The second round of the World Cup group stage was played first between Wales and Iran in Group B, and neither side won in the first round, so whoever can win this match will have a certain advantage in terms of promotion, in other words, whoever loses can almost say goodbye to the World Cup, unless it is dramatically flipped again.
Before the start of this match, England topped the table with 4 goal difference and 3 points, Wales and the United States tied for 2nd place with 0 goal difference, and Iran ranked bottom with -4 goal difference and 0 points. Therefore, if Iran loses this game, then Iran will say goodbye to this World Cup once and for all.
Queiroz's conspiracy: defend in the first half, power in the second half
Iranian coach Queiroz changed Iran to a 451 formation, and they tried to squeeze Wales' possession space in the first half, before starting to pop up the line-up in the second half to attack at full strength. It is clear that Iran has seen Saudi Arabia and Japan gain experience in strong teams, and it is easier to win the game in the second half.
This decision will not be easy as Iran is the side that has to win, while Wales, if they get a draw, can wait for England to beat the United States and temporarily occupy the second place in the table with two points.
Iran's first half: escaped
Because Iran voluntarily gave up possession, Wales, who was not good at possession, got 66% of the possession, which made Wales not play, and only got 4 shots and 2 shots on target in the first half. Facing Iran's dense defense, Wales at one point diverted the direction of the attack through 41 long passes.
However, Wales was really not good at controlling the pace of the game, and 87 lost possession due to 282 passes in the first half, which gave Iran some room to counterattack, and Iran had five shots on goal and two shots on target in the first half. Iran almost broke the deadlock in the first half when a goal was disallowed by Var. If this goal is scored, Wales will have to attack wildly, and the outcome of the game will still be unclear.
Iran's second half: 16 shots on goal
Wales had worn off their spirits in Iran's dense defence in the first half, and it was Iran's turn in the second half. The sophisticated Queiroz popped up in formation in the second half and began to attack wildly. In the second half, Iran had 16 shots on goal, four shots on target and two on the post, and Wales' rapid attack made Wales miserable.
Finally, the second twist of the game came, when with 10 minutes left in regular time, a rash strike by the Welsh goalkeeper was put on the Iranian player, and after Var confirmed it, he showed the first red card of the World Cup, and Iran gained a numerical advantage.
However, at the end of 8 minutes of stoppage time, Iran still could not break through the door of Wales, which means that Iran and Wales are very likely to bid farewell to the World Cup. The twist came again, with Iran scoring the killer goal in the final minute of stoppage time, and then the next city to kill the game completely.
Asian teams won in the second half
Iran's victory over Wales was the third victory of the World Cup for Asian teams, and the common denominator in all three games was a dead hold in the first half, a start to attack in the second half, and all scored two goals in eight minutes in the second half. This seems to be the winning formula for Asian teams: attacking and beating opponents in an instant in the second half.
This is how Saudi Arabia beat Argentina, and this is how Japan beat Germany, although they were at a disadvantage in the first half, but as long as they were not extended or the goal was held, it was easier to use the counter-attack in the second half to disrupt the opponent's position. So the new question arises, why are strong teams more likely to concede goals in the second half?
