'Iranian Messi' feels at home at World Cup before Spain game

It was on a cold night of November two years ago that Iran center forward Sardar Azmoun displayed his class to the world.

Playing against Bayern Munich in the Champions League with his Russian Premier League club Rostov, Azmoun collected a pass from a teammate on the edge of the area. He continued his run into the box, sent defender Jerome Boateng to the ground with a fine dribble and showed the composure of a seasoned veteran to slot the ball home with a calm finish.

That night, Rostov pulled off a surprise 3-2 win over Bayern, the kind of upset Iran will be looking for when they take on Spain at the Kazan Arena on Wednesday at the World Cup following a 1-0 win against Morocco in their opening game.

Spain drew their opening Group B match 3-3 with Portugal last week. With his excellent dribbling skills, the 23-year-old Azmoun has all the qualities required to become a big star of the game.

Already regarded as one of the best players in the Russian Premier League, Azmoun was impressive during Iran's unbeaten qualifying campaign for the World Cup, scoring 11 goals.

With 23 goals in 33 international matches, Azmoun is already fifth on Iran's all-time list, following in the footsteps of the great Ali Daei, who scored 109 goals in 149 appearances with Iran.

"As a child, I used to look up at players like Ali Daei, or Zlatan Ibrahimovic," Azmoun said.

"Watching and studying them told me a lot as a player."
"Ibrahimovic is a great player, and as a fellow forward, he probably is the player I most want to play like."
DIFFERENT GOALS
"Everybody knows that our boys are fighters, and we will fight and we will keep our concentration until the very last second of the match."
STILL FAVORITES
"When one has players like these, who collaborate and work hard, life is so much easier," new Spain coach Fernando Hierro said. "One is grateful when one has folks who are so committed."
NO DOUBTS ABOUT DE GEA