Wales headed into the game having secured a 1-1 draw with the USA in their opening group match.
Iran, meanwhile, were put to the sword by England, with the Three Lions smashing six past them on Monday.
So, if either side wanted to stake a claim for a spot in the last-16, they needed a win on Friday.
And when all was said and done, Iran picked up the three points, leaving Wales’ qualification hopes in tatters.
Wales started the tie the brighter of the two sides, with Kieffer Moore forcing a good save out of the Iran goalkeeper 11 minutes in.
Iran then scored 15 minutes in following a Conor Roberts mistake but it was ruled out for offside.
Iran hit the woodwork twice five minutes into the second half, with Sardar Azmoun forcing a good save out of Hennessey as well.
This led to Wales making two changes 57 minutes in to try and reestablish a foothold in the game. But Iran continued to test the Welsh outfit, with Hennessey pulling off another good stop to this time deny Saeid Ezatolahi.
Wales’ hopes of securing a point were then dealt a major blow. Wayne Hennessey was sent off after rushing out of his box and kneeing an Iran player in the head.
And in the 98th minute, Iran sucker-punched Wales to snatch the three points. Joe Allen’s poor clearance was met by Roozbeh Cheshmi, whose low shot beat Danny Ward from outside the box.
Iran then added a second 100 minutes in after Wales were caught on the counter.
📰 Table Of Contents
Wales player ratings
- Wayne Hennessey (3)
- Chris Mepham (5)
- Joe Rodon (5.5)
- Ben Davies (6)
- Conor Roberts (5)
- Ethan Ampadu (5)
- Aaron Ramsey (5)
- Harry Wilson (6)
- Neco Williams (5)
- Gareth Bale (5)
- Kieffer Moore (6)
Substitutes
- Brennan Johnson (4.5)
- Daniel James (4.5)
- Joe Allen (2)
- Danny Ward (N/A)
Iran player ratings
- Hossein Hosseini (6)
- Ramin Rezaeian (7)
- Morteza Pouraliganji (5.5)
- Majid Hosseini (5.5)
- Milad Mohammadi (5.5)
- Ali Gholizadeh (6)
- Ahmad Nourollahi (6.5)
- Saeed Ezatolahi (6)
- Ehsan Hajsafi (6)
- Sardar Azmoun (6)
- Mehdi Taremi (6.5)
Substitutes
- Karim Ansarifard (5)
- Alireza Jahanbakhsh (4)
- Mehdi Torabi (4)
- Roozbeh Cheshmi (6.5)
- Ali Karimi (N/A)
Match reaction
Much better today from Iran so far. They could do the USMNT a significant favor here.
— Subscribe to GrantWahl.com (@GrantWahl) November 25, 2022
I’m aware it’s vaguely blasphemous, but Wales have tried to pick the 2016 version of Aaron Ramsey and the 2022 version just isn’t working at all.
— Daniel Storey (@danielstorey85) November 25, 2022
#FIFAWorldCupQatar2022 .feels like the most intense game of the WC so far great when teams have 2 win #WalesVsIran . pic.twitter.com/KKUI7kczGS
— Rani sharma (@Ranisha59144363) November 25, 2022
feels like the most intense game of the WC so far (caveat i can’t remember any of the other games). Great when teams have to win. #WALIRN
— Max Rushden 💛🖤 (@maxrushden) November 25, 2022
Aaron Ramsey has been absolutely abysmal.
— Leanne Prescott (@_lfcleanne) November 25, 2022
Joe Allen doing a seriously good job of making Aaron Ramsey feel better about his performance with his 20 minute cameo here.
— Leanne Prescott (@_lfcleanne) November 25, 2022
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