Wales 0 Iran 2 reactions: it’s beat England or bust for the Red Dragons

Wales’s hopes of qualifying for the Fifa World Cup round of 16 are in tatters after losing 2-0 to Iran in their second game of group B.

An 86th-minute red card for Wales keeper Wayne Hennessey swung the game in Iran’s favour, who scored twice in stoppage time through Rouzbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaeian. With England up next, Wales will have to beat their British rivals to stand a chance of reaching the knockout stages at Qatar 2022.

When Cheshmi struck in the eighth minute of added time, Wales “could not exactly say it had not been coming”, said Ben Fisher in The Guardian. Iran had a first-half goal disallowed for offside, and Robert Page’s team had been “clinging on” after Iran also “rattled the woodwork twice inside 20 seconds in the second half”.

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Wales’s first World Cup for 64 years “looks set to end at the first hurdle”, said Dafydd Pritchard of BBC Sport Wales. The late defeat against Iran was “heartbreaking”, but “deserved”, as Wales “struggled to impose themselves” for long periods of the match.

For Iran, the victory in this must-win clash was extra special after their 6-2 hammering by England. Head coach Carlos Queiroz told the BBC that this is “just the beginning” for his side and they “need to finish the job” in their final game against the USA. “It was a wonderful day for us,” he added. “I don’t have words to say thank you to the players. They were brilliant, they deserve all the respect.”

Bale ‘gutted’ by late defeat

It was a “demoralising” loss to the Iranians, said WalesOnline. And there were scenes of “devastation” around Wales following the match, including some “very glum faces” at Merthyr Town and supporters making a “speedy exit” from the fanzone at Singleton Park in Swansea.

Welsh captain Gareth Bale admitted that the team were “gutted” with the result – there is “no other way” to say it. “We have to pick ourselves up straight away,” he added. “It is going to be difficult for us for sure. We will have to see. What can I say? We recover and we have to go again.”

For once, a “golden generation” of Welsh players who have helped this nation to “touch the heights” could not “provide the alchemy”, said Ian Herbert in the Daily Mail. Beset by “national catastrophe” and “annihilated” by England, it is now Iran who are contemplating the knockout stages for the first time in their history. “Mathematically”, Wales are “just about still here”, Herbert added, “though it is over”.

Group B table, results and fixtures

Monday 21 November

• England 6 Iran 2
• USA 1 Wales 1

Friday 25 November

• Wales 0 Iran 2
• England 0 USA 0

Tuesday 29 November

• Wales vs. England (Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium; 7pm; BBC/S4C)
• Iran vs. USA (Al Thumama Stadium; 7pm; BBC)