Catch-up with stats and extended coverage from Iran v USA on Flashscore
90+11' There will be no more action in this match as the referee signals full time.
90+10' Referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz signals NO PENALTY for Iran after a VAR review!
90+9' Wait! The referee makes the VAR signal and he's going to review that incident in the box from earlier. This could be a penalty for Iran! Let's see what he decides.
90+9' PENALTY APPEAL after Mehdi Taremi (Iran) goes down under a challenge from the defender. All players chase the referee but he's not interested in the penalty claim. Play continues.
90+6' Abolfazl Jalali (Iran) can't expect anything else than a yellow card for his hard tackle. And a yellow it is. Antonio Mateu Lahoz didn't think twice about pulling it out of his pocket.
90+2' Abolfazl Jalali (Iran) attempts to find the head of one of his teammates with a promising cross into the box, but a defender outjumps the attackers and averts the threat.
90' The fourth official shows 9 min. of added time.
84' Having seen unsporting behavior, Antonio Mateu Lahoz shows a yellow card to one of the players sitting on the bench. And Hossein Kanaani (Iran) is the recipient.
82' Gregg Berhalter has decided to make a change. Walker Zimmerman (USA) replaces Timothy Weah.
82' Sergino Dest goes off the pitch and Shaquell Moore (USA) comes on.
77' Joshua Sargent just cannot continue due to injury and has to be substituted. Haji Wright (USA) replaces him.
77' Ali Gholizadeh comes off the pitch to be replaced by Karim Ansarifard (Iran).
77’ Majid Hosseini (Iran) is booked after bringing down an opponent. Antonio Mateu Lahoz had an easy-decision to make.
71’ Carlos Queiroz has decided to substitute Ehsan Hajsafi and he is replaced by Abolfazl Jalali (Iran).
71' The substitution has been made. Mehdi Torabi (Iran) has replaced Ahmad Noorollahi.
65' Here's the change. Weston McKennie leaves the pitch and Kellyn Acosta (USA) comes on as a substitute.
46' The need to improve in the second half has brought about a change. Christian Pulisic (USA) comes off for Brenden Aaronson.
46' Carlos Queiroz has made a change at the break. Saman Ghoddos has come on in place of Sardar Azmoun (Iran).
46' Everything is set for the start of the second half.
45+8' Antonio Mateu Lahoz blows his whistle to signal the end of the first-half action.
45+7' Gooal! No wait, it's been ruled out for offside. Timothy Weah (USA) disagrees, but the linesman is sure about his call.
45+2' The manager has been forced to make a substitution and the injured Milad Mohammadi limps off the pitch to be replaced by Ali Karimi (Iran).
43' The foul by Tyler Adams (USA) is worthy of a card and a yellow is duly shown by Antonio Mateu Lahoz.
38' 0 - 1 GOAL! A cross into the box is headed down by Sergino Dest and Christian Pulisic (USA) does brilliantly to get to the ball and fire home. 0:1.
30' Sergino Dest (USA) goes on a mazy run and tries his luck with a mid-range strike, but one of the defending players steps in and makes a block.
28' Timothy Weah (USA) displays brilliant awareness inside the box to pounce on the rebound. From a difficult position he directs a header towards the middle of the net, but Alireza Beiranvand pulls off a decent save to deny him.
28' That's unlucky! Joshua Sargent (USA) beautifully controls a pass and from the edge of the box drills a shot in on goal, but it's inadvertently blocked by a defender and cleared.
20' The game is interrupted. Mehdi Taremi (Iran) has violated the rules in the battle for the ball. No protests or gestures are being made as he is quite aware of what he did.
19' Antonee Robinson (USA) whips the ball into the penalty area, but one of the defenders is alert and spanks it away.
17' Half-chance! Sergino Dest (USA) plays a pass into the box, but Alireza Beiranvand reacts well to snuff out the attack.
1' Today's match has just started, enjoy the game!
Pre-match
If Iran were to qualify, it would be a monumental achievement especially given the extraordinary backdrop to their campaign as rising tension in the country continues to prove divisive amongst both the players and the fans; often evident during the pre-match national anthem.
Not dismayed by their 6-2 defeat to England, Iran bounced back with a brilliant late show to beat Wales last time out, handing them their first-ever World Cup victory over European opposition. Repeating the act against the United States will guarantee progression, although a draw would be enough if Wales fail to beat England in the group’s other contest. In pursuit of that goal, Carlos Queiroz’s side have some history in their favour as Iran’s first win on the World Cup stage came back in 1998 against none other than the USA.
Gregg Berhalter’s men arrive into this crunch clash in good spirits though, as the Stars and Stripes produced another impressive display to hold England to a goalless draw. Much like their opponents, victory here would send the USA into the knockout stages of the World Cup, but only a win will do. Progression is something they’ve managed in each of their last two finals appearances, although they were knocked out in the last 16 on both of those occasions.
With a first-ever victory over Iran being a necessity (D1, L1), it’s worth noting USA have lost their winning touch of late and are without a victory since June’s success against Grenada (D4, L1 since). Goals have been the main stumbling block, netting just twice in those five games, including a stoppage-time equaliser against minnows El Salvador.
Iran starting XI: Beiranvand, Azmoun, Ezatolahi, Gholizadeh, Hajsafi (c), Hosseini, Mohammadi, Noorollahi, Pouraliganji, Rezaeian, Taremi
USA starting XI: Turner, Adams (c), Carter-Vickers, Dest, McKennie, Musah, Pulisic, Ream, Robinson, Sargent, Weah
Players to watch: Iran winger Ali Gholizadeh is without an international goal since November 2021, but he saw one disallowed against Wales and was a constant threat. He’s also never lost when getting on the scoresheet for his country (W4, D1). Standing in his way may well be USA skipper Tyler Adams who has earned rave reviews for his performances at the World Cup; the Stars and Stripes have lost just once when he’s worn the armband (W4, D5).
Hot stat: The USA have won just two of their last 14 World Cup matches (D6, L6).
World Cup trivia: Mehdi Taremi’s penalty against England was the latest goal in regular time of a World Cup game, arriving in the 103rd minute. They also scored in the 98th and 101st minute versus Wales!