Welsh soccer great Gareth Bale, failed to up his game as Wales playing in their first World Cup in 64 years lost 2-0 to Iran. Football fans voted the former Real Madrid star the lowest performing Wales player on the pitch as they face an early exit from Qatar 2022. Substitute Roozbeh Cheshmi struck from 20 yards nine minutes into stoppage time, before Ramin Rezaeian finished off a counter-attack to seal victory for a revitalised Iran side, who have renewed hope of reaching the knockout stages for the first time in their history. Those were decisive blows to Welsh prospects of victory, which had all but vanished when goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was sent off with four minutes of normal time remaining, following a video assistant referee check, for a reckless challenge on Medhi Taremi. As they did in their opening draw with the United States, Wales started poorly and had the video assistant referee (VAR) to thank for disallowing a goal from Iran’s Ali Gholizadeh for offside.
In one of the most highly charged atmospheres of this World Cup, Iran’s players sang their national anthem this time – having declined to do so before their opening loss to England in an apparent show of support for anti-government protests in their country – but their own fans booed the anthem and some could be seen crying in the stands.
