AFTER drama in the opening two matches of the World Cup, the two unfancied nations in Group B had their chance to shine in St Petersburg as Morocco took on Iran yesterday.

With European powerhouses Portugal and Spain making up the group, a positive result for either of the two lower-ranked countries in their clash could be vital.

Morocco started on the front foot and came close to going ahead as Juventus defender Medhi Benatia forced a smart stop out of Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand.

Despite their near-domination of the first half, Morocco nearly went in behind at the interval as Sardar Azmoun broke in behind to test Munir Mohamedi, who then did well to keep out Alireza Jahanbakhsh’s strike from the rebound.

But the teams would head in level at the break with neither able to provide a moment of class to break the deadlock.

And it looked like the match would end in a stalemate, only for Morocco defender Aziz Bouhaddouz to head into his own net in the 95th minute to give Iran a 1-0 victory.