Work and school were put on hold as Wales sought to increase their chances of making it out of the World Cup’s group stage against Iran on Friday. However, the Dragons put on a lacklustre performance and weren’t properly punished until the 98th minute.
Wales lost to goals from Roozbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Razaeian in extra time to leave fans inconsolable after Wayne Hennessey was sent off for a dangerously high tackle on Mehdi Taremi. Only a specific set of circumstances will now allow Rob Page’s team to qualify.
Wales, who are currently last in their group with just one point, must defeat England and hope that Iran’s match against the USA results in a draw in order to advance to the knockout stages.
But a win for Team Melli or the Stars and Stripes will eliminate unless they can thump Gareth Southgate’s side by a four-goal margin.
Wales never really looked like scoring against Iran, even with 11 players on the field. Page referred to his team’s pre-red card performance as “not acceptable,” and their winless streak in all competitions now stands at an appalling seven games.
If Wales loses on Tuesday, it will be the first time in their history that they have finished a major tournament without a single victory, but they might be able to draw inspiration from England’s similarly appalling performance against the USA.
However, only a few hours later, some of the England supporters in the crowd appeared to boo their own players off the field after an uninteresting draw with the USA. Many Three Lions supporters undoubtedly enjoyed Wales’ defeat on Friday lunchtime.
The game’s best opportunity, a shot by Christian Pulisic that hit the crossbar, came as England lost the attacking flair that had allowed them to thrash Iran for six on the opening day and missed the chance to clinch a top-two finish with one game remaining.
The 1966 champions could also advance with a draw, though this would bring back old feelings of pessimism for the rest of the competition. England has a dismal record, with just one victory in their last eight games across all competitions.
The Three Lions will face a fellow British nation for the first time ever on Tuesday, and as they get ready to play each other for the 104th time with England having won the last six straight, there won’t be any love lost between the two teams.
1×2 Betting Odds
England are the massive favourites to win this one, and given their quality and form compared to Wales, this should not come off as a surprise!
The odds of an English win and qualification to the knockouts is @ 1.44.
The odds that Wales win, who will hope for a draw in the other match, is @ 8.7!
The Odds of a stalemate between these two neighbouring rivals is @ 4.9.
Total goals over/under
The theme of this match is that of high scoring according the markets, and that England will come out on top!
The odds that the total number of goals score will be over 2.5, stands @ 1.84.
While the odds that the total number of goals will be under 2.5, stands @ 2.08.
