Iran landed a shock 2-0 defeat to Wales in their second game of the FIFA World Cup 2022, earning their first three points of the tournament.
Wales created the first chance of the game, with a smooth switch of play landing the ball on the feet of Roberts on the right flank. He plays in a swinging cross in the box, which is poked toward the goal by Moore, only for Hosseni to punch it away.
In the 14th minute, Robert attempts a switch of play from right to left. But his pass is intercepted by Gholizadeh, who exchanges a couple of passes with Azmoun while running toward the goal before setting him up for a tap-in. The goal, however, was ruled offside.
Iran continued to receive the majority of chances in the second half. In the 51st minute, Azmoun was released on the counter and managed to keep his marker at the bay before releasing a shot that came off the post. The ball fell on the feet of Gholizadeh, who then took a touch before unleashing a curling effort, again just to rattle the sticks.
Iran again came close in the 72nd minute when Afagh played a one-two with Taremi before driving a grounded shot just wide off the far corner. In the 82nd minute, Wales finally came close to scoring a goal when laid off the ball for Ben Davies to take a shot from outside the area, which was tipped over the bar by the Iranian shot-stopper.
Wales went down to ten men after Hennessey’s yellow card for fouling Taremi was turned to a red after a VAR check in the 83rd minute. From then on it was one-way traffic by Iran. Torabi again came close to giving Iran the lead, but his 88th-minute shot was just wide. Iran had to wait until the 98th minute to take the lead when a half-hearted clearance by Allen set up the ball for Cheshmi. The substitute fired a fierce low drive right into the bottom corner for his second-ever international goal.
In the 10th minute of extra time, Iran all but secured the three points as another poor touch by Allen allowed Taremi to break forward. The no.9 cut inside from the left flank before sliding in a pass for Ramin, who dinked the ball over Ward to secure a historic win for Iran.
The win moved Iran second in the group, just behind England. They will face the U.S.A in their last group game while Wales, languishing in last, will face England.
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