Iran scored two goals in stoppage time to claim a stunning 2-0 victory over 10-man Wales at the World Cup on Friday.
Roozbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaeian scored in the 98th minute and 101th minute respectively to hand Carlos Queiroz’s Iran a real chance of qualifying for their first World Cup knockout stages, leaving Wales with it all to do to make the next round.
Rob Page’s Wales struggled to find any rhythm throughout the game and they faced an uphill task when Wayne Hennessey was sent off late on, before Iran made them pay. Iran have three points after two games ahead of their clash against United States next week, while Wales remain on one point.
England will effectively qualify from Group B with a draw against the U.S. later on Friday, and will effectively win the group if they beat Gregg Berhalter’s men.
“We are gutted, there is no other way to say it,” Wales captain Gareth Bale told the BBC after the match. “We fought until the last second and we need to go again.
“We are all gutted but we have to pick ourselves up straight away. It is going to be difficult for us for sure. We will have to see.”
There were off-field incidents before the game as Iranian pro-government fans harassed anti-government supporters outside the stadium. In contrast to their stance against England, the Iranian players decided to sing the national anthem amid loud jeering from the Iran fans in the ground.
Both teams started the game well and Kieffer Moore had the first big chance after 12 minutes when his close-range header was saved by Iran goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini.
Less than five minutes later, Iran had the ball in the back of the net through Ali Gholizadeh but VAR ruled out the effort for offside. The match ended goalless at half time, which has now happened in the last five matches at the World Cup.
Iran, who lost 6-2 to England in their opening match, were the better side after the break and struck the woodwork twice in a matter of seconds. Sardar Azmoun was put through on goal but his effort hit the post. The ball then fell to Gholizadeh and his curling shot struck the other post before Hennessey stopped Azmoun’s rebound.
Hennessey was called into action once again after 73 minutes as he produced an excellent save to deny Saeid Ezatolahi.
Iran sparked scenes of jubilation with their goal in the 98th minute when Cheshmi struck a stunning strike from the edge of the box. Rezaeian then wrapped up the points after a quick counterattack to clip the ball over substitute goalkeeper Danny Ward.
“This is just the beginning, but we need to finish the job,” Iran head coach Quieroz told the BBC. A wonderful day for us. All respect to my players, today showed they love to play football.
“Our players deserve to be supported. We want to play for the fans.”
Wales 0-2 Iran
VAR overturn: Red card for Hennessey
What happened: In the 84th minute, Mehdi Taremi chased a long ball through the centre and Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey came rushing out of his area and crashed into the Iran forward. Referee Mario Escobar of Guatemala booked Hennessey for stopping a promising attack.
VAR decision: Yellow card upgraded to red.
VAR review: There was a covering defender, Neco Williams, who was likely to mop up the loose ball, so the referee was correct not to show a red card for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. But the nature of Hennessey’s challenge was without doubt endangered the safety of an opponent and the VAR, Canada’s Drew Fischer, made the correct decision to instigate a review for serious foul play.
Hennessey was in mid-air when he completely missed the ball in attempting a clearance and crashed into the upper body of Taremi with his thigh.
VAR overturn: Gholizadeh goal disallowed for offside
What happened: Ali Gholizadeh put Iran into the lead against Wales in the 15th minute, but there was a check for offside.
VAR decision: Goal disallowed.
VAR review: One of the more obvious VAR offside goals, with Gholizadeh unsure whether to celebrate after putting the ball past goalkeeper Hennessey.
The Iran forward was ahead of the ball when Sardar Azmoun played the ball. If he had held his run and stayed behind the ball he would have been onside, even though he was in front of the last defender.