We were not a fit team. Most of the players have been off for two or three months. Arena and the players on the revamped team see it as a work in progress, and didn't appear to be particularly concerned with the outcome of the game. Iran coach Mansour Pourhaidari was pleased with his team's performance, but not with the final score. Iran, like the United States, had several near-misses at the goal.
Every coach wants to win.
Jones, able to dribble the ball consistently on the right wing, helped the United States stay on the attack, and his cross set up the tying goal. Dribbling near the box on the right side, he sent a pass slicing across the box, and Armas, charging in from the left side, slammed the ball into the open net with his left foot. Iranian goalkeeper Hadi Tabatebei, forced to guard the post with Jones dribbling in on him, could not recover in time to have a chance at Armas' blast. Iran came very close to going up 2-0 early. One minute after feeding Mahdavikia a pass for his goal, Azizi controlled the rebound after U.S. goalkeeper Brad Friedel stopped a shot.