Argentina loses to Iran at 7-a-side football in pool play at the London Paralympics

September 4, 2012 London, England &mdash; Yesterday at London's Riverbank Arena on a sunny day, lost to  at  8–1 in a game in group play.

In the pre-game, both national team anthems were played with Iran singing along to theirs before jumping up and down while the pre-game ritual finished. Iran's energy level stayed on the pitch, with the teams scoring six goals in the first half. The first half goal scorers included classified player and team captain Morteza Heidari who was congratulated by Argentina's goalkeeper after the goal.

At 46:58, Argentina's Matias Fernandex Romano scored a goal bringing the score to 6–1, and scoring the first goal of the tournament for Argentina. While Argentina had several opportunities on goal because of an open net or the goalkeeper being out of position, they were unable to kick the ball into the net. Iran finished the second half by scoring two goals late in the game, one in the 58th minute and one in the 60th to end the game 8–1.

7-a-side football is played by competitors with cerebral palsy. Unlike, the game is played on a smaller pitch with seven players on the field at one time, and no rule. Each half lasts 30 minutes, with a 15 minute half-time break.