Reduced to 10 men, Wales were left heartbroken as Rouzbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaein scored in the stoppage time to help Iran claim a valuable 2-0 win in a Group B match of the FIFA World Cup at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium here on Friday.
Iran made the most of their one-man advantage, scoring two injury-time goals to beat Wales and maintain their chances of advancing from Group B.
Rouzbeh Cheshmi’s stunning goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time broke Wales’ resistance after goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey had been shown a straight red card for racing off his line and fouling Mehdi Taremi in the 84th minute.
Iran then added their second with practically the last kick of the game when Ramin Rezaeian finished off another rapid counter-attack with a cool finish over substitute goalkeeper Danny Ward.
Wales’ goalkeeper Hennessey was initially shown yellow for a challenge on Mehdi Taremi though it was checked by VAR with the referee swiftly overturning the decision.