Spain coach Fernando Hierro defended their performance for victory over World Cup opponents Iran.

Diego Costa's rather fortuitous goal was enough to take Spain to a 1-0 win over a resilient Iran.

"Nobody is winning easily at the World Cup, we've had it as hard as we thought," Hierro explained in a post-match interview with Telecinco.

"It's difficult to get into a rhythm with so much interruption. At half time we corrected some things and improved after the goal.

"Iran are a great team, with clear ideas.

"Queiroz has been working with them for seven years and they won't make things easy for anyone."