Curitiba (Brazil): Nigeria and Iran delivered the first draw of the World Cup on Monday (Tuesday in India) as they ground out a scrappy 0-0 stalemate in their opening match in Group F.
The draw followed 12 mostly high scoring and attacking games.
After a first half in which Nigeria failed to capitalise on their dominance, chances were few and far between in the second. In the early passages of play, Nigeria had shown menace, with much of their attacking thrust coming down the left with Emmanuel Emenike and Victor Moses combining to cause problems for a defensive Iran.
Nigeria came closest to scoring in the seventh minute when an Ahmed Musa goal was disallowed after John Obi Mikel was adjudged to have fouled Iran goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi at a corner.
Iran grew more confident and came close to scoring in the 34th when a header from Reza Ghoochannejhad required a sharp save from Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama.
Both sides were guilty of sloppy passages of play in a listless second half. (AP)
