Wales vs Iran final score, result: Late flourish and red card sink Bale and 10-man Wales at World Cup

Dom Farrell

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Wales vs Iran final score, result: Late flourish and red card sink Bale and 10-man Wales at World Cup image

Stoppage-time goals from substitute Roozbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaeian gave Iran a deserved 2-0 World Cup win over 10-man Wales in Group B.

Iran were hammered 6-2 by England in their opening game but were a side transformed after head coach Carlos Queiroz made five changes.

A key moment arrived in the 86th minute, when Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was sent off for a brutal challenge on Mehdi Taremi.

Iran had dominated the second half up until that point, and Cheshmi and Rezaeian finally made it count deep into stoppage time to prompt emotionally charged celebrations.

Kieffer Moore, into the Wales 11 after impressing from the bench in the 1-1 draw against the USA, almost gave his team a 12th-minute lead from Connor Roberts' cross. That was as good as things got for Gareth Bale and his colleagues in an attacking sense.

Wales vs Iran final score

  1H 2H Final
Wales 0 0 0
Iran 0 2 2

Goals:

IRN — Roozbeh Cheshmi — (90 mins +8)

IRN — Ramin Rezaeian — (90 mins +11)

Ali Gholizadeh thought he had opened the scoring, only to have needlessly strayed offside when tapping home Sardar Azmoun’s pass.

Bayer Leverkusen forward Azmoun was back from a calf injury and proved a constant menace to Wales. He broke free early in the second half and thumped a shot against the post. Gholizadeh retrieved the loose ball and clattered the other upright from 25 yards.

A remarkable sequence concluded with a prone Hennessey saving from Azmoun’s header on the rebound, and Wales' No1 was at full stretch to save superbly from Saeid Ezatolahi's low drive.

Hennessey was busy, in large part because of Wales’ vulnerability on the break, and he charged from his ground to take down Taremi four minutes from time. It was a surprise it took a VAR intervention to upgrade his punishment to a red card.

Danny Ward came on in goal, with Aaron Ramsey sacrificed, and the Leicester City goalkeeper had no chance when Cheshmi seized upon a loose ball to thrash home from 20 yards. Tireless right-back Rezaeian charged forward on the counter-attack to coolly make sure of the points amid delirious scenes at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium.

MORE: Wales vs. Iran betting tips, odds and our prediction

Lineups:

Wales (3-5-2, right to left): 1. Hennessey (GK) — 5. Mepham, 6. Rodon, 4. B. Davies — 14. Roberts, 10. Ramsey, 15. Ampadu, 8. Wilson, 3. N. Williams — 11. Bale, 13. Moore.

Iran (4-4-2, right to left): 24. H. Hosseini (GK) — 23. Rezaeian, 19. M. Hosseini, 8. Pouraliganji, 5. Mohammadi — 17. Gholizadeh, 6 Ezatolahi, 21. Nourollahi, 3. Hajsafi — 9. Taremi, 20. Azmoun.

MORE: Watch every World Cup match live with fuboTV (U.S.-only free trial)

Wales vs Iran live as it happened, highlights from 2022 World Cup

Fulltime: Four days after getting taken to pieces by England and amid unspeakable turmoil in their homeland, what a performance from Iran's players, who never gave up in pursuit of a win that looked like it would elude them. Wales were equal to them in the first half but after that simply were not good enough. Gareth Bale was a spectator for long periods as his teammates were outplayed, before and after Wayne Hennessey's red card.

90th minute+11: GOOOOAAAALLLLLL!!!!! Rezaeian!!!!!!!

Brilliant from Iran, who finally have a reward for one of their lethal breakaways. Rightback Rezaeian is up there, for some reason, to finish.

90th minute+8: GOOOOAAAALLLLLL!!!!! Cheshmi!!!!!!!

Iran have won it! Heartbreak for Wales. A clearance falls to the substitute on the edge of the box and he finishes majestically, spearing a shot into the bottom corner.

90th minute+6: Jahanbakhsh gets booked for a wild high boot of his own. Are Iran losing their heads as they feel an opportunity slipping? Moore gets into their box but James can't work with the cutback.

90th minute: There will be nine additional minutes. Par for the course in this competition but it will feel like an eternity for a depleted Wales side running on fumes.

88th minute: Substitute Torabii gets the ball on the edge of the box. Just wide. Ward would have had no chance. How are Iran not winning this football match?

87th minute: Ward on in goal for Wales, with Ramsey the man sacrificed. He'll have a freekick to face up to first of all. Wales clear. 

85th minute: Williams comes up short with a raking pass and Iran break again. Hennessey comes haring from his goal and clatters into Taremi. He gets a yellow card but the referee has been asked to check the monitor by his VAR. Hennessey is sent off. He can't have any complaints, really. A desperate, wild and dangerous challenge. 

84th minute: Wales string together their first composed attack for some time. Moore lays it off to Davies, who strikes sweetly from 18 yards and Hosseini dose well to push over.

77th minute: Triple change for Iran, with Jahanbakhsh, Torabii and Cheshmi on for Gholizadeh, Hajisafi and Noorollahi. For Wales, we're finally going to see Allen. He's on for Ampadu, who has put in a tireless shift as pretty much the only Welsh midfielder doing any defending. So it'll be interesting to see if there's any price attached to them enjoying Allen's capabilities in possession, which admittedly feel badly needed.

75th minute: Moore might have had designs on scoring the winning goal but he's just made three clearing headers in his own box and a block. All hands to the pump!

73rd minute: Outstanding from Hennessey, who is at full stretch to tip Ezatolahi's low drive behind. Iran take the corner quickly and cleverly. Ampadu gets back to his own goalmouth to clear for another corner.

72nd minute: Iran attack again down the Wales left. Rodon clears behind. There's a tired look to Page's side now. Pouraliganji's shot from the corner is blocked.

68th minute: Azmoun, who has been both brilliant and seemingly tackling fresh fitness worries every five minutes, is making way. Ansarifard is on in his place.

67th minute: Lively from Johnson, who gets to the byline with some quick feet. Bale can't get off a flick at the near post.

64th minute: Wales are getting absolutely chewed up on the break. Ampadu gets back magnificently to tackle a hesitant Taremi.

58th minute: These changes by Page are certainly bold. Johnson is on for Roberts, which means Wales shifting to a back four, and James replaces Wilson. That means a team that was already getting over-run in midfield will now be essentially playing 4-2-4. Hold on to your hats.

56th minute: Wales are hanging on here. Hajsafi fires goalwards and is denied by a last-ditch block. It's starting to feel like a matter of time.

55th minute: Brennan Johnson and Dan James are getting ready to come on for Wales. Page fighting fire with fire. To be honest, if you'd been defending in this heat for almost an hour you'd probably rather not be facing those two.

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52nd minute: HOW ON PLANET EARTH ARE IRAN NOT LEADING THIS FOOTBALL MATCH????? Ramsey is caught in possession and Iran break. Azmoun is through and clatters a shot against the post. Gholizadeh picks up the loose ball and curls an incredible strike against the other post from 25 yards! Azmoun stoops to head the rebound but an already prone Hennessey saves magnificently.

48th minute: No changes at the restart but Ramsey might not be long for this game. He's been anonymous and a needless giveaway of possession almost lets Azmoun in.

Halftime: There have been a few goalless halves in this tournament but you couldn't take your eyes off that, a game played out in line with its high stakes. Wales have been more structurally sound than they were against the United States, hogging 65% of possession. But Iran, with their front two of Azmoun and Taremi, look to have more cutting edge. They stepped it up towards the end of the half. Were Wales starting to wilt in the heat? Grab yourself some refreshments and come back to find out in 10 minutes or so.

45th minute+4: Azmoun gets to the second ball, lays it off to Taremi but Wales scramble away. As on the disallowed goal, you have to wonder why Azmoun isn't simply taking a shot on himself there.

45th minute+3: Well, I guess if you're going to get booked you might as well do it properly. Taremi gets there before Rodon heading down the left wing and the Wales defender sends him into orbit. Given the amount of 1 vs 1 defending Rodon has found himself doing already, that might be problematic.

45th minute+2: Azmoun, so close! On the stretch and testing out those pesky calf muscles he's agonisingly close to giving Iran the lead.

45th minute+1: By Qatar 2022 standards, we're into a fairly conservative four minutes of first-half stoppage time.

42nd minute: Davies fizzes a pass into Moore and he lays it off for Wilson, whose shot is deflected over by Pouraliganji. Corner to Wales. It's aimed for Moore and Hosseini gets up to take it superbly.

37th minute: Rodon vs Azmoun is one of a few intriguing individual battles heating up. Here's another one — Wilson sweeps a lovely pass out to Williams, who comes face to face with Rezaeian again. The Wales wing-back twists and turn, the Iran defender gets a foot in. Williams tries again but the ball spins out for a goal kick. 

35th minute: Azmoun is back up to speed, snaffling around Joe Rodon as Iran again look to unpick Wales with a straight ball down the middle. Rodon and Davies manage to snuff out the danger this time.

33rd minute: Since that Roberts let-off, Wales have continued to cough up a few too many easy balls in midfield. You wonder how many minutes Allen has in his legs. Surely he'll be required in the second half?

29th minute: Bale has been quiet so far but here he is, latching onto a Moore knockdown, but he doesn't make a clean connection. Hosseini unfussily mops up.

27th minute: Azmoun goes scampering through but Rodon makes a superb challenge to avert the danger. The Bayer Leverkusen forward is now receiving treatment, which is a big worry for Iran given he came into the tournament nursing a calf injury.

25th minute: Neco Williams needs a bit of treatment after a robust challenge from Rezaeian. He looks like he'll be okay.

23rd minute: Midway through the half and Iran have a dangerous free-kick on 35 yards from goal. Azmoun gets up and heads wide of the left-hand post. This has been an absorbing contest so far, with both sides trying to impose themselves.

19th minute: All sorts of carry-on in the box. When Wilson eventually delivers, Hosseini gets up to punch clear.

17th minute: Sore one for Bale, who takes Mohammadi's elbow to his jaw. Wales have a dangerous freekick on the byline near the right-hand edge of the Iran penalty area.

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15th minute: Iran have the ball in the net! But it looks like Gholizadeh is offside when picked out by Azmoun to tap home. Huge let off for Roberts, who played a suicidal pass across his own half to let Iran in.

12th minute: Almost 1-0 to Wales! This time it's the threat from the right, with Roberts delivering a delicious ball in. That man Moore is on the spot, meeting the cross on the volley but it's too close to Hosseini. The Wales striker took a crack on the head for his troubles and will be back on after some treatment.

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7th minute: Taremi and Azmoun link up nicely for the first time. The latter takes on the shot from outside the box, scuffs it and that's easy work for Hennessey.

6th minute: But Iran can threaten from wide areas too. Mohammadi got forward from left-back and his cross, along with the follow up from Gholizadeh discomforted Wales.

2nd minute: There's that wingback threat from Wales. Moore wins the long ball as he tends to. Possession falls to Williams, who cuts inside and whips a shot over from 25 yards.

5 mins from kickoff: Anthems time. My word, Wales' Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau is just magnificent. Gets you every time. You'd be ready to run through a wall.

Continuing their protests against the regime back home, Iran's fans are once again booing their anthem. But when it concludes, they roar in support of their players, who need a big performance today.

10 mins from kickoff: Gareth Bale will become the most-capped Welsh male player in history today. It feels like another perfectly scripted moment for the former Real Madrid star. But this game could be decided in Bale's old position. Iran were frankly horrible in wide defensive areas against England, with Kieran Trippier and Luke Shaw raiding forward to fine effect. Rob Page might well place onus on wingbacks Connor Roberts and Neco Williams to do some damage.

30 mins from kickoff: Azmoun's return to the starting line-up is a huge boost for Iran. Wales will have to be on their guard against a special talent.

50 mins from kickoff: Much as Bale's late equaliser against the USA was huge, that game did see Wales extend their winless run in all competitions to six matches. They have not tasted victory since the 1-0 playoff win over Ukraine to book their place in Qatar. You feel like they have to make sure that run ends today.

1hr 5 mins from kickoff: The big news for Iran is star forward Sardar Azmoun is fit to start after a lively cameo against England. Hossein Hosseini starts in goal as Alireza Beiranvand is sidelined with concussion.

1hr 15 mins from kickoff: The Wales team is in. Moore starts, Allen doesn't.

1hr 30 mins from kickoff: Now, for a quick word from Welsh education minister Gareth Bale...

1 hr 40 mins from kickoff: Team news will be with us in a little over half an hour. Kieffer Moore is expected to start for Wales, offering a far more robust threat at the point of the attack to Dan James. The Bournemouth striker completely changed the complexion of the contest against the United States and he feels like an ominous opponent for a battered a bruised Iran backline.

2 hrs from kickoff: Will the hotter conditions in the early kickoff suit Iran in this crucial fixture for them?

2 and a half hours from kickoff: Wales coach Rob Page was previously a very unknown name in the world of football, yet he has now led Wales to a last-16 appearance at the most recent Euros before breaking their World Cup drought. Find out more about the Welsh coach's rise and record as manager in this article here.

3 hrs from kickoff: With just three hours to go before this crucial World Cup match, the excitement is starting to build. The Wales official Twitter page posted this video of the patriotic Welsh song 'Yma O Hyd' to get its fans in the mood for this match (not that the passionate Welsh fans need much motivating!)

3 and a half hrs from kickoff: Want to know all the betting odds, predictions and best bets ahead of the first World Cup clash of the day? Look no further than The Sporting News betting preview here! It has all the information you need to get involved in today's match.

4 hrs from kickoff: This is only the second ever meeting between these two countries, and the first ever in a competitive match.

The only other meeting occurred in 1978, when Wales defeated Iran 1-0 in an international friendly. Will we see a similar result today?

4 and a half hrs from kickoff: As we prepare for today's match, let's take a look at how Gareth Bale scored Wales' first goal at the World Cup for 64 years against the USA:

5 hrs from kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of Wales vs. Iran. This a crucial game in Group A and Wales will be more confident than Iran of snatching a result based on their recent performances. 

Wales vs Iran lineups, team news

Ethan Ampadu retains his place in midfield as another game comes too soon for Joe Allen to start, while Kieffer Moore is rewarded for his superb performance against the United States with a start ahead of Dan James. 

Wales (3-5-2, right to left): 1. Hennessey (GK) — 5. Mepham, 6. Rodon, 4. B. Davies — 14. Roberts, 10. Ramsey, 15. Ampadu, 8. Wilson, 3. N. Williams — 11. Bale, 13. Moore.

    Iran's first-choice goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand has been ruled out after being concussed in the 6-2 loss to England. Sardar Azmoun was only used as a substitute in that match but the Bayer Leverkusen star is fit to feature from kickoff.

    Iran (4-4-2, right to left): 24. H. Hosseini (GK) — 23. Rezaeian, 19. M. Hosseini, 8. Pouraliganji, 5. Mohammadi — 17. Gholizadeh, 6 Ezatolahi, 21. Nourollahi, 3. Hajsafi — 9. Taremi, 20. Azmoun.

    Wales vs. Iran live stream, TV channel

    The match will take place at 1 p.m. local time at the Al Rayyan Stadium, which was built in 2003, has a capacity of almost 45,000 and is set in the historic rural district of Umm Al Afaei.

      Date Time TV Channel Streaming
    USA Friday, Nov. 25 05:00 ET FS1, Telemundo fuboTV,
    Fox Sports site/app,
    Telemundo Deportes site/app,
    Peacock
    Canada Friday, Nov. 25 05:00 EST TSN, RDS (French) TSN site/app,
    RDS app
    UK Friday, Nov. 25 10:00 GMT BBC One, S4C (Wales) BBC iPlayer
    Australia Friday, Nov. 25 21:00 AEDT SBS SBS On Demand
    India Friday, Nov. 25 15:30 IST Sports18 Voot, JioTV
    Hong Kong Friday, Nov. 25 18:00 HKT Now TV (Ch. 616, 618) Now TV
    Malaysia Friday, Nov. 25 18:00 MYT Astro Astro GO
    Singapore Friday, Nov. 25 18:00 SGT StarHub (Ch. 251/252),
    Singtel TV    		 MeWatch, Singtel TV GO,
    CAST, StarHub TV+
    New Zealand Friday, Nov. 25 23:00 NZDT Sky Sport 7 beIN Sports Sky Go, Sky Sport NOW

    Watch the match on fuboTV in USA 

    Dom Farrell

    Dom Farrell Photo

    Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.