Beiranvand, Courtois shine as Belgium, Iran play out goalless first half

The Group G clash between Belgium and Iran went into the interval locked at 0-0 in Los Angeles. While Belgium dictated the attacking tempo throughout the first half, they were consistently frustrated by Iran's disciplined backline and the heroics of goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand.

Belgium adopted an aggressive approach from the opening whistle, with Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku spearheading a flurry of chances. However, the Iranian defense refused to buckle, anchored by Beiranvand, who made four crucial saves in the first 45 minutes to keep his side level.

Iran, however, were not content with just defending and caused several nervous moments for Belgium on the counter-attack. The European side had their own star goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, to thank after he produced a spectacular diving save to deny a powerful, goal-bound effort from Iran's Hossein Kanaanizadeh.

Iran did manage to put the ball in the back of the net following a cleverly worked free-kick routine, but the match officials quickly disallowed the goal for offside.

Despite controlling both possession and territory in the first half, Belgium's relentless efforts were repeatedly thwarted by Iran's defensive resilience, leaving the encounter deadlocked at the break.