Match 42: Bosnia crush Iran’s knockout hopes

Bosnia-Herzegovina ended Iran’s hopes of advancing to the knockout stages and registered its first World Cup win in the process with a 3-1 victory in Group F on Wednesday.

The Bosnians took a commanding 2-0 lead with goals from Edin Dzeko in the 23rd and Miralem Pjanic in the 53rd before Iran hit back.

Reza Ghoochannejhad gave some hope to the Iranians with a tap-in goal in the 81st, but Avdija Vrsaljevic replied immediately with his low shot from the edge of the area to restore the two-goal buffer.

Iran needed a win to have any chance of advancing. The Bosnians were already out of contention at their first World Cup following consecutive losses to Argentina and Nigeria.

Iran coach Carlos Queiroz brought in strikers Khosro Heydari and Karim Ansari Fard in the second half but the shift in systems only netted one goal.

Iran, playing its fourth World Cup, faced criticism for its dour defensive tactics after a 0-0 draw against Nigeria in its group opener. The Iranians also spent much of their game against Argentina packing the defense, but created several chances on counterattacks and nearly caused a major upset before conceding a late winner by Lionel Messi.

Bosnia created most of the chances in the match, with Dzeko – criticized for missing several opportunities during Bosnia’s earlier two matches – firing a volley over the bar in the 3rd minute, and then heading straight onto Iranian goalkeeper from close.

He opened the scoring in the 23rd minute with a low shot from 20 yards (meters), deflecting in off the post.

Pjanic doubled the lead a half hour later with an angled shot from inside the box.

Iran’s only genuine chances came after the goal and in the last frantic minutes with Ghoochannejhad’s close-range shot narrowly missing late.

Match 29 : Nigeria end win drought beating Bosnia 1-0

Bosnia-Hercegovina's maiden appearance at a World Cup finals ended in disappointment as Peter Odemwingie's goal condemned them to a 1-0 defeat by African champions Nigeria in Cuiaba and ensured they could not qualify for the second round.

Nigeria's win, their first at a World Cup finals since 1998, leaves them as favourites to join Argentina in the second round.

Argentina are on six points after beating Iran 1-0 earlier on Saturday to leave the Iranians on a point while the Nigerians are on four points.

Nigeria play Argentina in their final group game on Thursday — the Africans have lost all three times they have previously played the South American side in the group stages, losing 1-0 on the last occasion in 2010.

Nigeria were a completely different team to the one that had barely got out of a Sunday morning stroll in the 0-0 draw with Iran.

Emmanuel Emineke always looked a threat and it was he who created the goal, as he burst down the right and engaged in a race for the ball with veteran Bosnian skipper Emir Spahic, who tried vainly to obstruct the Nigerian.

However, the central defender had completely misjudged the situation as Emineke went the opposite side and outpaced him to collect the ball before unselfishly squaring it to Peter Odemwingie, with the Stoke City striker tucking the ball away.

Bosnia had little to offer, though they could claim that they had been robbed of a goal as Edin Dzeko put the ball past Vincent Enyeama, but it was wrongly ruled out for offside.

Dzeko, though, could have stolen a point at the death when he rose to meet a corner but his downward header was straight at Enyeama, who gratefully smothered it.

The Manchester City striker went even closer in time added on as his shot from inside the area beat Enyeama but cannoned back off the post.

The referee whistled for fulltime shortly after that with the Bosnians collapsing to the ground in despair and the Nigerians jumping for joy as they — after the Ghanaians drew with Germany earlier on Saturday — restored pride to the African challenge at the finals.

Match 11: Messi off the mark as Argentina win World Cup opener

The Barcelona superstar led its team's campain with 2-1 win over Bosnia-Hercegovina on Sunday

Lionel Messi scored a sparkling individual goal and created another as Argentina overcame a faltering performance to open their World Cup campaign with a 2-1 win over Bosnia on Sunday.

The Barcelona superstar produced a trademark moment of magic on a night that also saw France beat Honduras 3-0, with the help of the first goal decided by goal-line technology. Switzerland came back to beat Ecuador 2-1.

Hordes of Argentina fans helped transform Rio's famous Maracana Stadium into a corner of Buenos Aires as the South American giants eased past their Group F rivals.

Messi, hoping to secure his status as one of footall's greats by shining at this World Cup, had a largely quiet game by his high standards.

But the diminutive striker provided the two decisive moments of the match for Argentina's goals.

Messi's teasing free-kick caused panic in the Bosnian defence after only two minutes and eight seconds, when the ball came off Sead Kolasinac's legs and went into his own net, the fastest own goal in World Cup history.

On 65 minutes Messi electrified the 78,800-capacity stadium with a moment of magic, jinking towards the area and unleashing a low shot which flew past Asmir Begovic in the Bosnian goal.

The only blemish for Argentina was a late goal from Bosnian substitute Vedad Ibisevic, who slid his shot below the advancing Sergio Romero.

"The second goal secured the three points and was special for me for the game I was having," said Messi, who failed to score at the 2010 World Cup.

"Everyone was anxious to do well. The result was the most important."

The win puts Argentina on course for the last 16 with games against Iran and Nigeria to come.

Elsewhere on Sunday, France made World Cup history by defeating Honduras 3-0 with the help of the first goal awarded in international football using computer generated 3-D technology.

Karim Benzema's strike early in the second half cannoned back off the inside of an upright across the goal at Porto Alegre's Beira-Rio Stadium.

Honduras goalkeeper Noel Valladares' tried to scoop it clear but the German-manufactured GoalControl goal-line technology system signalled the ball had crossed the line, prompting Brazilian referee Sandro Riccio to whistle for a score.

There was a brief delay as Ricci consulted his fourth official while Honduras manager Luis Fernando Suarez angrily protested. But Valladares's goal stood.

Goal-line technology is being used for the first time at a World Cup finals in an attempt to eradicate the type of unwanted controversies that saw England's Frank Lampard denied a valid goal against Germany at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

There are seven high-speed cameras, each capable of taking 500 pictures a second, trained on each goal in the World Cup games.

The system flashes a "GOAL" message to the referee's watch.

It is similar to the Hawkeye system used to decide whether a ball has stayed in play in tennis and cricket.

"I think it is a good solution and the goal then counts," said France coach Didier Deschamps.

"The referee gets the signal we were just worried that on the screen they showed an image that didn't correspond to the goal."

The 48th-minute milestone was one of the talking points of a comfortable Group E victory for France, whose other goals came from Real Madrid star Benzema.

France now face European rivals Switzerland in Salvador on Friday, a game which could decide who tops the group.

The Swiss snatched a dramatic last-gasp 2-1 win over Ecuador in Brasilia earlier.

Haris Seferovic scored in the fourth and final minute of injury time to secure a remarkable win for the Swiss, the group's top seeds.

Fellow Swiss substitute Admer Mehmidi had taken just 121 seconds to make his mark as he levelled in the 48th minute.

Enner Valencia gave Ecuador the lead midway through the first-half as he scored for the fifth successive game for his country.

The victory was Switzerland's first over South American opposition in the World Cup having lost their previous four.

Earlier Sunday, Germany suffered an injury scare after confirming that midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger was airlifted to hospital for treatment to his left foot.

However German officials said the knock was a pre-existing injury and would not rule him out of Monday's Group G showdown with Portugal.