Ten-man Belgium were left frustrated after being held to a 0-0 draw by a determined Iran in their World Cup Group G clash in Los Angeles on Sunday, failing to find a way past the stubborn Iranian defence.

Belgium's hopes were dealt a blow in the 66th minute when defender Nathan Ngoy was shown a straight red card for bringing down Mehdi Taremi after the Iranian forward had intercepted the defender's mishit attempted pass and was through on goal.

Yet despite their numerical advantage, Iran struggled to capitalise, creating little as the Belgians launched a series of attacks and cranked up the pressure in the final minutes.

Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand repeatedly saved his side with crucial interventions, including an extraordinary stop to keep out a point-blank-range effort from Maxim De Cuyper in the second half.