Mexico and Iran have gone into half-time 1-1 in their Group D encounter in Nuremburg on Sunday with strikes from Omar Bravo and Yahya Golmohammadi.

Iran started strongly, with Hamburg’s Mehdi Mahdavikia having a long-range effort go just-wide in the 3rd minute, and Ali Karimi getting through on goal, but tackled beautifully by the Mexico captain Rafael Marquez in the 5th.

In the 11th minute Hannover ’96’s Iranian striker Vahid Hashemian almost scored twice in the space of a minute, the closest being a downward header that Mexico keeper Oswaldo Sanchez dived well to his left to save.

Mexico then started to come into the game. Guillermo Franco made a mazy run into the Iranian penalty area, but was crowded out, and then a deflected shot was easily saved by Team Melli keeper Ebrahim Mirzapour.

Both teams settled the pace as the first-half went on, with play being stopped for a string of free-kicks that came to nothing, and both teams reverting to playing long balls to their strikers.

Pavel Pardo delivered an excellent ball from a cross in the 25th minute, directly to Franco, but he failed to direct it on target with his head.

Minutes later Pardo delivered a free-kick, yet again to Franco, who knocked the ball onto Omar Bravo, who poked the ball in from close range past Mirzapour to score for Mexico.

Iran did not let the fact that they had ‘switched off’ momentarily affect them, and pressed for an equaliser, and it paid off in the 36th minute.

A corner was fumbled away by Mexico keeper Sanchez, only for Yahya Golmohammadi to pounce on the ball and smash it into the net from 6 yards to make it 1-1.

Both sides continued to press, but neither could find a way through in the first-half, and the half ended 1-1.

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