World Cup: Jeers for Nigeria after being held to goalless draw by Iran
NIGERIA 0 IRAN 0
AFRICAN champions Nigeria were booed off the pitch in Curitba last night after being held to the tournament’s sole draw so far.
In a game of few clear cut chances, minnows Iran were content to sit back and soak up pressure, but Nigeria did not have the quality required to break them down, even after the introduction of Stoke’s Peter Odemwingie from the bench.
Their best chances fell to Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi who glanced a left-wing cross wide and saw another header blocked from a corner after climbing above defender Jalal Hosseini.
Iran coach Carlos Queiroz said: “We’re very happy, but it was very difficult against a great team.
“We fought for every ball and played for 90 minutes with one thing in our mind: to try and score. My players deserve to be congratulated because we stay in the championship.”