Full time: Iran 0-0 Nigeria The referee blows his final whistle 90' The referee adds two minutes of stoppage time. 90' Successive crosses by Nigeria are cleared by Iran's backline. 89' Iran make another substitution. Khosro Heydari is replaced with MasoudShojaei. 88' Two minutes remaining before the end. Nigeria and Iran will struggle in their remaining two games if they do not improve their performances. 85' Stray shots and passes characterise the display of both teams. 83' SubstituteOdemwingie controls a long ball and hits a powerful volley goes just wide but the referee whistles for a handball on the Stoke City forward. 80' We are probably heading towards a dour 0-0 draw. Both sides seem content to share honours. 78' Iran make their first substitution.Alireza Jahanbakhsh replacesDejagah. 77' Iran squander a golden opportunity!!Ashkan Dejagah rises unmarked at the far post following a left-wing cross but he fails to direct his free header goalwards. 76' Onazi's low, poor shot is easily saved by the Iran keeper. Chances are still few and far between. 73' Less than 20 minutes remaining before the end. A draw would hardly benefit either side. 71' A rare chance for Nigeria!! A diving header by Shola Ameobi following a cross from the left goes narrowly wide. 69' Nigeria make their third and final substitution. Stoke City striker Peter Odemwingie comes on instead ofRamon Azeez. 67' An Iranian free-kick from the left is half-cleared by the Nigerian defence. The follow-up ends with Reza missing the target with a volley. 63' A long-range shot by Iran's Reza flies high over. A very disappointing display from both sides. 61' Both sides are hindered with too many mis-placed passes in midfield. 58'Emenike receives a pass on the right hand side of the area but his poor shot goes wide. 57' Nigeria keeper Eneyama gets ahead of an Iranian forward to collect a right-wing cross. 56' Nigeria's repeated long balls are not very useful. Iran's defence easily deals with such tame attempts. 53' A deep free-kick from Nigeria is easily collected by the keeper. 53' Nigeria make their second substitution. The disappointing Victor Moses is replaced with Shola Ameobi. 50' In a rare attempt by Iran, a curling shot from Reza Ghoochannejhad misses the target from the edge of the area. 49' Their first second-half corner is cleared by the Iran defence. 48' The Super Eagle's main strength remains their work down the flanks. 47' Nigeria were relatively better in the dull first half, but they need to create more goal-scoring chances. The second half is underway The referee blows his halftime whistle 45+2' The referee adds two minutes of stoppage time. 45' Musa tries to chest a long ball down in the area but Iran's defence intercepts to clear the ball. Nigeria must find more creative ways than long balls to threaten their opponents. 44' The first half is drawing to a close. We hope the second would be livelier! 42' A half to forget at the World Cup. The most boring 45 minutes in the tournament so far. 40'Emmanuel Emenike cuts indside from the left but his shot is also not accurate. 39'Ogenyi Onazi lets fly from distance but his shot goes poorly wide. 38' Iran gain more possession, relatively improve after a poor start to the game. 34' The first-chance for Iran!! A header from Reza Ghoochannejhad is blocked by Nigeria keeper Vincent Eneyama following a cross from the right. 34' Iran's shy attempts barely trouble Nigeria's defence. 31' A goal-scoring chance for Nigeria! Musa catches Iran's defence napping with a cunning free-kick that initially wrong-footsHaghighi, who makes a swift reaction to block the relatively weak ball at his near post. 29' Nigeria make an unscripted substitution. The injured Oboabona is replaced with veteran defender Joseph Yobo. ## 28' Musa and Moses repeatedly receive long balls on the flanks but their final touch is not accurate. ## 25' Nigeria's start was promising but now they are struggling to carve out openings. Their wingers hardly find space on the flanks. 23' Iran make a rare foray forward but an attempted one-two is blocked by the Nigerian defence. It remains a very boring affair. 21' Nigeria defender Godfrey Oboabona is stretchered off after apparently hurting himself in an aerial challenge. 18' A cross from Nigeria'sEfe Ambrose is easily collected byHaghighi. 16' Nigeria need to up the tempo if they are to threaten the Iranians. They are taking too much in their build-up play. 14' A poor Iranian free-kick is cleared by the defence. The Iranians were on the back foot in the first quarter of an hour. 12' Nigeria move the ball around smoothly, with Iran's defensive midfielders often chasing shadows. 9' Nigeria waste two chances in quick succession!! Musa just fails to convertEmmanuel Emenike's low cross from close range before Ogenyi Onazi shoots just wide from inside the area. 7' Nigeria's Musa finds the net afterHaghighifails to handlea corner but the referee rules out his goal for a foul on the keeper. 6' The Super Eagles have the better possession in the early stages. They look lively. 3' Nigeria's first effort falls to Moses! His low shot from the edge of the area is collected by Iran keeperAlireza Haghighi. 2' Nigeria have two muscular and pacy wingers in Ahmed Musa and Victor Moses who can cause problems for Iran's backline. The match is underway 21:55 The two teams step onto the pitch for the customary pre-match national anthems. 21:40 Both teams are warming up. The match is expected to be evenly-balanced. 21:30 The fans are flocking to theArena da Baixada, half an hour before the clash. 21:05Iran's starting line-up: Alireza Haghighi, Pejman Montazeri, Jalal Hosseini, Amir Hossein Sadeghi, Mehrdad Pouladi, Khosro Heydari, Javad Nekounam, Andranik Teymourian, Ehsan Hajsafi, Ashkan Dejagah, Reza Ghoochannejhad. 21:00Nigeria's starting line-up: Vincent Enyeama, Efe Ambrose, Juwon Oshaniwa, Godfrey Oboabona, Kenneth Omeruo, Ogenyi Onazi, John Obi Mikel, Ramon Azeez, Victor Moses, Ahmed Musa, Emmanuel Emenike. 20:45Iran's resume makes no better reading. Since they beat political foes the United States 2-1 in a memorable 1998 night in Lyon, a win sandwiched between two defeats, 'Team Melli' have been no more than World Cup makeweights. 20:30Nigeria's finals record since that last victory in France stands at two draws and six defeats. 20:15 Both sides will be desperate to kick off their campaign with a victory to boost their chances of reaching the second round as Argentina, who defeated Bosnia 2-1 on Sunday, are favourites to finish on top of the group. 20:00 Both sides have not won a World Cup match since 1998, when Nigeria beat Bulgaria and Iran defeated the United States in the group stage of the France finals. Venue: Estadio Joaquim Americo Guimaraes (Curitiba, Parana) Officials: Referee: C. Vera (Ecuador) Assistants: C. Lescano (Ecuador), B. Romero (Ecuador) Fourth official: W. Roldan (Colombia) For the match preview, click here (For more sports news and updates,followAhramOnlineSportson Twitter at@AO_Sportsand on Facebook atAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/103838.aspx
