The three-time champions were well below their best, particularly in a pedestrian first half, but a hammer header by Bierhoff and a typical piece of opportunism by Klinsmann helped them top Group F with seven points, ahead of Yugoslavia.

Iran, who beat the United States last week after losing 1-0 to Yugoslavia, were far from disgraced and can hold their heads high on their return to Tehran. They rarely threatened the German goal but showed skill and speed on the break.

Lothar Matthaeus, playing a record 23rd World Cup match, produced some nice touches from midfield but there was precious little for strikers Klinsmann and Bierhoff to feed on.

Coach Berti Vogts introduced Bayern Munich midfielder Dietmar Hamann for the second half, Olaf Thon making way and Matthaeus dropping back tosweeper.The change and a roasting from Vogts -- ``At halftime I had to speak to the team and calm them down,'' he said later -- paid off as two goals in a fierce 10-minute attacking spell ended the match as a contest.

Five minutes after the restart Thomas Haessler produced the first good cross of the night and Bierhoff rose to head firmly past Ahmad Abedzadeh.

In the 58th minute Bierhoff, who joins AC Milan after the tournament, struck a post with a 25-metre effort and Klinsmann reacted sharply to head the rebound into the empty net. Both players have now scored two goals in the finals in France. But with the job done, the Germans lost the initiative.Iran began to make deep inroads into German territory as Mehdi Mahdavikia, who made a couple of good breaks in the first half, and the lively Khodadad Azizi kept the German defenders on their toes.

Ultimately there was too much defensive experience in the form of Matthaeus and Jurgen Kohler -- 228 caps between them -- for Iran to produce the miracle theyneeded.