I know the feeling and it is a familiar feeling because it reminds me of four years ago when we were so proud of our Team Melli for the amazing showing against Argentina in 2014.
This time we saw TM play hard against Spain and we have every reason to be proud of the guys.
It was no surprise that the Spaniards dominated possession. But once Spain took the lead, we really saw Iran step up the intensity.
Ansarifard came close only to see his shot hit the side of the net.
The part of the night that hurt so much was when we were celebrating and believing that Iran had just scored an equalizer through Saeid Ezatolahi, only to see the goal disallowed by video replay.
I can’t lie. It still hurts because a 1-1 tie would have given us reason to party until morning.
I have to say that it hurts mainly because it seems as though it is too good to be true for Iran to score against a footballing powerhouse.
Team Melli didn’t score against Yugoslavia or Germany in 98, eight years later couldn’t score against Portugal, and we all remember the 1-0 loss to Argentina four years ago.
In all honesty, I know that Iran can beat Portugal in Saransk. But I am just hoping that we can have some goals to cheer about.
Team Melli fans deserve to cheer for a few goals in Saransk and I believe it will get done!
GO IRAN!!