Iran ignored the distractions that have overshadowed the team since they landed in Qatar to get their World Cup campaign up and running as they rallied to beat sloppy Wales 2-0 on Friday, giving themselves a chance of reaching the knockout stage.
Iran were thrashed 6-2 by England in their Group B opener but those two goals against the table-toppers gave them the confidence that they could compete with European sides as they arrived at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium with a point to prove.
"Sometimes you lose your dignity, your honour, but of course in our first game we were bleeding in our pride. This was an opportunity to rebound... We played brilliantly and deserved to win."sang the national anthemBut once the referee blew the whistle for kickoff, they were laser focused on the job at hand and immediately got stuck in, asking questions of Wales as both sides deployed different formations to set up an intriguing tactical battle.
A cagey start saw Iran fire their first warning shot when they had a goal disallowed for offside but that was enough to sow doubts into the Wales camp while it gave Iran belief that Rob Page's side was there for the taking.After a goalless first half, it was barely minutes into the second period when Iran burst into life as Azmoun and Ali Gholizadeh hit the woodwork within seconds of each other while Saeid Ezatolahi also had an attempt saved.
"We were ready mentally," goalscorer Roozbeh Cheshmi said. "We had a lot of chances to score but eventually we were able to win and get three points, this was because of solidarity of the players that we were able to achieve this result."
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