The Iranians missed several chances for netting the ball, and a goal from Lionel Messi sealed a victory for the South American side.
To much surprise the Serbian referee overlooked the Argentines’ tackle in the box which brought down Iran’s Ashkan Dejagah.
Iran’s manager Carlos Queiroz criticized the referee, saying the fate of the match was determined by him and Messi.
The chance is still much in play for Iran’s national football team, but now they’ll almost certainly have to beat Bosnia-Herzegovina in their last match on Wednesday.
Iran’s Javad Nekounam and Masoud Shojaei earned a yellow card in this match.
Argentina leads Group F with six points, while Iran and Nigeria have one each and Bosnia-Herzegovina have zero point before the last match of group F in the second round between Nigeria and Bosnia.
Argentina play Nigeria and Iran play Bosnia-Herzegovina in group F on Wednesday.
Iran’s lineup in the match:
Goalkeeper: Alireza Haqiqi
Defenders: Jalal Hosseini, Amir Hossein Sadeqi, Pejman Montazeri, Mehrdad Pouladi
Midfielders: Javad Nekounam, Andranik Teymourian, Ashkan Dejagah, Masoud Shojaei, Ehsan Hajsafi
Forwards: Reza Ghoochannejhad
