Football Tigers

A Marko Babic penalty deep in stoppage time salvaged a 2-2 draw for Croatia against Iran in a FIFA World Cup™ warm-up international on Sunday.
Iran, who are also in the finals in Germany, were on the verge of a notable victory when their goalkeeper Ebrahim Mirzapour slid into one of his own defenders and then clipped Croatia's Ivica Olic as the ball ran free. Bayer Leverkusen's Babic calmly converted the kick.
Iran took the lead after 21 minutes when a shot from Mohammad Nosrati was not cleared and the ball fell to Ali Karimi who drove it into the net.
Croatia drew level ten minutes later when Jurica Vranjes's cross was knocked back by Hajduk Split's Niko Kranjcar and Dado Prso shot past Mirzapour.
The match became disjointed after the break with both sides making several replacements.
One of Croatia's substitutes, defender Mario Tokic, gifted Iran a second goal after 82 minutes when his poor return ball landed at the feet of Arash Borhani who accepted the chance.
It looked like Croatia were heading for their first defeat under coach Zlatko Kranjcar until, six minutes into stoppage time, they were handed a lifeline.
"Iran's goals came from our own mistakes," Kranjcar said. "Despite that, we had the game under control. We had a number of chances we failed to convert. Now we have a few days' rest and the players will be ready for the World Cup."
Croatia play two more friendlies, against Poland and Spain, before kicking off their FIFA World Cup campaign against Brazil in Berlin on 13 June. They also face Japan and Australia in Group F