Ronaldo had the chance to double the lead five minutes into the second half after he was upended by Ezatolahi, with a spot-kick awarded following consultation with the video assistant referee (VAR). But the Portugal captain was denied by Beiranvand who dived to his left to smother Ronaldo's attempt.
Iran coach Carlos Queiroz remonstrated angrily with the officials as Saman Ghoddos appeared to be impeded by William Carvalho inside the area. There was no VAR intervention on that occasion, but referee Enrique Caceres trotted over to the pitchside monitor after an altercation between Ronaldo and Morteza Pouraliganji. Ronaldo caught the Iran defender with a forearm across the face, Pouraliganji falling to the ground in a heap as the Portugal forward ultimately escaped with a yellow card. Iran earned a stoppage-time penalty, again with the help of VAR, when Sardar Azmoun's header struck the arm of Cedric after the pair contested a deep cross. Substitute Ansarifard buried his effort into the roof of the net to set up a dramatic finish. Mehdi Taremi could have snatched a stunning winner after a deflected shot rolled into his path, but he fired into the side netting as Iran fell agonisingly short. Iran held Portugal to a 1-1 draw in their final Group B match