The bigger of the two matches to close out Group B of the FIFA World Cup on Tuesday evening is the one which sees Iran and USA battling it out for the chance to make it through to the knockout stage of the tournament.
Assuming Wales don’t beat England, a draw will send Iran into the knockout stages of the tournament. USA go into the match knowing they have to win the game if they are to extend their campaign into the round of 16.
Where to watch
This match will be shown away from the spotlight of the other one on the BBC 2 channel in the UK. The shorter build-up begins at 6.45pm and the match kicks off at 7pm.
Iran
This has already been quite a rollercoaster ride for Iran in this tournament. They were absolutely battered by England in their opening match but I mentioned it when previewing their second one that they did the right thing not to bust a gut but at the same time finding a couple of consolation goals to make them feel better about themselves. The fruits of that came in the second game where the longer the match went on the more they were the only team who were going to win it.
A 2-0 win for Iran has set them up perfectly but if they were more clinical against Wales they could have levelled up their goal difference and some. That will only come into play if they draw here and Wales win though so that isn’t a huge concern. Iran were solid defensively, energetic with the ball and very strong in forward areas and actually looked like scoring every time they went at the Welsh defence. They need to work out whether to play to win this or play for the draw but not get caught in between.
USA
This has been a bit of a strange tournament for the USA. They haven’t really played well in the event yet but they still have everything in their own hands when it comes to making it out of this group. I keep hearing that they played well against England because they had good energy but every team should have that so I’m not having that. Quality separates the best from the rest and now is the time for USA to show they have some, if indeed they do.
This is an athletic USA side and it does press well but you get the feeling that if Christian Pulisic doesn’t deliver something positive there isn’t much else in this team. Their defence is nothing special and can get bullied by a physical threat and a physical challenge is the very least you would think they are going to get in this match. The good thing for USA here is their exam sheet is pretty simple. They have to win here so they can work their game plan around purely doing that.
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Team News
Iran will be without the former Brighton winger Alireza Jakanbakhsh as he picked up a second yellow card of the tournament in the win over Wales. Alireza Beiranvand is still ruled out as he continues to go through the concussion protocols.
The USA are expected to go in with the same side which took on England on Friday night which means that American fans will continue to have to wait to see Giovanni Reyna starting a match at this World Cup.
Betting
I’m firmly with Iran here. Other than running around a lot I’ve not yet seen what USA offer and in truth we didn’t really see it in the lead up to the tournament either. They haven’t lost at this tournament but they would have done if Wales had played for 90 minutes rather than 45 or if England fancied the job. Ultimately, this is a USA team who have supposedly had two shots on target in their two matches but I can’t even remember the one they had against England.
Iran have impressed going forward in this tournament and they had things right against Wales at the back. In truth, most teams would have been opened up by the way England played in the first game. There is an attacking threat to this Iran side which USA haven’t shown us and Iran have the luxury of being able to sit back, defend deep and look to hit USA on the counterattack. This is going to be fiercely competitive as much from a political standpoint as a competition situation one but it is a match I fully expect Iran to get at least the draw they need to progress to the next stage.
Tips
Back Iran (+0.5AH) to beat USA for a 3/10 stake at 1.90 with Bet365
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