Wales suffered World Cup 2022 heartbreak when Iran won 2-0 in second-half stoppage time, leaving their knockout hopes hanging by a thread.
Roozbeh Cheshmi’s stunning goal in the eighth minute of extra time broke Wales’ resistance after goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was shown a straight red card in the 84th minute for racing off his line and fouling Mehdi Taremi.
Ramin Rezaeian finished off another quick counter-attack with a cool finish over substitute goalkeeper Danny Ward to give the Asian side a 2-0 lead with practically the last kick of the game.
The Red Dragons were looking for a win to boost their chances of reaching the knockout stages after coming from behind to draw 1-1 with the United States in their first game, but they struggled to break down Iran, with Gareth Bale, who became their most-capped player on his 110th appearance, unable to inspire any more heroics.
As a result, Rob Page’s side will need to beat England in their final Group B game to have any chance of making the last 16, while Iran, who have improved significantly since their 6-2 loss to Gareth Southgate’s men, have renewed hopes of doing so for the first time.
Meanwhile, Qatar is on the verge of exiting the World Cup after falling to Senegal 3-1 at the Al Thumama Stadium on Friday, despite Mohammed Muntari scoring the country’s first-ever World Cup finals goal.
If group A toppers the Netherlands win or draw against Ecuador, who defeated Qatar in the tournament’s opening game, later on Friday, the Qataris will be the first team mathematically eliminated from the competition.
The hosts of the tournament quickly got to grips with Senegal, and they should have had a penalty when Ismaila Sarr bundled over Akram Afif, but Spanish referee Antonio Mateu waved away their appeals, and the Video Assistant Referee did not intervene.
With Qatar defending well, Senegal needed either a moment of magic or a catastrophic mistake to break the deadlock, and unfortunately for Qatar defender Boualem Khoukhi, it was the latter.
Krepin Diatta’s attempt to clear a routine low pass into the box went disastrously wrong when he went to the ground without making proper contact with the ball. Dia pounced on Khoukhi’s fumbled effort, and the 26-year-old striker needed no second invitation to rattle the ball in at the near post to give Senegal the lead.
Three minutes into the second half of the game, Famara Diedhou doubled Senegal’s advantage with a brilliant glancing header from an Ismail Jakobs corner.
Muntari cut the deficit to one in the 78th minute with a bullet header from Ismail Mohamad’s cross, but Senegal substitute Bamba Dieng swept home his side’s third to send Qatar to the bottom of their group with no points, while their group rivals all have three.
