Iran 1
Angola 1

Angola failed in their bid to reach the knockout phase of the World Cup finals yesterday, drawing 1-1 with already eliminated Iran.

Striker Flavio came off the bench to give Angola a 1-0 lead in their Group D clash at Leipzig's Zentralstadion after an hour, but defender Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh headed firmly home in the 75th minute to seal the draw.

Mexico finished second in the group despite losing 2-1 to Portugal, who topped the standings with three wins out of three.

Angola again started with captain Akwa as a lone striker supported by a solid five-man midfield.

Akwa failed to make much impression on the Iranian defence and was replaced by Flavio in the 51st minute after picking up a groin injury.

Within nine minutes Flavio had scored Angola's first goal in a World Cup finals, heading powerfully home from a perfect right-wing cross by Ze Kalanga.

Iran had dominated the first half and should have taken the lead in the 24th minute.

Veteran striker Ali Daei, in what could be his final international appearance, rose unmarked at the back post but the 37-year-old sent his header sailing over the bar.

Shortly after, Angola midfielder Mendonca blocked a powerful header from dangerous Iran frontman Vahid Hashemian on the line.

Iran's attacking potency was dulled considerably when Hashemian was forced off just before the break with what appeared to be an injury to his lower back.

They finally broke through when Bakhtia-rizadeh was left completely unmarked from a corner on the right and guided his header inside the far post.

Goncalves hails players

"We were not intelligent enough to defend our 1-0 lead but I'm nonetheless proud of my players," Angola coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves told reporters.

"Today's match was a little bit of bad football but in the end I think a draw was a fair result. People were saying we would let in a lot of goals but that didn't happen."

Iran coach Branko Ivankovic felt they deserved more.

"We dominated the 90 minutes and perhaps deserved a victory today," said the Croat.

"The conditions were very hard but the players put their heart and soul into the match.

"During the last few months we've had a few problems with injuries but we can be satisfied with our performance overall."

Iran: 1-Mirzapour; 13-Kaebi (15-Borhani 67), 5-Rezaei, 3-Bakhtiarizadeh, 20-Nosrati (23-Shojaei 13); 2-Mahdavikia, 7-Zandi, 21-Madanchi, 14-Taymoorian; 9-Hashemian (11-Khatibi 39); 10-Daei.

Angola: 1-Ricardo; 20-Loco, 3-Jamba, 5-Kali, 21-Delgado; 17-Kalanga, 6-Miloy, 7-Figueiredo (15-Marques 69), 11-Mateus (18-Love 23), 14-Mendonca; 10-Akwa (16-Flavio 51).

Referee: Mark Shield (Australia).

Scorers: Flavio 60; Bakhtiarizadeh 75.

Half-time: 0-0. Attendance: 43,000.

FIFA man of the match: Kalanga.