Wales and the USA knew they couldn’t afford to lose their respective games in Al Rayyan after England destroyed Iran, and a 1-1 draw was the most frequently predicted result going into the match.
Wales was fortunate to still be in the game at the end of the first half because neither team really played as though they were content with a point.
The Dragons wasted a number of opportunities in the second half before Gareth Bale converted a penalty kick to score his first World Cup goal.
Robert Page’s team is now winless in six games and has only triumphed once in nine contests, despite the fact that the draw is generally regarded as a point earned.
While Wales’ star man was below his influential best, his confident effort from 12 yards has put Wales in a position where their fate will be in their own hands if they can defeat Iran.
Mehdi Taremi of Iran and Mehdi Torabi celebrate their first goal on November 21, 2022.
Form counted for little as Iran were thoroughly outclassed by England, Carlos Queiroz’s side looking a shadow of the team that had previously collected a win and a draw from Uruguay and Senegal in September.
To their credit, Team Melli never gave up and managed to score two consolation goals in the final period, the second of which was a highly contentious penalty decision based on the threshold that had been applied earlier in the game.
Mehdi Taremi’s two goals highlighted his offensive threat, and Sardar Azmoun’s appearance as a substitute after suffering an injury will only boost Iran’s confidence going into this match.
Despite the presence of the aforementioned duo, Iran have not netted more than twice in a game in nine attempts, something which is ideally required as they look to reduce their negative difference.
1×2 Betting Odds
Wales are only slightly favourites to win this with the odds of 2.17.
While Iran looking to bounce back, enter this match the odds of 4.3.
The possibility of a stalemate, according to the bookmarkers, is at 3.25.
Based on performances earlier this week, Wales will be regarded as the marginal favourites for this contest.
However, with Iran having more recovery time and playing at a time of the day which should benefit them, this can be a competitive low-scoring draw being played out in Al Rayyan!
Total goals over/under
The odds that the total number of goals score will be over 2.5, stands at 2.5.
While the odds that the total number of goals will be under 2.5, stands at 1.57.
So yeah. A low scoring close game is what the market thinks!
