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Iran fought back from a two-goal deficit to beat Bosnia 5-2 in a World Cup warm-up match which raised serious questions about their defence. Iran face Mexico in their first World Cup game on June 11. The other teams in the group are Angola and Portugal.
Bosnia dominated the early exchanges, forcing Iranian keeper Ebrahim Mirzapour to make a sharp diving save from a free kick just outside the box in the first minute.
The pressure on Iran's ragged midfield and defence paid dividends in the fourth minute when Bochum's Zvjezdan Misimovic threaded a left-footed shot past Mirzapour from close range.
Iran's lax defending was exposed again in the 17th minute when veteran right back Yahya Golmohammadi slipped, allowing Hamburg SV's Sergej Barbarez to tap in a point-blank cross past Mirzapour for 2-0.
Iran regrouped and struck back in the 25th minute when Hanover 96's Vahid Hashemian floated a perfectly weighted pass from the centre circle to Mehrzad Madanchi who scythed past Bosnia's defence and rifled the ball home for 2-1.
Iran drew level in the 44th minute when Messina's rugged defender Rahman Rezaei connected with a deft pass from skipper Ali Daei and thumped the ball into the net from a tight angle on the right wing.
Just before halftime, Hashemian put Iran into a 3-2 lead with a tap past the goalkeeper's left.
Iran had by far the better of the second half, building fluid and composed attacks against Bosnia who lost their structure after playmaker Barbarez came off at halftime.
Iran finally struck in the 88th minute when Gholamreza Enayati dribbled through a flurry of Bosnia defenders and slotted the ball past Bosnian keeper Romeo Mitrovic.
Rasoul Khatibi made it 5-2 in the last minute of the game, sprinting forward to connect with a cross from Madanchi.
06-01-2006, 03:08 PM
