreme leader, as well as settles disputes between parliament and the Guardian Council, Iran's constitutional watchdog that also oversees the country's elections.
Mokhber was born Sept 1, 1955, in Dezful in Iran's southwestern Khuzestan province to a clerical family. He served as an officer in the Revolutionary Guard's medical corps during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, according to the pressure group United Against Nuclear Iran.
“Mokhber used the vast wealth accumulated by EIKO — at the expense of the Iranian people—to reward regime insiders like himself,” UANI said. “Managing the patronage network endeared him to the supreme leader, but at a cost.”
