St Petersburg: Aziz Bouhaddouz scored a calamitous own goal deep into second half stoppage time as Morocco slipped to a 0-1 defeat to Iran Friday in their first World Cup match for 20 years.
The late drama sparked wild celebrations from the Iran bench here as Carlos Queiroz’s side took three points from a game in which they were second best for long periods.
Herve Renard’s well-organised team extended Morocco’s record of never having won their opening game in the tournament despite dominating the match and carving out opportunities to score either side of the break.
Iran’s counter-attacking strategy had failed to bear fruit with Karim Ansarifard and Sardar Azmoun squandering great chances until their wastefulness was rendered irrelevant by Bouhaddouz’s late error.
The Morocco striker, on as a substitute in the 77th minute, put Ehsan Haji Safi’s free-kick through his own net with a diving header in the 95th minute of the game, leaving no time for a comeback.
While Iran celebrated, Morocco faced up to the daunting reality of going into their remaining Group B games against Spain and Portugal with no points on the board.
Earlier, Iran’s famed defence again proved unbreachable for the first half as the African nation had much the best of the contest. The two outsiders in a group also containing Spain and Portugal were relatively cautious in a game neither can afford to lose, though after Morocco fashioned a handful of half chances they needed a good save to deny Sardar Azmoun just before the interval.