Iran scored a 98th minute winner to snatch a much-needed win over 10-man Wales in the second match of Group B at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan.
The match went into half-time with no goals, but things change from a potential goal differential tiebreaker as the Melli's outclassed the Wales in the death of the second half, going ahead to even lay some dangerous attacking threats with star striker Sardar Azmoun, and even see to it that Carlos Quiroz's men had the ball at the back of the net through Ali Gholizadeh, but his goal was ruled out for offside.
Wales struggled to get skipper Gareth Bale into the game, but the Dragons young left-back Neco Williams kept torturing the Melli's defence with his overlapping and good recovery skills, with a rare chance been effected by striker Kieffer Moore, who had a great opportunity to break the deadlock, forcing goalkeeper Hosseini into an outstretched reflex stop from close range. Moore had another rare chance to score after rising for a header, but the ball went wide over the bar.
Surprisingly, the Asians hit the woodwork twice within seconds, first through Azmoun as he received a brilliant pass and shot from close range, but it crashed against the right post - which would have been a fantastic goal. Gholizadeh also hit the post with a graping curler from outside the area, Azmoun hit the rebound which went straight to Wayne Hennessey as the Dragons luckily escaped.
For most part of the second half, Wales upped their game with high tempo and better passing, especially in the middle of the pitch with Iran keeping them at bay with their fast defensive clearance. Iran counter in the numbers and put in a couple of good crosses but the Welsh defenders thwart their attempts.
Right on the 84th minute, Ben Davies nipped down a low pass just outside the box and unleashed a bullet towards the roof of the net, but Hossein Hosseini pulled off a reflexive save to stop his effort.
With less than 10 minutes remaining, Wayne Hennessey struck Mehdi Terami as the marksman went down, although referee Mario Escobar initially gave a yellow card but upgraded it to a straight red card after consulting the pitchside monitor, interacting with the VAR officials.
As the match looked like we were headed to a draw stalemate, Rouzbeh Cheshmi climbed off the bench to slam a magnificent strike from 25-yards into the right corner beyond the outstretched hand of replacement goalkeeper Danny Ward, to the amazement of the fans.
Ramin Rezaeian secured the win for the Melli's as he bossly received a pass from inside the box and chipped the ball over Danny Ward on the counterattack, who was off his line to make it 2-0.
The win has propelled Iran to second in Group B and will now hope to progress to the round of 16, while Wales need to beat England in their final group game to progress.
By: Pascal Nii Gogo Amoah
