Iran’s Beiranvand among Five Asian FIFA World Cup Heroes
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand is among five top Asian players at the FIFA World Cups.
Over the years a number of Asian players have produced the goods at the FIFA World Cup, lighting up arenas around the globe and providing incredible moments that have gone down in the Continent’s footballing folklore.
With the kick-off for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 only days away, the-afc.com turns back the clock to highlight the achievements of five Asian players who have shone brightest on the global showpiece.
Carlos Queiroz’s Iran may have exited at the 2018 group stage, but it’s hard to argue the tournament wasn’t a success for Team Melli, while it’s equally difficult to contest that Beiranvand wasn’t their star man.
The Persepolis shot-stopper shone as Iran edged past Morocco 1-0 in their opener and he then produced another string of excellent saves in a narrow 1-0 loss to Spain, when only a fortuitous Diego Costa goal got the better of the big custodian.
A goal down in the third game against Portugal, Iran conceded a penalty to hand Cristiano Ronaldo the chance to all but seal a place in the next round. In a moment Beiranvand would later describe as the biggest of his life, he dived to his left to deny one of the greatest players of all time and kept his country’s hopes alive.
Five Asian FIFA World Cup Heroes
Park Ji-sung (Korea Republic)
Appearances: 2002, 2006, 2010
Goals: 3
Sami Al Jaber (Saudi Arabia)
Appearances: 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
Goals: 3
Tim Cahill (Australia)
Appearances: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
Goals: 5
Keisuke Honda (Japan)
Appearances: 2010, 2014, 2018
Goals: 4
Alireza Beiranvand (Iran)
Appearance: 2018