England draw with USA; Qatar out; Wales suffer heartbreak

Day six of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was a doozy.

Wales were up first against Iran as they hoped to build on their draw against the United States, before hosts Qatar took on Senegal and the Netherlands played Ecuador.

It’s now left to England to round the day off against the USA, with Gareth Southgate’s side looking to book their place in the round of 16.

Here’s how it all went down.

Wales’ hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the World Cup were dashed by a desperately disappointing 2-0 defeat to Iran.

Rob Page’s side were laboured and lethargic throughout the contest, and were pegged back for large periods as Iran piled forward in search of goals.

Wayne Hennessey’s late red card stretched the game beyond Wales’ capabilities, and it was left to stoppage time goals from Roozbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaeian to break the hearts of Gareth Bale and co.

Wales downed in sweltering Qatar heat

There were high hopes that Wales, who didn’t play particularly well against the United States until the introduction of Kieffer Moore, could assert their authority over an Iran side walloped by England on matchday one.

The Dragons looked bright enough early on, fashioning a couple of chances, but Iran were equally as threatening as they looked to get Sardar Azmoun running in behind. Carlos Queiroz’s side even had a goal chalked off for offside, as Alireza Gholizedah needlessly ran offside to collect Azmoun’s square ball – he perhaps should have shot himself.

Moore had a good effort saved by Hossein Hosseini, but Iran finished the half on top as they looked to play through an ineffective Welsh midfield. Ethan Ampadu was often overrun in the holding role, and there was a distinct lack of quality from Aaron Ramsey.

Iran were the better team in the second half and struck the woodwork twice through Azmoun and Gholizedah, before further pressure on the counter attack saw Wayne Hennessey sent off for a wild challenge on Mehdi Taremi.

The pressure eventually told on Wales, as Joe Allen’s poor clearance fell to the feet of Roozbeh Cheshmi and he bent home from 25 yards out. Ramin Rezaeian put the gloss on the scoreline for Iran, breaking away to net in the 12th minute of stoppage time.

Qatar are out of their home World Cup after falling to Senegal.

The Maroon were much-improved from their lifeless opening night defeat to Ecuador, but they were ultimately second-best to the Lions of Teranga.

The hosts were…