NEW DELHI: Iran scored twice in the stoppage time to register a thrilling 2-0 win over a 10-man Wales in their FIFA World Cup 2022 Group B match at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium.
With this win, Iran have kept their hopes alive of reaching the World Cup knockout stages.
Rouzbeh Cheshmi scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time to break a scoreless stalemate. Cheshmi's strike from outside the box was just beyond the diving reach of Wales backup goalkeeper Danny Ward, who was pressed into duty when starter Wayne Hennessey was sent off in the 86th minute.
Hennessey received the first red card of the Qatar World Cup he was sent off for clattering into Iran's Mehdi Taremi outside the area late in the match.
Ramin Rezaeian added a second goal moments later and Iran wildly celebrated while some of the Welsh players dropped in disbelief to the field.
Wales star Gareth Bale made his 110th appearance for his team, the most all-time for the national team.
The win moves Iran to three points in Group B, two more than Wales, who were held to a 1-1 draw by the United States in their opener, with England and the U.S. facing each other later on Friday.
The group comes to a head next Tuesday, when Wales play their old rivals and Iran face the U.S.
After a tight first half the match sprang to life after the break.
The second half began with the most extraordinary treble miss as Sardar Azmoun raced through only to strike the post, Ali Gholizadeh curled the follow-up against the other post, and Azmoun headed that rebound straight at Wales keeper Hennessey.
Hennessey rode to Wales's rescue again in the 70th minute, tipping Saeid Ezatolahi's low shot from distance around the post with his fingertips, but he was then given his marching orders to set up a frantic finale.
Hennessey had raced out of his area but was beaten to the ball by Taremi, with the keeper following through and catching him square in the face with his knee.
The referee initially produced a yellow card, but a trip to the VAR monitor swiftly followed and the resulting red card felt inevitable.
The goals then arrived extraordinarily late with Cheshmi hammering home a thunderbolt of a shot in a gut punch for Wales, before Rezaeian lifted the ball delicately over the keeper to finish off Rob Page's side.
