On Sunday evening, Iran came roaring back to defeat Wales 2-0 at the FIFA World Cup.
Iran now has renewed hopes of advancing to the second round as a result of the big win. Iran was defeated 6-2 by England in their first match of the tournament. But, today, against Wales, Iran displayed exceptional spirit.
England and Iran are tied for second place in the group with three points each, with Iran having played an additional game. The United States and Wales, who are third in the standings, each have one point. Wales will play England in their final match, while Iran will play the United States. Before that, tonight’s group match is between the United States and England. The result today squandered Wales’ chances and allowed Iran to advance to the second round.
Wales controlled the ball for long stretches of the first half of the game, however, their tries turned futile. Ali Gholizadeh of Iran scored in the 16th minute of the first half. Regrettably, VAR determined that he was offside at the time.
Iran put pressure on Wales from the start of the second half, and Wales had to defend to stop Iran’s quick play. Early in the half, two Iranian shots hit the post, the first by Sardar Azmoun, who also hit the crossbar. Another Iranian player caught the ball, which hit the post again. Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessy brilliantly saved Azmoun’s shot from the edge of the box.
When goalkeeper Hennessy was sent off late in the game, Wales suffered a setback. Hennessy was shown a red card in the 87th minute for attacking Iran’s Azmoun from outside the area. He was initially shown a yellow card, which was later converted to a red card after being reviewed by VAR. Hennessy is the first player in this year’s World Cup to receive a red card.
Iran continued to attack despite the absence of one player. Rouzbeh Cheshmi scored from close range to give Iran the lead in the eighth of nine minutes of extra time. Cheshmi’s powerful outside-the-area shot found the bottom corner. Iran extended their lead with a counter-attack in the final minute of the game. Ramin Reza was the one who scored the game’s first goal.
The Iranians were overjoyed with the last-minute victory.
Today’s World Cup match in Group A will begin at six o’clock. Qatar will now face Senegal in their first tournament match. Both teams lost their first matches and a win is crucial for both teams to advance to the next round.
