Doha:
An eventful second day of the World Cup in Qatar wrapped up with the match between US and Wales ending in a 1-1 draw at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, some 20 km from Doha.
While the Americans piled up pressure on the Welsh through the match giving scant ball possession as Timothy Weah scored in the 36th minute, Wales tried to make a comeback into the game in the second half.
Six yellow cards were shown by match referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim in a match that saw several fouls and exchanges among players.
The star player of Wales, Gareth Bale, struck with a penalty in the 82nd minute to score the equaliser.
Wales have made it to the World Cup after a gap of 64 years. And it showed in the eyes of Welsh fans in the stands after Bale’s successful shot.
Earlier in the day, the Iranian team was under the spotlight as players remained silent as their national anthem was being played ahead of the match against England at the Khalifa International stadium in Doha.
There were also reports in the international media questioning the Iranian team’s decision not to evacuate their goalkeeper from the field after he suffered a bloody collision with his teammate. Alireza Beiranvand was substituted subsequently after suffering an injury in the eighth minute of the match. He was carried away from the field on a stretcher after unsuccessfully trying to play on after colliding with Hosseini Majid.
Iran lost to England 2-6. In a post-match press conference, Iran’s head coach Carlos Queiroz said his side deserved to lose as the players were no match for the pace of the English team members, Qatar news agency reported. (IANS)