Belgium outshot Iran 22-7 but finished level at 0-0, prompting fresh criticism of its attack and praise for Thibaut Courtois.
Belgium’s goalless draw with Iran has sharpened scrutiny on Rudi Garcia’s side after a match in which the Belgians produced far more shots but still needed Thibaut Courtois to prevent a worse result.
Match statistics cited by Varzesh3 showed Belgium attempted 22 shots, seven of them on target, while Iran had seven attempts and put three on target. The final whistle still came with the score at 0-0, leaving the result to be read less as a Belgian control of the game than as another missed opportunity.
Jacqueline Adros, identified by Varzesh3 as a former goalkeeper for Belgium’s women’s national team, told Het Belang van Limburg that Belgium had escaped because of Courtois. “It seems we cannot compete against teams below us in the ranking,” she said. “We had to kiss Thibaut Courtois’ hands in goal. Without him, we almost would have had to pack our bags to go home.”
Iran’s Alireza Beiranvand was also described as one of the notable figures of the match, with the Iranian goalkeeper making his presence felt at the other end as Belgium failed to turn its volume of possession and chances into a goal.
Adros’ broader criticism centered on Belgium’s attacking choices. She argued that the team too often looked for intricate combinations rather than taking earlier shots from distance, saying players such as Youri Tielemans, Kevin De Bruyne and Maxim De Cuyper should be capable of testing the goalkeeper from outside the penalty area.
“Why do they always want to pass the ball, to put it bluntly, all the way into the goal?” she said. “There is nothing wrong with shooting from distance.”
The draw leaves Belgium with an uncomfortable contrast: enough attacking activity to dominate the shot count, but not enough precision to decide the match. For Iran, the clean sheet and the chances created on a smaller number of attacks offered a different reading of the same result, with both goalkeepers central to a night that ended without a breakthrough.
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