Well, that was intense. Congratulation to Iran, commiserations to Wales – but it’s still up for grabs in Group B. I’ll leave you with Ben Fisher’s report from the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, and don’t forget to join Tom Davies for Qatar v Senegal at 1pm. Bye!
3 - Wayne Hennessey is only the third goalkeeper ever to receive a red card at the World Cup, after Itumeleng Khune for South Africa v Uruguay in 2010 and Gianluca Pagliuca for Italy v Norway in 1994. Dismissed. pic.twitter.com/Tpdtc35i9t
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 25, 2022
And that’s how to lose graciously
Wales fans giving the Iran players a great reception on their richly deserved lap of honour #WALIRN
— Andy Hunter (@AHunterGuardian) November 25, 2022
“I’m just one simple Iranian-American fan of Team Melli,” says Mehrun Etebari, “but I think I must speak for many others when I say that Wales remain an inspiration. If Iran can go forward and put together a run even half as compelling as the Welsh run to the semis of Euro 2016 I’ll be ecstatic. Smaller teams live for the hope, and Wales showed that sometimes that hope can be rewarded.”
Now that’s how to win graciously.
“Watching the first half I turned to my mate and said ‘this has Scotland written all over it’,” says Kerr Wells. “Heroic, disappointing, ‘what might have been’ elimination. Stand by for Wales to beat England to add to the folklore.”
With Iran scoring a 104th-minute winner against the US to put Wales out.
Updated
The BBC are showing a montage of Iran putting it about. There were a few bits of naughtiness – standing on Kieffer Moore’s toe at a corner, things like that – and it’s probably fair to assume that a European referee would have given one or two more yellow cards. But it was hardly England 1972 (Berlin branch) or Brazil 1974, and it doesn’t change the essential truth: the best team won.
Updated
There is a not inconceivable way that Wales can qualify (I think)
England beat the USA
The USA draw with Iran
Wales beat England B
Updated
Wayne Hennessey’s red card
A RED CARD 🟥
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 25, 2022
Wales are down to 10 men 👥
Wayne Hennessey has been sent off after he wipes out Iran's Mehdi Taremi.
📺📻📲 Watch on @BBCiPlayer, listen on @BBCSounds & get more on the @BBCSport app#BBCFootball #BBCWorldCup
The Iran coach Carlos Queiroz speaks
It’s just the beginning, we need to finish the job. It was a wonderful day for us – we [stuck] to football, and I don’t have words to say thank you to the players. They were brilliant, they deserve all the respect. People will now understand that these boys love to play football.
[What’s your message to the Iranian people?] The players, they deserve to be supported. We did it for them, we did it for them. That’s the only reason we’re here, to play for the fans.
I assume he’s referring to the fact that the players chose to sing the national anthem before the game. For any team, never mind one whose country is experiencing civil unrest, they played with phenomenal intensity.
Updated
“Can’t begrudge them,” says Matt Dony. “The better team won. There’ll always be a ‘what if’ around Moore’s volley in the first half, but it wasn’t to be. It’s still Wales at the World Chuffing Cup, which is more than I dreamt of for most of my life.”
Gareth Bale's verdict
It’s gutting [boings his lips]. We’re gutted, there’s no other way to say it. It’s difficult to take but we have to recover and try and go again.
It’s gonna be difficult [to qualify] for sure, it depends on the other game. I haven’t seen the red card so I don’t know [if it was a fair decision], but it changes the game completely.
Updated
What it all means
Wales aren’t out, but they need snookers now. Iran will almost certainly go through if they beat the USA and may well do so with a draw, though that depends on what happens between England and the USA tonight.
Let’s be clear: Iran were deserved winners. They were the stronger team even before Wayne Hennessey was sent off, and kept playing with purpose and belief even when it looked like time was up. They scored in the 98th and 101st minutes, shattering the Wales players in the process.
Full time: Wales 0-2 Iran
I don’t know what to say.
Wales threw everyone forward and paid the price. It was a four-on-two break, finished delightfully by the relentless, indefatigable right-back Ramin Rezaeian. Ansarifard put him through with a square pass on the edge of the area; he drew Ward and lifted the ball slowly, teasingly, joyously over him. In the circumstances, that is some finish.
Updated
GOAL! Wales 0-2 Iran (Rezaeian 90+11)
It’s all over now!
Updated
Devastation for Wales, and sheer, frenzied joy for Iran. A low cross from the left wasn’t dealt with properly by Joe Allen – the kind of absent-minded clearance you’d expect from somebody who has been on all game in that heat, but not necessarily from a substitute – and ran to Cheshmi, 25 yards from goal. He half-controlled it on the stretch, ran after the loose ball and whistled a brilliant curling shot towards goal. It brushed the fingertips of the diving Ward, who saw it late and was at full stretch, and nestled in the bottom-right corner. My word.
Updated
GOAL! Wales 0-1 Iran (Cheshmi 90+8)
What a goal from Rouzbeh Cheshmi!
Updated
90+7 min All the players who started the game look completely spent, physically and emotionally.
90+6 min Neco Williams’ mishit shot almost falls for Johnson at one end; then Rezaeian’s shot is blocked by Davies at the other.
90+6 min Jahanbakhsh is booked a high challenge on Mepham; it’s his second yellow so he’ll miss the USA game. It also allows Wales to waste another 30 seconds.
90+5 min Rezaeian is booked for dissent.
90+4 min Now James is fouled just inside the Iran half. These dead seconds are precious for Wales. Davies eventually drives the free-kick into the area and Hosseini – the replacement goalkeeper who has been terrific – claims decisively.
Updated
90+3 min And if you want to know more about the man Wayne Hennessey inadvertently homaged with that assault on Taremi, Gary Naylor is your friend.
Why not get away from the madness of the World Cup with some er... World Cup madness?@nessundormapod is back with a one-off, deep dive into West Germany 3 France 3. You'll remember it - https://t.co/bax2pmm2cD
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) November 19, 2022
90+2 min The resulting free-kick is eventually fed in towards Moore, in a bit of space in the area, but his first touch is a weary one that runs through to Hosseini. There was a sniff of a chance there.
90+2 min Moore, who must be utterly shattered, does superbly to hold the ball up, draw a foul and buy Wales a bit of time.
90+1 min There will be nine added minutes. Wales are on the ropes, the brink, the edge; the lot.
90 min As my colleague Daniel Harris rather brilliantly puts it: Hell, bloody football.
89 min: So close from Torabi! This is unreal. Ansarifard has a shot blocked, then Torabi smashes a rising drive from the edge of the area that goes this far wide of the right-hand post.
88 min: Wales substitution The sub goalkeeper Danny Ward replaces Aaron Ramsey.
HENNESSEY IS SENT OFF!
86 min It looks worse every time you see it. He could have been sent off twice: once for the denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity and once for poleaxing Taremi with what was essentially a knee to the face. He launched into a scissor kick, thinking he was going to get to the bouncing ball a split-second before Taremi. He was wrong.
“Shades of Schumacher” says the BBC commentator Steve Wilson. Unlike Harald Schumacher in 1982, Hennessey was going for the ball – but he didn’t get it and he flattened Taremi with a combination of knee, hip and arm. Even Andre the Giant would have gone down from that.
Updated
VAR CHECK
Hennessey will be sent off here.
84 min: It’s all kicking off! Taremi just beats Hennessey to a long ball forward, 40 yards from goal, and is totally wiped out. The referee gives a yellow card, which can only be because he thought Neco Williams would have got to the loose ball before Taremi. Personally I think it’s a clear goalscoring opportunity. More importantly so do the entire Iran team, who are raging at the referee.
Updated
83 min: Good save from Hosseini! Williams’ long-range shot is unwittingly blocked by Moore, but he is alert enough to lay the loose ball off to Davies on the edge of the area. He crashes a rising drive that is pushed over by the leaping Hosseini. A good save, though one he’d expect to make.
83 min: Iran substitution And now they have none, unless the game goes to extra time: Ezatolahi is replaced by Ali Karimi.
82 min Ezatolahi is down with cramp. Iran have one substitution remaining.
80 min Gareth Bale has done nothing. Nada. Zilch. The square root of bugger all. If I was an Iran supporter, the ‘it’s too darned quiet’ principle would be haunting me.
Updated
79 min “It says something about how stressed the Wales fans at the stadium must be,” begins Kári Tulinius, “that they loudly applauded winning a throw-in near the half-way line. Enjoy the last twenty minutes!”
78 min: Wales substitition Joe Allen, who has been out since mid-September, comes on for Ethan Ampadu.
Updated
78 min: Triple substitution for Iran After a lot of faffing, Ali Jahanbakhsh, Mehdi Torabi and Rouzbeh Cheshmi replace Gholidazeh, Hajisafi and Nourollahi.
75 min For most of the game Iran have played on the break, but at the moment they are all over Wales like a cheap cliche. If Gareth Bale is going to write another script, now would be a decent time.
74 min “A draw is ok,” pleads Matt Mony. “If this finishes even, and assuming England beat the USA, then England are guaranteed to go through as group winners. Meaning they could play a weaker team in the last game, with a Gijon-esque lack of intensity. Is it how I dreamed Wales would go through? No. Would I take it? Absolutely!”
73 min: Fine save by Hennessey! Wales are right on the edge here. Ezatolahi shifts the ball away from a Wales player in the D and sweeps a low, right-footed drive towards the far corner. Hennessey, who must have seen it late, gets down to his right and fingertips it round the post. That’s an extremely good stop.
Updated
72 min Gholizadeh’s cross is shinned behind by Rodon. The corner is taken short and eventually comes to Pouraliganji, whose shot is blocked.
71 min Ezatolahi’s angled cross beyond the far post is headed down by Pouraliganji, still up from a corner, and Hennessey is quick off his line to claim. Wales look tired now.
70 min Sheesh, this is tense. If it stays like this the winners will be the USA, though it’s pretty complicated. A draw isn’t the end of the world, or the World Cup.
Updated
69 min Reorder these letters: SFF.
Iranian fan has shirt with name of Mahsa Amini removed by security at Iran v Wales game pic.twitter.com/8wstcZAqnQ
— David Harding (@DM_Harding) November 25, 2022
68 min: Iran substitution Karim Ansarifard replaces Sardar Azmoun, who has run himself into the ground.
67 min Johnson slows down in the area, then zips past Mohammadi and drives a low cross towards the near post. Bale misses an attempted flick behind his standing leg and Iran clear.
That was good from Johnson, exactly the kind of no-nonsense running Wales want from him and James.
66 min Iran have been heavy-footed at times in this hame, and Pouraliganji leaves a bit on Moore after a free-kick has been given.
65 min The resulting corner hits the unsighted Johnson and runs to safety. Iran appeal unsuccessfully for handball. It did hit his hand, but it was pretty close to his body. VAR isn’t interested.
64 min Another very dangerous break from Taremi. He runs 40 yards, with Mepham backpedalling the whole way, then shifts the ball inside for a shot that is crucially blocked by the covering Ampadu.
64 min “I’m hoping one or both of them will prove me wrong and score worldies to win the game for Wales,” begins Michael Gibson. “But on the evidence of this and the match against USA, both Bale and Ramsey look past it. Ramsey in particular is a shadow of the player he once was, I’ve lost count of the number of times he’s given the ball away. Bale saunters around the pitch like he’s on an extended lap of honour. So come on lads, prove me wrong!”
63 min Taremi leads another break and slides an angled through pass towards the unmarked Rezaeian on the right side of the area. James stretches to poke the ball behind for a corner, an important bit of defending.
Updated
62 min Make sure you click for the full picture.
The Iran sub really wanted in on that action pic.twitter.com/TeftxOmDP3
— James Dart (@James_Dart) November 25, 2022
62 min A dangerous cross from Williams evades everyone in the middle.
61 min As the old proverb says, it’s better to be lucky than to be 1-0 down in a musn’t-lose World Cup game.
Oh my days 😱
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 25, 2022
🏴 Wales are living life on the edge! 😰
Iran hit the post 𝗧𝗪𝗜𝗖𝗘 and Wayne Hennessey then makes a save 🧤
📺📻📲 Watch on @BBCiPlayer, listen on @BBCSounds & get more on the @BBCSport app#BBCFootball #BBCWorldCup
61 min Iran have a substitute ready but Azmoun wants to continue. He’s put in a helluva shift today.
60 min Azmoun is down again. I think his game might be over.
Updated
59 min This is the revised Wales formation, 4-2-3-1. Hennessey; N Williams, Mepham, Rodon, Davies; Ramsey, Ampadu; Johnson, Bale, James; Moore.
57 min Mohammadi fouls Wilson, which gives Rob Page the chance to make a double substitution.
Brennan Johnson and Dan James replace Harry Wilson and Connor Roberts, which means a) pace, b) pace and c) a switch to 4-2-3-1.
56 min Now Hajisafi has a shot blocked, I think by Mepham. Wales are hanging on.
55 min Ramsey is fouled 35 yards from goal, right of centre. Wilson’s free-kick is poor, straight into the arms of Hosseini.
53 min At the other end, Moore beats Hosseini to Bale’s cross and heads onto the roof of the net. The referee might have given a foul against Moore, I’ not sure; either way, it was a half chance at best.
Updated
51 min: Iran hit the post twice in 10 seconds! Scenes galore! First Azmoun rumbled into the area from Nourollahi’s angled through pass, held off Rodon and slapped a shot against the right-hand post. Gholizadeh kept the ball alive and shaped an extravagant long-range curler that beat the flying Hennessey and thumped off the left-hand post. It rebounded to Azmoun, who was off balance and could only head straight at a very grateful Hennessey.
Updated
50 min Plenty of Wales possession at the start of the second half, though it’s largely in front of the Iran defence. Moore does make a run in behind, down the right, but he’s flagged offside.
49 min “I’m sat at my desk, with the game on an iPad beneath my work screens, just a few yards from my boss,” writes Matt, erm let’s change his name just in case, Bony. “I would dearly love to be able to say I was on the beers, but I just don’t think I could get away with it. Should have thought of an Irish coffee, though. And some strong chewing gum.”
48 min Another dodgy square pass, this time from Ramsey, puts Wales in trouble. It’s stolen and fed towards Azmoun, who is well tackled by Mepham in the area.
Updated
47 min “Morning Mr Smyth,” writes Bill Hargreaves. “After the eagle-eyed reader spotted that Tite is, in fact, the ‘Genial’ Harry Grout (Porridge), I was wondering if Rob Page might have a hint of Bernard '‘Orrible’ Ives about him?
“Southgate is, need it be said, Barraclough, making the scheming Harry Kane, Fletch; Gareth Bale being his Lenny Godber. While we’re casting, is Didier Deschamps Mr. MacKay? I have John Stones down as Luke Warm.
“Sincerely, Blanco Webb.”
46 min Peep peep! Iran begin the second half, with no changes on either side. Yet.
More half-time reading
Germany v Spain, Sunday, 8pm GMT
Half-time reading
“Hello from Swansea!” says Rob Morgan. “I can confirm that a number of us are indeed on the beers, a lot of pubs have kindly opened early for the match.
“Also with regards to the playlist, and in honour of my hometown/team, I think we’d need some SWANS on there?”
Well, if you insist.
The BBC team are all saying this is a must-win game. That’s not quite the case. It’s a bit complicated, but if this is a draw and England beat the USA tonight – if, if, if – both Wales and Iran will still have their destiny in their own hands.
(Edit: no they won’t, I’m a moron, but Iran would know that a win over the US would put them through unless Wales beat England.)
Updated
Half time: Wales 0-0 Iran
“It’s hot, and Wales have been a little bit bothered by Iran,” says the BBC commentator Steve Wilson.
Wales have had most of the ball but Iran have been the more dangerous team on the counter-attack. Ali Gholizadeh and Sardar Azmoun combined for a fantastic goal that was ruled out for offside; at the other end, Kieffer Moore’s flying volley was beaten away by Hossein Hosseini.
Updated
45+4 min The resulting free-kick ricochets dangerously around the area before being cleared. Then Nourollahi hits a long-range shot that is well held by Hennessey. It was straight at him but bounced awkwardly just in front.
45+3 min Rodon is booked for an absurd sliding foul on Taremi.
Updated
45+2 min Iran work the ball patiently on the right, until Ezatolahi suddenly whips a fantastic cross towards the six-yard line. Azmoun and Rodon both lunge for the ball, but it evades them both and bounces to safety. Azmoun was goalside, and for a split-second it looked like he was going to score.
45 min There will be four added minutes.
Updated
43 min The BBC picture disappears for a few seconds. Happily for them, Bale doesn’t pick that moment to roof one from 40 yards.
43 min The corner is claimed with authority by Hossein Hosseini.
42 min Good play from Wales. Davies guides a good ball into Moore on the edge of the area, and he touches it off first time (or miscontrols it, I’m not entirely sure) towards the onrushing Wilson. He hits a first-time shot that is blocked by Pouraliganji and spins over the bar for the first corner of the match.
Updated
40 min Free-kick to Iran, 40 yards out. Hajisafi overhits it slightly and it goes behind for a goalkick. Both teams look like they are ready for a breather.
39 min Bale galumphs down the left and drives a low cross that is kicked away by Majid Hosseini.
38 min “I’m an American who lives in Cardiff with my Welsh husband,” writes Gwyneth Galvin. “I’m visiting my Ohioan family for the holidays, but I set my alarm for 5am so I could catch the match. I’m currently under the covers, suffering a food hangover only made worse by the anxiety of this game. Go on Wales!”
37 min Wilson finds Williams in space on the left side of the area, but his first touch is heavy and Rezaeian makes a good tackle. That was half a chance for Wales.
35 min Rodon is living on the edge against Azmoun. He makes another desperate last-ditch tackle to stop Azmoun running onto a long ball forward.
Rodin has been left one v one quite a lot, which is slightly surprising given that Wales have three central defenders and he is theoretically the spare man.
Updated
35 min “Hi Rob,” says Anshuman Pande. “You linked an excellent Gorky’s song at the start of the MBM today. Over the years, lots of your Guardian colleagues on MBM duties have also linked some absolute beauts. Might I suggest a yearly playlist of some of the best MBM music? I’m sure it will beat EA’s playlist by miles.”
That’s a good idea. When the group stages are over, and assuming I don’t forget, I’ll try to set one up.
Updated
34 min A bit of a quiet spell. If they didn’t know before – and to be fair, I’m sure they did – Wales realise now that they are well and truly in a game.
33 min “Hello from the stadium,” says Pierre Martins. “There is a dude with the world’s most annoying vuvuzela sat next to me. Var ruling the goal offside made him sad.”
I wouldn’t like to run into the world’s least annoying vuvuzela, never mind the most annoying.
Updated
31 min Here’s more on the slightly unexpected sight of the Iran players singing their national anthem before the game.
31 min You could never leave Gareth Bale out – imagine the state of Twitter – but part of me wonders whether, particularly in this heat, you might get more bang for your Bale by bringing him on for the last half hour. Anyway, it’s irrelevant.
30 min Bale, hitherto anonymous, mishits a long-range volley through to Hosseini.
28 min Azmoun is okay to continue, at least for now.
27 min This is a concern for Iran: Azmoun is receiving treatment for the calf problem that has kept him out for the last couple of months. He’s been a serious handful for Wales.
Updated
26 min Iran break at pace again. Azmoun tries to run the last man Rodon, who times his lunging challenge perfectly.
Gholizadeh shoves Williams over, then chooses to berate him for some reason.
Just had the extremely surreal experience of singing the Welsh national anthem to Hamas officials as I wait for my Gaza crossing paperwork to be processed #ymaohyd #benyrbyd #cymru #غزة pic.twitter.com/m4t7WuOGI0
— Bethan McKernan (@mck_beth) November 25, 2022
24 min Williams is limping heavily after being wiped out by Rezaeian. It wasn’t a particularly malicious foul, and it was Rezaeian who alerted the referee so that he could stop play.
24 min Here’s that early chance for Kieffer Moore. I’ll post the disallowed goal, which really was a gem, as soon as it appears on the BBC Twitter feed. Talking of which, treat yourself to the Joy of Six: Goals That Never Were. Not now.
So, so close to an opener for Wales 😲
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 25, 2022
Kieffer Moore putting himself on the line to try and score.
A great save from Hossein Hosseini!
📺📻📲 Watch on @BBCiPlayer, listen on @BBCSounds & get more on the @BBCSport app#BBCFootball #BBCWorldCup
23 min Rezaeian’s free-kick is headed wide by Azmoun, leaping above Rodon at the far post. He couldn’t get over the ball.
22 min Ampadu trips the raiding Rezaeian 35 yards from goal. Iran have been terrific so far.
20 min “Phew!” says Matt Dony. “I flipping love VAR.”
A quick for Wales fans – are you on the beer? I can still remember folk in suits hurrying through pre-work pints at 7am on a Friday, as if it was their national duty, when England played Brazil in the 2002 quarter-final.
Updated
20 min Another very dangerous Iran break ends when Nourollahi’s shot is blocked by Rodon. Iran are the better team at the moment, no question about that.
18 min Bale goes down holding his face after wearing a straight arm from Mohammadi. It was a foul but no more.
Updated
NO GOAL! Wales 0-0 Iran
As disallowed goals go, it was a beauty. Roberts’ dodgy square pass was nicked by Gholizadeh, who played a dizzying, progressively orgiastic exchange of first-time passes with Azmoun – one, two, three, four – before walking the ball into the net. But when the last pass was played, Gholizadeth was slightly – and needlessly – offside. Azmoun could have taken the shot himself as well.
Updated
This will be ruled out for offside
GOAL! Wales 0-1 Iran (Gholizadeh 16)
VAR permitting, this is a wonderful goal from Iran!
Updated
13 min Moore stays down for a bit, but after receiving treatment he is back on his feet.
12 min: Good save by Hosseini! Davies sprays a crossfield pass out to Roberts, who pulls it down and shapes a lovely cross towards the near post. Moore stretches to stab an instinctive volley from six yards that is parried away by Hossein Hosseini. Had Moore’s volley gone either side of the keeper he would probably have scored. To exacerbate his pain, Majid Hosseini accidentally kicks him in the face in his follow through.
Updated
9 min Iran’s front two, Taremi and Azmoun, are looking really dangerous. An attempted give-and-go is thwarted by a sliding Wales defender on the edge of the area.
8 min “Checking in from a wonderful but grey damp Copenhagen where I shall be sporting my Welsh bucket hat in the Danish Design Museum while checking in to MBM,” says Kim Thonger. “May fortune favour the Bale.”
If that’s not an excuse to post a video of Preben Elkjaer, then I don’t know what it is.
7 min Azmoun drags a daisy-cutter through to Hennessey from about 20 yards. Iran look bright in attack.
6 min A wicked cross from the right-back Rezaeian is headed away desperately by the backpedalling Rodon. That was very good defending.
Updated
5 min A long ball towards Azmoun is well defended by Mephan, who stoops to head back to Hennessey.
Iran team sing/mutter their way through their national anthem after refusing to sing in first game against England. https://t.co/BqLdO3piIp
— Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) November 25, 2022
3 min Wilson plays a simple ball back to Neco Williams, who cuts inside and whistles a decent long-range shot over the bar. Hosseini wasn’t troubled but it’s a positive start for Wales.
Updated
Boos around stadium during Iran anthem - which players are singing today. Reaction at the end as big screen shows a female fan in tears. Felt like quite a significant moment. pic.twitter.com/Bb3gn4F2L8
— Daniel McDonnell (@McDonnellDan) November 25, 2022
1 min Peep peep! Wales kick off from left to right as we watch. They are in red; Iran are wearing white.
It’s time for the football. A draw isn’t the end of the World Cup for either team, but both really need a win.
Iran players sing national anthem
Both teams line up for the anthems. For once – and this really doesn’t happen very often - Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau is overshadowed by the Iran anthem.
Most of the Iran players choose to sing this time, having remained silent before the England game. I think one or two players were silent this time, too, though I couldn’t be sure. (In fact I suspect I’ve got that wrong – I’d imagine their approach was unanimous. Maybe a couple were mumbling.)
There were certainly whistles, boos and tears in the crowd.
Updated
Here come the players. It looks ferociously hot out there.
A reminder of the teams
Wales (possible 5-3-1-1) Hennessey; Roberts, Mepham, Rodon, Davies, N Williams; Ramsey, Ampadu, Wilson; Bale; Moore.
Substitutes: Ward, Davies, Gunter, Allen, Johnson, Morrell, Lockyer, J Williams, Harris, James, Thomas, Levitt, Cabango, Colwill, Smith.
Iran (possible 4-4-2) H Hosseini; Rezaeian, Pouraliganji, M Hosseini, Mohammadi; Gholizadeh, Ezatolahi, Nourollahi, Hajisafi; Azmoun, Taremi.
Substitutes: Niazmand, Abedzadeh, Moharrami, Khalilzadeh, Kanaanizadegan, Cheshmi, Jalali, Amiri, Ghoddos, Torabi, Karimi, Ansarifard, Jahanbakhsh.
Referee Mario Alberto Escobar Toca (Guatemala)
It’s another big day for Gareth Bale. Assuming he isn’t sent off before the game for wearing a OneLove onesie, he’ll win his 110th cap – a record for the Welsh men’s team.
I absolutely love the fact World Cup football chat is identical to Sunday league football chat. https://t.co/zLKWlnSdHp
— Max Rushden 💛🖤 (@maxrushden) November 25, 2022
The best bit is the way Bale drawls the ‘effing’, as if he’s trying to sneak it in before the watershed without anyone noticing.
(NB: the below clip contains the old C-word.)
“The Guardian fixtures page,” begins Alec Gregory, “shows just what Scotland thinks of this ‘World’ Cup.”
Scottish football is living its best life and does not care what you think. pic.twitter.com/Gqx3mHGsQd
— Alec (@alecincode) November 25, 2022
Mood music
‘If we’re handing out insults for being fat, let’s have a go at him. Look at him!’
“I am still absorbing the news that Wales beat Hungary in 1958!” says Ian Copestake. “I mean, it was that Hungary! From 1958!”
It wasn’t quite That Hungary: Puskas and Kocsis were among those who did one after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, although Hidegkuti was still playing.
The Iran anthem will be watched almost as keenly as the football. It’s a complex, evolving situation, with a lot to take in, but these two pieces are a good place to start.
A bit more pre-match reading
It’s a sweltering afternoon in Al-Rayyan. As Gabby Logan has just said on the BBC coverage, bucket hats will come in very handy.
“Mae gen i barch enfawr at Iran, a’u safiad gyda’r anthem,” says Matt Dony. “Ond, dewch ymlaen, Gymru! Joe Allen is so important to Wales. He might not have the star quality of Ramsey or Bale, but he does things that no one else in the squad can do. If he gets a good run out today, and can maybe start against England, then that’s as positive as I could hope to be.
“I really like Dan James, but Kieffer Moore changed the game when he came on against the USA. He’s a decent striker, who seems to have an uncanny ability to raise his game when he plays internationally. Definitely the right call to start him today. Am I rambling? Who knows anymore. I feel sick. I’m staring at spreadsheets, and 10:00 feels like a long way away. It’s Wales, at the World Chuffing Cup!”
In other news, Rob Page and Carlos Queiroz have swapped jobs for the day
Essential pre-match reading
The teams in full
Wales (possible 5-3-1-1) Hennessey; Roberts, Mepham, Rodon, Davies, N Williams; Ramsey, Ampadu, Wilson; Bale; Moore.
Substitutes: Ward, Davies, Gunter, Allen, Johnson, Morrell, Lockyer, J Williams, Harris, James, Thomas, Levitt, Cabango, Colwill, Smith.
Iran (possible 4-4-2) H Hosseini; Rezaeian, Pouraliganji, M Hosseini, Mohammadi; Gholizadeh, Ezatolahi, Nourollahi, Hajisafi; Azmoun, Taremi.
Substitutes: Niazmand, Abedzadeh, Moharrami, Khalilzadeh, Kanaanizadegan, Cheshmi, Jalali, Amiri, Ghoddos, Torabi, Karimi, Ansarifard, Jahanbakhsh.
Referee Mario Alberto Escobar Toca (Guatemala)
Updated
Iran team news: Azmoun returns
Carlos Queiroz has changed five of the team that lost 6-2 to England on Monday. The goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, who suffered concussion in that match and was briefly allowed to carry on despite not knowing his name, date of birth, nationality or even the last three digits on the back of the card, is replaced in goal by Hossein Hosseini.
The other changes? Ramin Rezaeian, Ali Gholizadeh, Saeid Ezatolahi and Sardar Azmoun replace Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Ali Karimi, Roozbeh Cheshmi and Milad Moharrami.
That should mean a change of system, from 5-4-1 to what the traditionalists call a four-man back four. Azmoun, who has 41 goals in 66 games for his country, joins Mehdi Taremi (32 in 62) in attack.
Iran (possible 4-4-2) H Hosseini; Rezaeian, Pouraliganji, M Hosseini, Mohammadi; Gholizadeh, Ezatolahi, Nourollahi, Hajisafi; Azmoun, Taremi.
Updated
Wales team news: Moore starts, Allen on the bench
Rob Page makes one very obvious change from the side that started against the USA on Monday: Kieffer Moore replaces Dan James up front.
Joe Allen, who hasn’t played since mid-September because of a hamstring injury, is on the bench.
🏴🇮🇷 CYMRU XI
— Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) November 25, 2022
On or off the pitch, Together we are Stronger! #ArBenYByd | #FIFAWorldCup | #TogetherStronger pic.twitter.com/kFM52YIdiR
When we come together it's a beautiful thing ❤️🏴 #ArBenYByd | #FIFAWorldCup | #TogetherStronger pic.twitter.com/sltdg9INmC
— Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) November 25, 2022
Preamble
Who fancies another ride of the emotional rollercoaster? I’m afraid, if you’re Welsh or Iranian, you don’t have much choice. For different reasons, and in different ways, both countries ran the gamut on Monday. It’ll be no different today.
Let’s start with the football. Iran realistically need at least a draw to have any chance of reaching the last 16; Wales could theoretically lose today and still go through. But even in the unpredictable game of snakes and ladders that is the World Cup group stage, that’s not to be encouraged.
Their target is simple – a first World Cup win since Terry Medwin’s goal beat Hungary in a playoff on 17 June 1958, ideally with yet another who-writes-Gareth-Bale’s-scripts moment. Qualification may come down to goal difference, but it would be hubristic to think of that at this stage. Iran are a better side than their 6-2 defeat to England suggested.
But they also have other things on their mind. Even in this most political of World Cups, Iran’s situation stands out. I won’t editorialise here, and not only because I’m subconsciously terrified of inadvertently saying the wrong thing and being cancelled before a ball has been kicked. It’s a nuanced situation that is difficult to fully understand if you haven’t been following it intently from the start.
The players chose not to sing the national anthem before the England game on Monday, their latest gesture in support of those protesting against the shocking death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in September. There are fears of reprisals when the tournament is over, but also some confusion as to whether the local celebrations of that defeat on Monday were directed against the state, the team (for ‘insulting’ the anthem) or both.
We’ll come back to all that when the players line up for the anthems. I have to dash off and write some failed zingers for our rebranded daily football email, Football Daily – please su’scribe! – but I’ll be back with team news around an hour before kick off.
Kick off 10am GMT, 1pm at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.
