How Iran stopped Messi (almost)... and captured the hearts of World Cup fans

Usually a spectacular injury-time winner from Lionel Messi would be greeted wildly by his hundreds of millions of fans around the world, but not this time.

On Saturday, the neutrals in the stadium in Belo Horizonte and watching around the world were cheering for Iran. The West Asian team may have lost in the cruelest of fashions but, as the cliché goes, they won in every other way.

Let’s be honest, rightly or wrongly, Iran doesn’t have the best of international images. The mention of the country’s name in much of the international arena evokes images of nuclear programs, sanctions and all the rest.

Not this week. At the moment, Iran’s stock on the international stage is higher than it has been for years and it's thanks to the power of football, the talent and discipline of the players and the tactical acumen of a certain Carlos Queiroz, the team’s head coach.

For 90 minutes, a team full of handsome and talented players showed a different face of Iran to the world and the world loved it.

The team had been jeered off the pitch after a goalless draw against Nigeria by neutrals already accustomed to one of the most exciting World Cups in history. They were ignorant about Iran’s unique football and political situation. May be they still are, but they now know something else about the country.

Team Melli spent the first half keeping one of the tournament favourites at bay but then spent the second creating some excellent chances. And if a second half penalty decision had been awarded, as it should, and converted, as Javad Nekounam almost certainly would, then it would have been very different.

If Messi had not intervened, goalkeeper Sergio Romero would have been in the running for the Albiceleste’s man of the match.

The best thing was: this was no parking of the bus, no back to the wall, mindless, instinctive and desperate defending. It was cool, composed and it was had the stamp of ‘CQ’ stamped all over it. It was a masterclass in defensive and counter-attacking football against a stronger opponent.

[RELATED: Carlos Queiroz's Iran can prove they are no shrinking violets]

Manchester United fans must have nodded in appreciation. As assistant at Old Trafford, the Mozambique-born tactician had played a major part in making the team into a savvy, streetwise European opponent.

The 2008 semi-final win over Barcelona was perhaps the epitome - a disciplined and hard-working goalless draw away followed by a 1-0 win at home win – and perhaps had he not been tempted away by Real Madrid, United could have defeated the Blaugrana in the final the following year.

On the training pitch, Queiroz cuts a serious figure. The work is hard, sometimes repetitive, and there is no magic formula. Just a case of practice makes almost perfect. Talk to Iran’s players and they have genuine enthusiasm for working with Queiroz.

Not only is the team fitter than it has ever been, discipline has been added to the talent that was always there. The stars don’t mind the drills, the practices, the set pieces and all the rest practiced on the training ground time and time again because they believe in the boss and believe that he gives Iran the best chance they have ever had of success.

[RELATED: Behind the scenes of Iran's World Cup]

They give him their all and he repays that faith, protecting them from pressure in public, and there is plenty of pressure in the football-mad country, even if he is not always so gentle in private.

A TEAM UNITED

Fans have grown accustomed to the team starting well but fading around the hour mark both physically and mentally - as was the case in the opening game of the 2006 tournament against Mexico. This team is different. More than ever before, the players know exactly what is expected of them and even in energy-sapping conditions, when the body starts to wilt, the mind and concentration does not - the system is so ingrained that it becomes automatic.

In terms of talent, this team perhaps doesn’t match the 2006 side that went to Germany full of hopes but it has a whole deal more. Eight years ago, the team fell apart around the twin pillars of Ali Daei and Ali Karimi and the in-fighting and it took fans a long time to get over it all. The shenanigans, political and otherwise, around the doomed campaign to qualify for the 2010 tournament did not make anyone feel any better. This team is united.

This World Cup is not over yet but Iran could easily have been level on points with Argentina had things gone just a little differently. As things stand, Team Melli must beat Bosnia on Wednesday night to have a chance of progression and it is a sign of how far they have come that fans around the world and not just in Tehran, expect them to do so.

A win against Bosnia, regardless of whether Iran progresses to the second round, will mean that 2014 will mark Iran’s best ever World Cup performance. But in many ways, it already is.

Carlos Queiroz and the players have restored pride to Iranian football and Iranian football has shown the world a little of what the country is really about.

* John Duerden is a Middle East and Asia football correspondent for @YahooSportsME as well as the Guardian, ESPN & World Soccer. He also writes for New York Times, AP, Daily Telegraph and various other Asia media outlets. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnnyDuerden