World Cup TV pundit ‘fell asleep’ during match as strong criticism issued | Football | Sport

Zlatan Ibrahimovic admitted he ‘fell asleep’ during Belgium‘s stalemate with Iran after the European heavyweights endured a dismal start to their World Cup campaign. Belgium once again arrived at the tournament touted as potential dark horses, having repeatedly fallen short of expectations at major tournaments over the past 10 years.

That pattern appears set to continue, with the Red Devils in very real danger of an early exit despite finding themselves in a favourable group. Iran put in a disciplined defensive display while offering precious little going forward, yet still managed to claim their second consecutive draw after sharing a 2-2 result with New Zealand the previous week. This came after Iran had been forced to wait over 24 hours to enter the United States at airports ahead of kick-off.

Ibrahimovic, on World Cup punditry duty for FOX, made no secret of his contempt for Belgium’s performance – though he was equally reluctant to dwell on it at length.

He said: “First half, I almost fell asleep. Second half, I fell asleep. This game, nothing. Not a lot to talk about. Another draw. First half, I almost fell asleep. Second half, I fell asleep. This game, nothing. Not a lot to talk about. Another draw.”

Romelu Lukaku spurned a host of opportunities, while former Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne sought to conjure moments of individual brilliance.

Victory over New Zealand would secure Belgium’s passage to the knockout rounds, though a third successive draw could spell an early exit from the competition. A victory over Egypt would see Iran progress in the tournament, despite their time in North America being repeatedly disrupted.

Several members of their technical staff were refused visas to enter the United States, while the squad had their base camp relocated from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico.

Iran were also left waiting for more than 24 hours after their flights were cancelled on Friday, as they scrambled to reach Los Angeles ahead of their fixture.

Head coach Amir Ghalenoei revealed that FIFA president Gianni Infantino had attempted to intervene, saying: “He did his utmost to remove the obstacles, [FIFA president] Mr Infantino tried to minimize the problems we faced.

“FIFA phoned me and said: ‘Are you ready if we get you a flight at 6pm?’ I welcomed that but we sat and waited and waited.

“We waited until 7pm, nothing happened. “OK, sorry, we weren’t able to do that. That’s going to affect us mentally, especially me as a head coach… I know FIFA is trying its best, I thank them for that but it doesn’t mean they have succeeded.”