England and Wales endured a frustrating day at the World Cup in Qatar, but both teams still have a chance to advance to the knockout round.
Wales’s two late goals against Iran dropped them to the bottom of Group B with a single point from two games.
Thus, England could have advanced to the next round with a victory over the United States, but they could only manage a scoreless draw.
On Tuesday, the two teams will play their final group matchup.
Wales suffer a just loss
Two late goals from Roozbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaeian secured victory for Iran, who were defeated by England 6-2 in their opening match.
Their task was made more difficult when goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was sent off with four minutes remaining in normal time for a dangerous charge on Iran attacker Medhi Taremi, following a visual assistant referee (VAR) review.
Iran had a first-half goal disallowed for offside before hitting the post twice within seconds at the start of the second half.
Rob Page, the manager of Wales, had no complaints about the outcome, describing the performance as “far below the standards we’ve set.”
He said, “When there are so many off days, there is only one outcome. It’s a tough changing room right now, but we’ll be ready [against England].”
Wales must now defeat England on Tuesday and hope for a draw between the United States and Iran to qualify.
This triumph gave England the upper hand in Group B, and they knew they would qualify with a game to spare if they defeated the United States on Friday evening.
At the Al Bayt Stadium in Doha, however, they had a slow performance and were frequently surpassed by the opposition.
The United States had the better opportunities, with Weston McKennie missing an easy chance and Christian Pulisic hitting the crossbar in the first half.
Despite the poor outcome, England remains strong favorites to qualify for the knockout stage, knowing they need to avoid a four-goal loss against Wales to advance, with the top two teams in the group advancing.
“The players are a little down, but I’m not down and I’m not unhappy,” said England manager Gareth Southgate. “It’s a game you can lose if your mentality is off.”
