Group D Final Games

Iran 1 : 1 Angola,Angola's first World Cup goal wasn't nearly enough to send the Black Antelopes into the second round of the tournament...
Portugal 2 : 1 Mexico,Portugal fielded its ''B" team and still won...
Iran-Angola Match Report:
Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh scored the tying goal in the 75th minute Wednesday to give Iran a 1-1 draw and end Angola's hopes of advancing at its first World Cup ever.
Needing a win, a Mexico loss to Portugal and help on goal differential to move on, the Angolans couldn't deliver the one part they controlled. They finished in third place in Group D with two points, one ahead of Iran.
Substitute Flavio gave Angola its first goal of the tournament when he broke free from Kaabi Hossein in the penalty box to head a cross from Ze Kalanga over goalkeeper Ebrahim Mirzapour and into the net.
Angola lost 1-0 to Portugal in its opener before playing Mexico to a 0-0 draw.
Iran tied it 15 minutes later when Bakhtiarizadeh jumped over Love and headed a corner kick from Mehdi Mahdavikia just inside the post with no defenders guarding the area. Goalkeeper Joao Ricardo yelled at his defenders after the score in apparent frustration.

With Mexico losing 2-1 to Portugal, Angola would have needed three goals in the closing minutes to advance. But the Black Antelopes showed little urgency, apparently satisfied with their second draw of the tournament.
"When we arrived with the team, the first idea that we would suffer many goals didn't happen," Angola coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves said. "With two draws ... the people of Angola can be very, very proud."
It was an outcome that neither side had wished for.
The Iranians, who generated security headaches for the hosts because of protests against the government in Tehran, had already been eliminated after losing their two matches in the group. But they remained hopeful they could return home "honorably" by beating Angola.
"Today we tried to say goodbye to the World Cup with a win," Iran coach Branko Ivankovic said. "But this is soccer, and it is not possible always to score. We dominated during 90 minutes and we deserved to win."
After a scrappy beginning, Iran generally dominated the first half, mounting a series of ineffective attacks which tested Angola's solid defense.
Still, the Black Antelopes had the first real opportunity in the 12th minute with Mateus shooting over the crossbar from inside the penalty area.
Iran replied two minutes later when Ricardo smothered a low shot from Kaiserslautern's Ferydoon Zandi. Ricardo stopped a free kick by Ali Daei in the 24th from the edge of the area, whose return header from close in went over the bar.
Iran's best chance came in the 27th minute, when defender Mendonca stopped Zandi's header in the goalmouth.
Goncalves made only one change in the team that had displayed a strong and disciplined defense in its two previous Group D matches but had scored no goals. Still, the Africans played much more openly than in the first two games and mounted repeated forays toward Mirzapour's goal.
Ivankovic dropped the team's biggest star, Bayern Munich playmaker Ali Karimi, from the squad because of his poor form and erratic behavior. He was replaced by the 37-year old Daei, who had likely played his last match for the national team.
Ivankovic had hoped for a "home advantage" at the match, counting on the 200,000 Iranian residents in Germany to turn out in force. But Iran's fans appeared to be outnumbered by Angola's supporters waving their red-and-black banners.

Portugal - Mexico Match Report:

Mexico also won, in a way. Its 2-1 loss to the Portuguese didn't hurt when Angola couldn't beat Iran on Wednesday, allowing the Mexicans to advance to the second round of the World Cup.
Portugal won all three first-round games in Group D. It got goals by Maniche and Simao Sabrosa in the first 25 minutes, and Mexico's Omar Bravo missed a chance to tie on a second-half penalty kick that soared over the net.
Kikin headed in a corner kick to put Mexico back in the game before halftime.
But Bravo's goof and a second yellow card for Luis Perez with 30 minutes to play stymied the Mexicans.
Portugal will play the second-place team from Group C, either the Netherlands or Argentina. Mexico gets the Group C winner; the Dutch and Argentines met Wednesday night.
Having already qualified for the knockout round, Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari spared five key players for this match. The absences included playmaker Deco, winger Cristiano Ronaldo, and all-time top scorer Pauleta.
Even so, the Portuguese extended their unbeaten run to 17 international games, during which they have allowed just six goals.
"Things couldn't be better," Scolari said. "This was as tough a game as we had expected, but I asked my players today to make it hard for me to pick my team for the next round, and they did that."
Mexico had lost just two of its last 12 games against European opposition in World Cup matches. It couldn't handle Portugal's water-down lineup, though.
"There are three games to go till the final, and they're the hardest," Scolari said. "We just have to keep working hard each day."
Ricardo Lavolpe's team, which needed just a draw to advance to the second phase, started out cautiously with six defenders. Even so, Mexico was full of spirit.
"We started very well," Lavolpe said. "We had control for long periods, but when you have the ball you have to score, and we even missed a penalty."
Kikin slalomed past three defenders to get into the Portuguese area before shooting straight at the goalkeeper in early action.

But Portugal replied with a clinical attack as Simao charged down the wing and pulled the ball back for Maniche to beat keeper Oswaldo Sanchez.
When Mexico captain Rafael Marquez used his hand to prevent Fernando Meira heading a shot toward goal, Sabrosa hit his spot kick just beyond the goalie's reach.
Scolari spent most of the match standing on the touchline shouting instructions to his makeshift team. Two players, defender Marco Caneira and striker Helder Postiga, were playing in their first World Cup.
Bravo, alone at the back post, fired a shot from close range that ricocheted off the goalie and then bounced against the crossbar. And just before halftime, Pavel Pardo forced a spectacular save from Ricardo Pereira with a thundering shot from outside the area.
Antonio Naelson (also known as Zinha) who assisted once and scored another in Mexico's win over Iran, came on at halftime as Mexico upped the pressure. He made an immediate difference with his slick dribbling and neat passes, and the lineup change paid off when Mexico was awarded the penalty kick.
A kick that didn't come close, but in the end was not damaging for Mexico.