Belgium and Iran are ready for their match in Los Angeles after two contrasting draws. Belgium were rather ponderous as they came from behind against Egypt, inspired to equalise only after their record goalscorer Romelu Lukaku came off the bench to force the issue. Iran, meanwhile, were involved in a fantastic end-to-end affair with New Zealand with right back Ramin Rezaeian playing a starring role in attack. Off pitch issues continue to dominate the conversations around Iran, but they have shown already on the pitch that they are an exciting, attacking unit capable of playing some high-quality football. They'll want to do that all over again against the more favoured Belgian side.
Here's everything you need to know about the match:
How to watch:
The match will be available on ITV1 in the UK, Fox in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time:
U.S. ET: Sunday, June 21, 3.00 p.m.
UK BST: Sunday, June 21, 8.00 p.m.
India IST: Monday, June 22, 12.30 am
Australia AEST: Sunday, June 21, 5.00 am
Venue: SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles
Referee: Dario Herrera (Argentina)
PREDICTED LINEUPS
Belgium
Thibaut Courtois
Thomas Meunier | Nathan Ngoy | Brandon Mechele | Timothy Castagne
Amadou Onana | Youri Tielemans
Leandro Trossard | Kevin De Bruyne | Jérémy Doku
Charles De Ketelaere
Iran
Alireza Beiranvand
Ramin Rezaeian | Shoja Khalilzadeh | Ali Nemati | Milad Mohammadi
Mohammad Mohebi | Saman Ghoddos | Saeid Ezatolahi | Aria Yousefi
Shahriar Moghanlou | Mehdi Taremi
Talking Points
Belgium need to find a cutting edge
And desperately. Charles de Ketelaere is a neat footballer and a lovely prospect in attack midfield, but as a target man ahead of Kevin de Bruyne, Jeremy Doku and Leandro Trossard...not quite as effective when up against a team that sits low, is physical in the air, and is well organised. All those qualities are exactly what Iran's defence espouses: and it took some serious physical hold up play from Chris Wood to unsettle them last time around. With Romelu Lukaku looking like he can only be an impact option from the bench -- understandable after injuries wreaked his season, he's barely fully fit -- it's up to Rudi Garcia to figure out an alternative that will give Belgium more sharpness up front.
Oh, and watch out for Doku vs Ramin Rezaeian on that flank -- Iran's veteran right-back was in stellar form against New Zealand and will be looking to keep that going in this game.
Can 'most oppressed team' Iran regain focus in time?
Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei called his team perhaps the "most oppressed team in the whole World Cup" after he said Iran have been forced to leave Los Angeles and return to their training camp in Tijuana, Mexico, immediately after their opening match (More details here). It's understandable that the Iran team feel the world is conspiring against them, with the harshness of what they are experiencing off the pitch incomparable to any other team in this tournament. They'll fly into LA again on the day of the match, hoping to be physically, and mentally, ready for what is their toughest test (on paper) in this Group.
With visa issues just recently addressed even for playing members of the team, this will take some doing, but Iran have shown they are a stellar side when on the pitch, and they will look to give a good account of themselves