DOHA-UNS-Iran claimed a famous 2-0 victory over 10-man Wales on Friday as Carlos Queiroz’s men scored two goals deep into added time to keep their Fifa World Cup campaign alive.
It had been building up to that first goal and when it came, there was delirium, pandemonium and an eruption of emotion.
Iran had finally broken through against 10-man Wales and when the goal came, their players’ joy on the pitch translated to the stands where hordes of their frenzied fans cheered in delight, their roars reverberating across Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium and into the desert beyond.
Eight minutes into time added on, Wales — having lost goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey to a red card in the 84th — had half-cleared a ball into the box and it fell to Rouzbeh Cheshmi and the Iranian substitute planted a superb curling shot from 25 yards that stayed low and crashed into the back of the net.
It was devastation for Wales and more was to come three minutes later as they looked to equalise only to get caught on the counter and Ramin Rezaeian raced clear to send a delightful dink over substitute goalkeeper Danny Ward to seal victory for Iran.
For all that Iran have been through, this was massive. Sardar Azmoun on the touchline grabbed coach Carlos Queiroz’s neck in celebration. Striker Medhi Taremi, who had provided his side with endless running, sank to the ground.
The 2-0 win kept Iran alive at the World Cup in Qatar; victory in their final Group ‘B’ game against the United States — a grudge match considering the political rivalry between the two countries — will send them through to the next round.
“We need to finish the job,” Quieroz said after the game. “It was a wonderful day for us … we stuck to football. The players were brilliant, they deserve all the respect. People will now understand that these boys love to play football.”
Wales, in their first World Cup in 64 years, had scored a late goal to steal a point against the US in their opening game. Now they need to beat England and hope the Americans do them a favour against Iran. But how they recover from this will be crucial.
“We’re gutted,” said Wales captain Gareth Bale. “It’s going to be difficult to qualify as it now depends on the other game but we have to recover and try again.”
The intensity of the game matched the searing heat at the venue, built as the anchor point of the desert, but the cacophony of deafening roars, trumpets and drums was in stark contrast to the tranquility of the dunes beyond.
There were tears, jeers and whistles in the crowd as Iran’s national anthem was played but their players, who did not sing it in their opening game against England in solidarity with women protesters back home, could be seen moving their lips to the tune.
