World Cup 2014: Iran vs. Bosniz-Herzigovina, Live Stream Free, Schedule, Start Time, Predictions & Preview
Iran and Bosnia-Herzegovina are set to get underway Wednesday in their Group F close out match. While Bosnia-Herzegovina has already been eliminated from further World Cup contention, they still have a duty to play for their nations pride. Bosnia can look to upset the dreams of the Iranian team who currently are holding onto a thread of hope that they can make it to the knockout round.
Iran currently sits three points behind Nigeria for the final Group F spot. In order for Iran to make it out of Group F they must defeat Bosnia and by a wide margin of victory. Nigeria would have to lose their game against Argentina, which looks easily possible, and they would also need to lose by a big enough margin so that Iran could pass them with the goal differential tiebreaker.
If both Nigeria and Iran have the same goal differential, then drawing lots will be used to decide who moves on to the next round. This method of deciding the winner has never before been used in World Cup history.
In Iran's first two matches against Nigeria and Argentina their offense has been stoic. Iran played Nigeria into a 0-0 draw, which for Iranian fans was a travesty to watch. When a team is only to score one goal in two games the odds of moving on to the next round of competition are slim. Spain suffered a similar fate earlier this week by failing to get their offense rolling.
Instead of having a flat out aggressive style of play, Iran goes for a counterattack game that profits off of their stout defense. In the match against Argentina, Iran had many opportunities off counterattack plays. In the end Messi was able to snap their defense and strike a game-winning goal in the closing minutes.
If Iran want to have any shot at making it to the knockout round they will have to step up the goal opportunities as well as keeping their goal differential as high as possible. It will take a well-rounded performance against Bosnia-Herzegovina for the Iranian team to have a decent shot.
Iran and Bosnia-Herzegovina get underway Wednesday, June 25 at 9 a.m. PT on ESPN 2. The game can also be streamed online at ESPN.