25 June ~ Iran need to beat Bosnia tonight and hope Argentina do them a favour against Nigeria to have any chance of advancing beyond the group stage of a World Cup for the first time. The country's only ever win in the tournament came in 1998 against the US, in a match that, writing in WSC 133, March 1998, Mike Woitalla hoped would end political hostility. Then, goals from Hamid Estili and Mehdi Mahdavikia, later of Hamburg and Frankfurt, were enough to give Iran victory despite a late goal by Brian McBride. Iran lost their other games in the group, 1-0 against Yugoslavia and 2-0 against Germany, meaning they were eliminated.
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