Past and present World Cups collide as Beiranvand first gives Iran inspiration, then hope | Alexander Abnos

The goalkeeper’s 59th-minute save left mouths agape but it’s not the first time he has created an indelible moment for the team

As they prepared for the future, the Iran national team looked to its past.

Before Sunday’s matchup against a No 9-ranked Belgium with plenty of stars, the team was played a motivational video; a clip containing what midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh said were the indelible moments of Iran’s past two World Cup appearances. These included dogged defending, aggressive closing down, and the few moments of on-field triumph against world powers like Spain and Portugal that have characterized this latest generation of a proud footballing hotbed.