Wales collapse at the death to Iranian might

• Iran scored two goals in the last three minutes of added time
• Wales had to finish with 10 men after Wayne Hennessey was red carded
• Iran bounced back from their opening day thrashing to England

Iran scored two goals in the last three minutes of added time as they beat Wales 2-0 in the FIFA World Cup on Friday afternoon, bouncing back from their opening day 6-2 blanking at the hands of England.

Rouzbeh Cheshmi and Razmin Rezaeian scored in the 98^th and 101^st minutes of the game to punish Wales, who had to play from the 85^th minute with 10 men after keeper Wayne Hennessey was shown a straight red card.

The Welsh were dealt a massive blow in the 86^th minute when keeper Henessey was sent off via a VAR decision. The shot stopper had come off his line to clear out a long ball, but ended up missing the target and sweeping away Mehdi Taremi.

The referee initially gave him a yellow card, but after being advised to check on the monitors, he wiped off his earlier decision and dished the first red card of the 2022 World Cup.

Aaron Ramsey sacrificed for Danny Ward

Iran players line up before their match against Wales. PHOTO/FIFA

Wayne Hennessey became the first player to receive a red card at the World Cup. PHOTO/FIFA

Wales made an immediate change, bringing in reserve keeper Danny Ward and sacrificed Aaron Ramsey but at this point, they just needed to guard the single point.

But, they collapsed in the final minutes of the game. In the 98^th minute, Cheshmi broke the deadlock with a low shot from the edge of the box after a defensive block fell kindly on his path.

Three minutes later, they were in dreamland with their second goal and it was as sublime as it should have. Wales once again lost the ball cheaply and Iran bounced on the counter, Mehdi Taremi picking the ball, running into space then feeding Ramin.

The latter took one touch to set himself up and the second to chip over the advancing keeper and a defender sliding in to try block the effort.

When the game started, Wales were determined for a positive result, especially after their opening day draw against USA. A win in this match would have seen them almost guarantee a last 16 place.

Gareth Bale making historic appearance for Wales

Gareth Bale in action against Iran. PHOTO/FIFA

It was a historic match for skipper Gareth Bale as he played his 110^th match for Wales, becoming their most capped player ever.

Wales had a good start to the match and Keiffer Moore had the first effort on target when he picked on a cross from the right, but his connection sailed kindly into the keeper’s arms.

Wales were caught napping in the 17^th minute and were only saved by VAR. Ali Gholizadeh had the ball inside the net after picking up a pass from Sardar Azmoun. The referee initially gave the goal, but upon consultation with the pitchside monitor cancelled for offside.

Wales had more half chances, but couldn’t change the score.

In the second half, Iran picked up the tempo, dictating play and forcing the Welsh to play on the backfoot.

The Iranians have now placed themselves at a good position to make the last eight and should they play to a win against USA in their last group match, then they will be in the last 16.