In brief
- Spain thrashed Saudi Arabia 4-0, with teen superstar Lamine Yamal making his World Cup debut.
- Uruguay are playing against Cape Verde, and New Zealand will face Egypt later in the day.
Ten-man Belgium were held to a 0-0 draw by Iran in their World Cup Group G match in Los Angeles on Monday AEST as they failed to break through Iran's resilient defence.
Boosted by an LA crowd largely in their corner, Iran repelled waves of attacks to share the points, with goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand making seven saves on a mostly sunny day in Southern California.
In a frustrating game where they dominated possession, Belgium were reduced to 10 men after Nathan Ngoy was shown a red card for hauling down Mehdi Taremi, who was through on goal, in the second half.
A star-studded though ageing lineup, including Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, was, if anything, fortunate to leave Los Angeles with a point, controlling possession yet ceding the game's best chances to a resolute Iran team.
Iran's Mehdi Taremi had the ball in the net from a well-worked first-half free kick that was overturned for offside by VAR
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Target man Lukaku, back in the starting lineup after making an impact from the bench in Belgium's 1-1 draw with Egpyt, managed a solitary headed effort in the 36th minute, which sailed over the bar.
Iran had the first half's two best chances, entirely against the run of play. Hossein Kanani's low shot after a long throw was well saved by an outstretched Thibaut Courtois.
After the break, Belgium continued to huff and puff while Taremi again nearly scored at the other end. Courtois did well to save after Kanani had flicked on a long throw to the Iran forward.
The result means all three games so far in Group G have ended in draws. Stuck on two points, Belgium at least have the comfort of playing the tournament's lowest-ranked team, New Zealand, in their final group game.
Iran will also need at least a point against Egypt next Saturday AEST. Having been frustrated by visa issues while travelling from their base camp in Mexico to games in the US, Team Melli will hope to focus on the football as travel restrictions are reportedly easing for their crucial trip to Seattle.
Lamine Yamal shines in Spain's thrashing of Saudi Arabia
Lamine Yamal made a goalscoring return for Spain as the European champions got their World Cup campaign back on track with a 4-0 drubbing of Saudi Arabia on Monday AEST.
Yamal, 18, opened the scoring after just 10 minutes of the Group H game in Atlanta to put La Roja on course for a comfortable victory against an outclassed Saudi team.
Spain had been determined to bounce back after being held to a shock 0-0 draw by lowly Cape Verde in their opening game last week, when their much-vaunted attack drew a blank.
But with teenage starlet Yamal making his first start in two months since recovering from a hamstring problem, Spain launched an early onslaught that left the Saudis reeling.
Yamal ghosted in at the back post to tuck away Mikel Oyarzabal's low cross before Oyarzabal scored twice in three minutes to leave Spain 3-0 up after just 24 minutes.
Spain bagged their fourth goal on 49 minutes, when Marc Cucurella's shot was saved by Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed al-Owais only to bounce off defender Hassan al-Tambakti into the net.
"We had to recover good feelings, correct a few things from the last game, but we need to keep improving if we want to achieve our target of getting to the final on July 19," Spain coach Luis De la Fuente said afterwards.
The win leaves Spain on top of Group H with four points after two matches.
Meanwhile, Belgium are playing again without Jeremy Doku with respiratory problems as they face Iran in the second match of the day.
Without the winger, Belgium sputtered to a draw in their opener against Egypt.
Cape Verde are attempting to join the Spaniards on four points as they face Uruguay in Miami, with coach Pedro Leitao Brito, known as "Bubista", vowing his team will play "without fear".
"We didn't come just to take part. We want to play all the matches and to be able to show that we have the level to take on the best teams in the world," he added.
"Our aim is to play all the games with courage, in an organised way but also without fear."
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Vozinha, the 40-year-old Cape Verde goalkeeper who held Spain at bay with a remarkable performance, will be watched by his mother on Monday after she arrived in Miami on a US visa.
Ana Candida Evora travelled from Cape Verde's capital Praia after her son tearfully told reporters she had not been granted a visa in time for the first game, but the US State Department has now provided her with the necessary document.
In the other game in the group on Monday, Egypt play New Zealand in Vancouver.
— With reporting by Agence France-Presse and Reuters news agencies.
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