Team Melli looked like a different team against Rob Page's men to the one that was thrashed by England in their opening game, whereas the Stars and Stripes will be rueing missed chances that forced them to share the points with the Three Lions last time out. Match preview © Reuters Iran seemed to be back to the performance levels that earned them a place at the World Cup during the 2-0 victory over Wales, with any ideas of Team Melli being the whipping boys of the group after a heavy defeat to England swiftly banished thanks to late goals from Roozbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaeian. The availability from the start of Bayer Leverkusen forward Sardar Azmoun against Wales gave Carlos Queiroz's side more attacking threat, with the 27-year-old combining well with talisman Mehdi Taremi who unlike the first match of the group had a capable partner in crime at the top end of the pitch. Azmoun has been sidelined for his club side since early October with a calf injury and was down receiving treatment on three separate occasions before miraculously rising to his feet to continue, with the 40-goal international eventually being forced off after 68 minutes as his side chased a winner.
Iran possible starting lineup:H Hosseini; Rezaeian, M Hosseini, Pouraliganji, Mohammadi; Ali Gholizadeh, Nourollahi, Ezatolahi, Hajsafi; Taremi, Azmoun USA possible starting lineup:Turner; Dest, Zimmerman, Ream, Robinson; Adams, Musah, McKennie; Pulisic, Weah, Wright We say: Iran 0-1 USA Iran are back on track in this World Cup after a worrying start against England, but now face a USA side who look a challenge for any team in this year's competition. Berhalter's men are yet to accompany three points with their energetic performances, but should have enough to secure passage to the knockout stages against an Iranian team who may be without Azmoun.
Iran vs USA: Build-up to decisive World Cup game marked by political tensions in 'strange' press press conferenceIran vs USA is a crucial match for both sides at the 2022 World Cup but the Group B encounter is surrounded by political issues as well, with a "very strange" pre-game press conference highlighting the tensions between the nations.
"USA need to bring their best performance into this game and that was something they stressed throughout this press conference. "It was all a little bit strange, we had applause for Queiroz when he came into the press conference from the same Iranian journalist who asked the question to Tyler Adams, there was applause midway through after a couple of questions and at the end as well. We look forward to the game now and hopefully the focus will be on the football.
After decades of Americans competing at the top level in Europe being a rare sight, 10 such players donned the stars and stripes on Friday night and overran England for large parts of the encounter, with only poor finishing preventing Berhalter's men from earning their first World Cup win over the Three Lions since 1950. Weston McKennie blasted a strike over from inside the box after evading the attention of Bukayo Saka, whilst shortly after Christian Pulisic struck the bar with a ferocious effort which had Jordan Pickford scrambling to deflect the ball away from goal.
What really stood out for USA was their athleticism and sharpness compared to their English counterparts, with full-backs Sergino Dest and Fulham's Antonee Robinson providing pace on the wings whilst Tyler Adams kept Jude Bellingham and Mason Mount under wraps in the midfield. A knockout tie with either Netherlands, Ecuador or Senegal awaits Berhalter's side should they defeat Iran on Tuesday, and if the Stars and Stripes can find their ruthlessness in front of goal they could be a real threat to the elite nations in the latter stages of this competition. Iran World Cup form: Iran form (all competitions): USA World Cup form: USA form (all competitions): Team News Iran will be without the services of Alireza Jahanbakhsh in their final game of Group B as the former Brighton & Hove Albion man received a second yellow card of the tournament after a high-footed challenge on Wales' Chris Mepham during the closing stages of proceedings on Friday afternoon.
"Then there was a question to the USA captain Tyler Adams, it came from an Iran journalist, and he asked him about playing for a country where he says there is racism. He talked about Black Lives Matter as well. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Carlos Queiroz says Iran's win over Wales in the FIFA World Cup is a 'gift' to the Iranian fans and praised the support inside in the stadium "Carlos Queiroz was also asked a direct question about Jurgen Klinsmann [who criticised the culture of the Iran team after their win over Wales] but in fairness to him he didn't want to be drawn on it.
Star man Azmoun is a doubt for Team Melli after visibly struggling throughout his 68 minutes on the pitch against Wales, although Queiroz may risk the attacker from the start on Tuesday considering how much quality he adds to the side. Alireza Beiranvand sat out of the Wales clash due to concussion protocol after a nasty head injury in Iran's first match of the World Cup with England, but the 30-year-old is available to return in this vital fixture if Queiroz decides to drop Hossein Hosseini, who kept a clean sheet on Friday.
Preview: Iran vs. USA - prediction, team news, lineupsSports Mole previews Tuesday's World Cup clash between Iran and USA, including predictions, team news and possible lineups. After keeping their World Cup hopes alive by defeating Wales dramatically on Friday, Iran face an impressive USA side at the Al Thumama Stadium on Tuesday, with three points enough to take either team through to the knockout stages.
Full schedule for Qatar 2022 | Team guidesDownload the Sky Sports AppThe social media posts now show the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran, however, Qatar organisers have been preventing Iranian fans from displaying any old Iranian flags or signs and T-shirts with the "Woman Life Freedom" slogan of the protesters at World Cup games. Women have effectively been banned from attending men's football matches in Iran for the past 43 years. Sky Sports News' senior reporter Tim Thornton explains how that context impacted Monday's pre-match press conferences, which featured Iran head coach Carlos Queiroz and USA head coach Gregg Berhalter and USA captain Tyler Adams...
Now sitting second in Group B with three points from two matches, Iran know a win against USA secures passage to the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time in their history - although even a draw on Tuesday would be enough if Wales fail to beat England. Fellow Asian qualifiers Japan and Saudi Arabia have caused significant upsets within the first week of this World Cup, and Iran could add to the success stories from that region by advancing past the group stages for the first time on Tuesday night. Despite not being able to return maximum points from any of their two opening games at this tournament, Gregg Berhalter's USA side have shown they are set to be a new prospect in international football with a young crop of energetic and athletic stars.
Both coaches throughout the course of the press conference were trying to put the focus back on the football rather than on the politics. Klinsmann seeks to cool tensions in Queiroz row"Quieroz was asked about the Iranian flag as well and his response was he wants to put smiles on the people's faces with this game. He tried to play it down and get the focus onto the football. Earlier in the week he had an altercation with a journalist where he talked about politics but there was none of that in this press conference. There was a lot of respect between the two coaches as well. "They both know they need to win the game and they both come into it with a little bit of form having played well in their last game. Queiroz talked about his time in America at the inception of the MLS, he talked about the progress of the game, that it's gone from soccer to football, he talked about the performances of the USA in their first two games - he thought they'd shown the most consistency in the group - and he knows it's going to be a tough game.
USA have no fresh injury concerns ahead of Tuesday's match, with the large majority of fan and media attention focused on the lack of gametime for Borussia Dortmund's Giovanni Reyna, who has only seen 15 minutes of World Cup action so far. Haji Wright replaced Josh Sargent in the USA starting XI against England in the only change from the Wales match, with the striker position for the Americans yet to find a consistent occupier as Berhalter attempts to discover his side's clinical touch. Leeds United's Brenden Aaronson has played his part off the bench in the last two matches and looks set for a similar role on Tuesday with a midfield trio of Adams, McKennie and Yunus Musah impressing massively so far in this World Cup.
Iran vs USA live score, H2H and lineups - Sofascore
Iran vs USA: World Cup 2022 prediction - Evening Standard
"It was a very strange press conference in lots of ways. There was a definite political undercurrent throughout. Lots of things going on in the room, lots of people taking videos, not just of the main protagonists but from journalists around the room, photographs as well. "There was a lot of direct questioning as well. High on the agenda was questioning on the US Soccer Federation and their decision not to use the Islamic Republic of Iran flag on social media posts. Gregg Berhalter, the US coach, was asked about that. He said it had nothing to do with him or the players, they weren't aware the US Soccer Federation had done that and that they were in full support of Iran and their people but for him the focus was very much on the football.
How to watch Iran vs United States (World Cup 2022)
In the build-up to Tuesday's game, in which the winning side will progress to the knockout stages in Qatar, the US Soccer Federation moved to show support for women in Iran by not using the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran on social media posts. There have been protests in Iran sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in custody after she was arrested by the country's so-called morality police for failing to wear her head scarf properly. Iran's football federation had complained to FIFA about the US using an Iranian flag without the Islamic script and emblem which were added in 1980. The US federation said it "wanted to show support for the women in Iran fighting for basic human rights".
Iran vs USA: Live Score, Stream and H2H results 11/29/2022