2022 FIFA World Cup Group B

Last updated

Group B of the 2022 FIFA World Cup took place from 21 to 29 November 2022. The group consisted of national association football teams from England, Iran, the United States and Wales. Both England and the United States progressed to the round of 16 undefeated. England won the group, winning two games and drawing the other, while the United States won one game and drew the other two. Iran finished the group third, having won a game, with Wales finishing fourth with a single point.

Contents

Initially noted for unusually containing four teams all ranked in the top 20 at the time of the tournament, as well as two teams within the same sovereign state and other geopolitical conflicts, various incidents relating to Qatar's ban on LGBTQ+ symbols affected the games on the first match day.

Teams

The teams were decided by the World Cup draw that took place on 1 April 2022. [1] The group was set to receive one team from each pot, which sorted all World Cup teams by position on the FIFA World Rankings. [1] [2] The first team drawn was England, which secured qualification as a pot one team by winning Group I of UEFA qualification. [3] The second pot team, the United States, qualified by finishing third in CONCACAF qualification. [4] The third team was Iran, which won Group A of the AFC third round. [5] The final team was not known at the time of the draw, as it was the UEFA second round Path A winner. Wales defeated Ukraine 1–0 to qualify for this position. [6]

Group B was widely described as the "group of death" before the tournament. [7] It had the highest average FIFA ranking of any group, [8] and controversy given the political hostility between Iran and the United Kingdom, and between Iran and the United States. [9] [10] [11]

FIFA World Cup Group B draw [12]
Draw positionTeam [13] PotConfederationMethod of
qualification		Date of
qualification		Finals
appearance		Last
appearance		Previous best
performance		 FIFA Rankings [14]
March 2022 [nb 1] October 2022
B1Flag of England.svg  England 1 UEFA UEFA Group I winners15 November 202116th 2018 Winners (1966)55
B2Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 3 AFC AFC third round Group A winners27 January 20226th 2018 Group stage (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018)2120
B3Flag of the United States.svg  United States 2 CONCACAF CONCACAF third round third place30 March 202211th 2014 Third place (1930)1516
B4Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 4 [nb 2] UEFA UEFA second round Path A winners5 June 20222nd 1958 Quarter-finals (1958)18 [nb 2] 19

Notes

  1. ↑ The rankings of March 2022 were used for seeding for the final draw.
  2. 1 2 As the identity of the UEFA second round Path A winners was not known at the time of the final draw, positions in the FIFA Rankings were not taken into account, and the placeholder in the draw was automatically seeded into pot 4. [2]

LGBT symbol incidents

Captains' armbands

Harry Kane in England's first match, wearing a FIFA "No discrimination" armband dydr tymhy fwtbl yrn w nglys- jm jhny 2022 (19).jpg
Harry Kane in England's first match, wearing a FIFA "No discrimination" armband

England captain Harry Kane, Wales captain Gareth Bale, and several other European captains intended to wear OneLove rainbow armbands promoting acceptance and diversity during the World Cup; shortly before England's opening match (the first match to feature one of these nations), however, FIFA announced that players wearing these armbands would face "unlimited" sanctions, with a yellow card given at minimum. [15] [16] The affected football associations said they would not put their players in this position, criticising FIFA for the ruling. [17] [18] [19] A spokesperson for Rishi Sunak, the British Prime Minister, also criticised FIFA for introducing player punishment for the armbands. [20] After the first United States match, and though the US had not been intending to wear the armband, Antony Blinken, the United States Secretary of State, described the ban as "concerning". [21]

At the England–Iran match, BBC pundit and former England women's team captain Alex Scott chose to wear a OneLove armband while being interviewed pitchside ahead of the match, a move that was praised on social media. [17] [18] At the United States–Wales match, though she did not appear on screen, German ZDF broadcaster Claudia Neumann wore a rainbow armband and Pride shirt, later telling the Sport-Informations-Dienst that she wanted to set an example, lamenting that the captains would not be able to wear the armbands. [22] England would change their armband to one that simply read "no discrimination". [23] During England's second match, the Wembley Stadium arch, iconic of the team's home stadium, was lit up in rainbow colours. [16]

Other Pride items

Many Wales fans in attendance at their first match as part of the nation's official LGBTQ+ supporters group wore the group's rainbow Wales bucket hats. Women who had these hats, including former women's team captain Laura McAllister, were prohibited from entering the stadium with them; McAllister reported that the security officials told her it was "a banned symbol". [24] At the same match, American journalist Grant Wahl was reportedly detained for 25 minutes when attempting to enter the stadium wearing a Pride shirt, being told it was "political" and being asked if he was British; he said that FIFA later apologised to him and security allowed him to enter with the shirt. [25]

After the match, the Football Association of Wales confronted FIFA about the confiscation of the bucket hats, and FIFA entered talks with the Qatari Supreme Committee to discuss Qatar's commitment to make all fans welcome at the World Cup, also citing an incident of an American fan with a rainbow flag being harassed. [26]

Standings

PosTeam
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of England.svg  England 321092+77Advanced to knockout stage
2Flag of the United States.svg  United States 312021+15
3Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 310247−33
4Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 301216−51
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

In the round of 16:

Matches

Matches took place between 21 and 29 November 2022. [27] All times listed are local, AST (UTC+3). [27]

England vs Iran

The opening match of Group B was contested between England and Iran. [28] The two sides had never played each other in a competitive match. [29] Many England supporters missed the start of the match due to problems with FIFA's ticketing app. [30] In defiance of their government, the Iranian team refused to sing their national anthem ahead of the match, a sign of support for the Mahsa Amini protests in their own country. [31] Many Iranian women, some of them bearing protest signs, were in attendance at the match, a gesture which by itself was considered an act of protest as women are barred from football matches in Iran. [32]

The match was delayed for seven minutes in the first half after head to head collision between the Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and defender Majid Hosseini. [33] Beiranvand initially seemed to be convinced to continue playing by Iran captain Ehsan Hajsafi despite appearing to be dazed and taking his gloves and shirt off after he received treatment, drawing criticism from the brain injury charity Headway. [34] After collapsing on the field minutes later, Beiranvand was substituted for Hossein Hosseini. [35] England scored three first-half goals: Jude Bellingham opened with his first ever senior England goal in the 35th minute, with Bukayo Saka (in the 43rd minute) and Raheem Sterling (in the first minute of stoppage time) being the other contributors to the scoreline up to this point. [36]

In the second half, England's Saka scored his second of the game in the 62nd minute, before Iran's Mehdi Taremi scored with their first shot on target. [36] England defender Harry Maguire was then removed from play after also suffering a head injury. [37] Substitute Marcus Rashford, who had been introduced a minute before, scored England's fifth goal with his third touch of the game. [36] Shortly into stoppage time, Jack Grealish scored England's sixth goal. [38] The final goal, a contentious penalty kick for Iran, was scored two-and-a-half minutes after the final whistle, awarded only after a review of a late-occurring foul was suggested by the VAR. Taremi converted from the penalty kick with the final score being 6–2. [39]

The Iranian media blamed the "humiliating" loss on the protests in their country affecting their players' mindset, additionally claiming that the United States and its allies, including the United Kingdom, had manufactured the protests to disrupt Iran; though these nations comprise all of Iran's group stage competition, the line of blame is common due to longstanding political tensions. [40] Iran manager Queiroz had supported protests by players prior to the tournament, [41] then said that such protests were "not welcomed" following the loss. [42]

England  Flag of England.svg6–2Flag of Iran.svg  Iran
Report
Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
Attendance: 45,334
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
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Iran
GK1 Jordan Pickford
RB12 Kieran Trippier
CB5 John Stones
CB6 Harry Maguire Sub off.svg 70'
LB3 Luke Shaw
CM22 Jude Bellingham
CM4 Declan Rice
RW17 Bukayo Saka Sub off.svg 70'
AM19 Mason Mount Sub off.svg 70'
LW10 Raheem Sterling Sub off.svg 70'
CF9 Harry Kane (c)Sub off.svg 75'
Substitutions: [note 1]
DF15 Eric Dier Sub on.svg 70'
FW11 Marcus Rashford Sub on.svg 70'
MF20 Phil Foden Sub on.svg 70'
FW7 Jack Grealish Sub on.svg 70'
FW24 Callum Wilson Sub on.svg 75'
Manager:
Gareth Southgate
ENG-IRN 2022-11-21.svg
GK1 Alireza Beiranvand Sub off.svg 20'
CB8 Morteza Pouraliganji Yellow card.svg 48'
CB15 Rouzbeh Cheshmi Sub off.svg 46'
CB19 Majid Hosseini
RWB2 Sadegh Moharrami
LWB5 Milad Mohammadi Sub off.svg 63'
RM7 Alireza Jahanbakhsh Yellow card.svg 25'Sub off.svg 46'
CM21 Ahmad Nourollahi Sub off.svg 77'
CM18 Ali Karimi Sub off.svg 46'
LM3 Ehsan Hajsafi (c)
CF9 Mehdi Taremi
Substitutions: [note 1]
GK24 Hossein Hosseini Sub on.svg 20'
MF6 Saeid Ezatolahi Sub on.svg 46'
DF13 Hossein Kanaanizadegan Sub on.svg 46'
MF17 Ali Gholizadeh Sub on.svg 46'
MF16 Mehdi Torabi Sub on.svg 63'
FW20 Sardar Azmoun Sub on.svg 77'
Manager:
Flag of Portugal.svg Carlos Queiroz

Man of the Match:
Bukayo Saka (England) [44]

Assistant referees:
Rodrigo Figueiredo (Brazil)
Danilo Simon Manis (Brazil)
Fourth official:
Kevin Ortega (Peru)
Reserve assistant referee:
Michael Orué (Peru)
Video assistant referee:
Leodán González (Uruguay)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Julio Bascuñán (Chile)
Martin Soppi (Uruguay)
Juan Martínez Munuera (Spain)
Stand-by assistant video assistant referee:
Juan Pablo Belatti (Argentina)

United States vs Wales

The teams had met twice previously, both in friendly matches: the United States won 2–0 in 2003 and the two teams drew 0–0 in 2020. [45] The game was broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom, with the network announcing during the broadcast that its technical director, Roger Pearce, had died in Qatar. [46]

The United States scored the opening goal in the 32nd minute, when Timothy Weah scored after a pass over the top by Christian Pulisic. [47] The United States had the better of the chances in the first half, but in the second half Wales improved, particularly after introducing substitute Kieffer Moore. [48] In the second period, Wales had a chance to equalize through Ben Davies, but the header was saved. Wales would nonetheless eventually manage to score their first World Cup goal in 64 years, after Bale was fouled in the box by Walker Zimmerman and scored the resulting penalty kick himself. After over nine minutes of stoppage time, [49] the match finished 1–1, with the United States picking up four yellow cards, the most they had received in a World Cup game since their 2002 quarter-final against Germany. [48]

United States  Flag of the United States.svg1–1Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales
Report
Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
Attendance: 43,418
Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)
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United States
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Wales
GK1 Matt Turner
RB2 Sergiño Dest Yellow card.svg 11'Sub off.svg 74'
CB3 Walker Zimmerman
CB13 Tim Ream Yellow card.svg 51'
LB5 Antonee Robinson
DM4 Tyler Adams (c)
CM8 Weston McKennie Yellow card.svg 13'Sub off.svg 66'
CM6 Yunus Musah Sub off.svg 74'
RF21 Timothy Weah Sub off.svg 88'
CF24 Josh Sargent Sub off.svg 74'
LF10 Christian Pulisic
Substitutions:
FW11 Brenden Aaronson Sub on.svg 66'
FW19 Haji Wright Sub on.svg 74'
DF22 DeAndre Yedlin Sub on.svg 74'
MF23 Kellyn Acosta Yellow card.svg 90+10'Sub on.svg 74'
FW16 Jordan Morris Sub on.svg 88'
Manager:
Gregg Berhalter
USA-WAL 2022-11-21.svg
GK1 Wayne Hennessey
CB5 Chris Mepham Yellow card.svg 45+2'
CB6 Joe Rodon
CB4 Ben Davies
DM15 Ethan Ampadu Sub off.svg 90+5'
CM10 Aaron Ramsey
CM8 Harry Wilson Sub off.svg 90+3'
RW14 Connor Roberts
LW3 Neco Williams Sub off.svg 79'
CF11 Gareth Bale (c)Yellow card.svg 40'
CF20 Daniel James Sub off.svg 46'
Substitutions:
FW13 Kieffer Moore Sub on.svg 46'
FW9 Brennan Johnson Sub on.svg 79'
MF22 Sorba Thomas Sub on.svg 90+3'
MF16 Joe Morrell Sub on.svg 90+5'
Manager:
Rob Page

Man of the Match:
Gareth Bale (Wales) [50]

Assistant referees:
Taleb Al-Marri (Qatar)
Saud Al-Maqaleh (Qatar)
Fourth official:
Ma Ning (China)
Reserve assistant referee:
Cao Yi (China)
Video assistant referee:
Abdulla Al-Marri (Qatar)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Rédouane Jiyed (Morocco)
Mokrane Gourari (Algeria)
Adil Zourak (Morocco)
Stand-by assistant video assistant referee:
Elvis Noupue (Cameroon)

Wales vs Iran

During the match between Wales and Iran Iran v Wales in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Match 17 - 11.jpg
During the match between Wales and Iran

Wales had faced Iran previously only once, a 1–0 friendly win in 1978. [51] The Iranian team opted to sing their national anthem at this match.

The game was driven by Iran in attack and quick counter-attack, with Wales mostly holding in defence; though Wales made attempts in attack, their midfield was described by BBC Sport's Dafydd Pritchard as "worryingly porous". In the first half, Iran had a goal from Ali Gholizadeh disallowed by VAR for offside. Early in the second half, Iran had two attempts hit each post in quick succession. [52] In the 86th minute, Welsh goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was originally given a yellow card for a foul he committed outside his penalty area. However, following review by VAR, this was upgraded to a red card. Iran substitute Rouzbeh Cheshmi scored the match's first goal eight minutes into stoppage time, followed by Ramin Rezaeian scoring three minutes later to give Iran a first-ever win against a European team at the FIFA World Cup. [53] Cheshmi's goal was the latest-minute match-winning goal scored in any World Cup game (excluding extra time) since the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England, when exact goal times were first made available. [54] Officially, nine minutes of stoppage time were added; with further delays in the added time, over twelve minutes were actually played. [52]

Wales  Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg0–2Flag of Iran.svg  Iran
Report
Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
Attendance: 40,875
Referee: Mario Escobar (Guatemala)
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Iran
GK1 Wayne Hennessey Red card.svg 86'
CB5 Chris Mepham
CB6 Joe Rodon Yellow card.svg 45+3'
CB4 Ben Davies
DM15 Ethan Ampadu Sub off.svg 77'
CM10 Aaron Ramsey Sub off.svg 87'
CM8 Harry Wilson Sub off.svg 57'
RW14 Connor Roberts Sub off.svg 57'
LW3 Neco Williams
CF11 Gareth Bale (c)
CF13 Kieffer Moore
Substitutions:
FW9 Brennan Johnson Sub on.svg 57'
FW20 Daniel James Sub on.svg 57'
MF7 Joe Allen Sub on.svg 77'
GK12 Danny Ward Sub on.svg 87'
Manager:
Rob Page
WAL-IRN 2022-11-25.svg
GK24 Hossein Hosseini
RB23 Ramin Rezaeian Yellow card.svg 90+5'
CB19 Majid Hosseini
CB8 Morteza Pouraliganji
LB5 Milad Mohammadi
RM17 Ali Gholizadeh Sub off.svg 77'
CM6 Saeid Ezatolahi Sub off.svg 83'
CM21 Ahmad Nourollahi Sub off.svg 77'
LM3 Ehsan Hajsafi (c)Sub off.svg 77'
SS9 Mehdi Taremi
CF20 Sardar Azmoun Sub off.svg 68'
Substitutions:
FW10 Karim Ansarifard Sub on.svg 68'
MF16 Mehdi Torabi Sub on.svg 77'
MF7 Alireza Jahanbakhsh Yellow card.svg 90+5'Sub on.svg 77'
DF15 Rouzbeh Cheshmi Sub on.svg 77'
MF18 Ali Karimi Sub on.svg 83'
Manager:
Flag of Portugal.svg Carlos Queiroz

Man of the Match:
Rouzbeh Cheshmi (Iran) [55]

Assistant referees:
Caleb Wales (Trinidad and Tobago)
Juan Carlos Mora (Costa Rica)
Fourth official:
Maguette Ndiaye (Senegal)
Reserve assistant referee:
Djibril Camara (Senegal)
Video assistant referee:
Drew Fischer (Canada)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)
Nicolás Taran (Uruguay)
Adil Zourak (Morocco)
Stand-by assistant video assistant referee:
Bruno Pires (Brazil)

England vs United States

The sides had previously met twice in the World Cup: the United States famously won 1–0 in the 1950 tournament in Brazil, and the teams drew 1–1 in the 2010 edition in South Africa. Their most recent meeting was a 3–0 friendly victory for England in 2018. [56]

Harry Kane had a shot blocked in the box for England in the 9th minute, before United States midfielder Weston McKennie missed a shot in the six-yard box, and teammate Christian Pulisic hit the crossbar in the 32nd minute. [57] The match featured only a small number of chances, with only four shots on target between the two teams. [58] [59] Despite avoiding defeat, many England fans booed the team after the match ended, expressing criticism of a perceived lacking performance. [60]

England  Flag of England.svg0–0Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Report
Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
Attendance: 68,463
Referee: Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela)
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England
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United States
GK1 Jordan Pickford
RB12 Kieran Trippier
CB5 John Stones
CB6 Harry Maguire
LB3 Luke Shaw
CM22 Jude Bellingham Sub off.svg 68'
CM4 Declan Rice
RW17 Bukayo Saka Sub off.svg 77'
AM19 Mason Mount
LW10 Raheem Sterling Sub off.svg 68'
CF9 Harry Kane (c)
Substitutions:
FW7 Jack Grealish Sub on.svg 68'
MF8 Jordan Henderson Sub on.svg 68'
FW11 Marcus Rashford Sub on.svg 77'
Manager:
Gareth Southgate
ENG-USA 2022-11-25.svg
GK1 Matt Turner
RB2 Sergiño Dest Sub off.svg 77'
CB3 Walker Zimmerman
CB13 Tim Ream
LB5 Antonee Robinson
RM8 Weston McKennie Sub off.svg 77'
CM4 Tyler Adams (c)
CM6 Yunus Musah
LM10 Christian Pulisic
CF21 Timothy Weah Sub off.svg 83'
CF19 Haji Wright Sub off.svg 83'
Substitutions:
FW11 Brenden Aaronson Sub on.svg 77'
DF18 Shaq Moore Sub on.svg 77'
FW7 Giovanni Reyna Sub on.svg 83'
FW24 Josh Sargent Sub on.svg 83'
Manager:
Gregg Berhalter

Man of the Match:
Christian Pulisic (United States) [61]

Assistant referees:
Jorge Urrego (Venezuela)
Tulio Moreno (Venezuela)
Fourth official:
Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan)
Reserve assistant referee:
Neuza Back (Brazil)
Video assistant referee:
Juan Soto (Venezuela)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Nicolás Gallo (Colombia)
Diego Bonfá (Argentina)
Julio Bascuñán (Chile)
Stand-by assistant video assistant referee:
Ezequiel Brailovsky (Argentina)

Wales vs England

The teams had met 103 times, most recently in a friendly game in 2020 won 3–0 by England. This was their second meeting in a major tournament, the first being the group stage of UEFA Euro 2016, which ended in a 2–1 win for England. The teams had met in multiple FIFA World Cup qualifiers, including two British Home Championship matches that served as World Cup qualifiers (in the 1949–50 British Home Championship and 1953–54 British Home Championship) as well as in the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 5 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6 tournaments. [62]

Marcus Rashford had the best chance of the opening period, but his chipped shot was saved by Wales goalkeeper Danny Ward. Following a goalless first half, Rashford scored a direct free kick in the 51st minute to give England the lead. Shortly after the restart, England would double the lead after Rashford won the ball in the Welsh defence and passed to Harry Kane, whose crossed ball low from the right was converted at the back post by Phil Foden. Rashford got his second of the game in the 68th minute, with a shot from deep inside the Welsh penalty area that went through the goalkeeper's legs. [63] The victory was enough for England to finish at the top of the group, whilst Wales finished at the bottom with just one point. [64]

Wales  Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg0–3Flag of England.svg  England
Report
Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
Attendance: 44,297
Referee: Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia)
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Wales
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England
GK12 Danny Ward
RB3 Neco Williams Sub off.svg 36'
CB5 Chris Mepham
CB6 Joe Rodon
LB4 Ben Davies Sub off.svg 57'
DM15 Ethan Ampadu
CM10 Aaron Ramsey Yellow card.svg 61'
CM7 Joe Allen Sub off.svg 81'
RF11 Gareth Bale (c)Sub off.svg 46'
CF13 Kieffer Moore
LF20 Daniel James Yellow card.svg 29'Sub off.svg 77'
Substitutions:
DF14 Connor Roberts Sub on.svg 36'
FW9 Brennan Johnson Sub on.svg 46'
MF16 Joe Morrell Sub on.svg 57'
MF8 Harry Wilson Sub on.svg 77'
MF25 Rubin Colwill Sub on.svg 81'
Manager:
Rob Page
WAL-ENG 2022-11-29.svg
GK1 Jordan Pickford
RB2 Kyle Walker Sub off.svg 57'
CB5 John Stones
CB6 Harry Maguire
LB3 Luke Shaw Sub off.svg 65'
DM4 Declan Rice Sub off.svg 57'
CM8 Jordan Henderson
CM22 Jude Bellingham
RF20 Phil Foden
CF9 Harry Kane (c)Sub off.svg 57'
LF11 Marcus Rashford Sub off.svg 75'
Substitutions:
DF18 Trent Alexander-Arnold Sub on.svg 57'
FW24 Callum Wilson Sub on.svg 57'
MF14 Kalvin Phillips Sub on.svg 57'
DF12 Kieran Trippier Sub on.svg 65'
FW7 Jack Grealish Sub on.svg 75'
Manager:
Gareth Southgate

Man of the Match:
Marcus Rashford (England) [65]

Assistant referees:
Tomaž Klančnik (Slovenia)
Andraž Kovačič (Slovenia)
Fourth official:
Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan)
Reserve assistant referee:
Karen Díaz Medina (Mexico)
Video assistant referee:
Marco Fritz (Germany)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Paolo Valeri (Italy)
Paweł Sokolnicki (Poland)
Bastian Dankert (Germany)
Stand-by assistant video assistant referee:
Vasile Marinescu (Romania)

Iran vs United States

The teams had met twice previously: Iran won 2–1 during the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, and the teams drew 1–1 in a 2000 friendly. [66] Prior to the match, the United States Soccer Federation displayed the flag of Iran on social media without the emblem of the country. The removal of the emblem showed support for the women in Iran fighting for basic human rights, according to the Federation. [67] In response, Iranian state media reported that the United States should be immediately removed from the tournament and suspended for ten games for a "distorted image" of the country's flag. [68] [69] Following this, the emblem was returned to the flag. [70]

Both teams were guaranteed qualification to the round of 16 with a win, whilst Iran would qualify with a draw, provided Wales did not defeat England. [71] Christian Pulisic scored the only goal of the game for the United States in the 38th minute, being injured in the process. [72] [73] The United States thus advanced to the round of 16 as group runners-up with five points, whilst England finished top of the group with seven. [74]

Iran  Flag of Iran.svg0–1Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Report
Al Thumama Stadium, Doha
Attendance: 42,127
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)
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United States
GK1 Alireza Beiranvand
RB23 Ramin Rezaeian
CB19 Majid Hosseini Yellow card.svg 77'
CB8 Morteza Pouraliganji
LB5 Milad Mohammadi Sub off.svg 45+2'
RM17 Ali Gholizadeh Sub off.svg 77'
CM6 Saeid Ezatolahi
CM21 Ahmad Nourollahi Sub off.svg 71'
LM3 Ehsan Hajsafi (c)Sub off.svg 71'
SS9 Mehdi Taremi
CF20 Sardar Azmoun Sub off.svg 46'
Substitutions:
MF18 Ali Karimi Sub on.svg 45+2'
MF14 Saman Ghoddos Sub on.svg 46'
MF16 Mehdi Torabi Sub on.svg 71'
DF25 Abolfazl Jalali Yellow card.svg 90+6'Sub on.svg 71'
FW10 Karim Ansarifard Sub on.svg 77'
Other disciplinary actions:
DF13 Hossein Kanaanizadegan [note 2] Yellow card.svg 83'
Manager:
Flag of Portugal.svg Carlos Queiroz
IRN-USA 2022-11-29.svg
GK1 Matt Turner
RB2 Sergiño Dest Sub off.svg 82'
CB20 Cameron Carter-Vickers
CB13 Tim Ream
LB5 Antonee Robinson
DM4 Tyler Adams (c)Yellow card.svg 43'
CM6 Yunus Musah
CM8 Weston McKennie Sub off.svg 65'
RF21 Timothy Weah Sub off.svg 82'
CF24 Josh Sargent Sub off.svg 77'
LF10 Christian Pulisic Sub off.svg 46'
Substitutions:
FW11 Brenden Aaronson Sub on.svg 46'
MF23 Kellyn Acosta Sub on.svg 65'
FW19 Haji Wright Sub on.svg 77'
DF18 Shaq Moore Sub on.svg 82'
DF3 Walker Zimmerman Sub on.svg 82'
Manager:
Gregg Berhalter

Man of the Match:
Christian Pulisic (United States) [75]

Assistant referees:
Pau Cebrián Devís (Spain)
Roberto Díaz Pérez del Palomar (Spain)
Fourth official:
Kevin Ortega (Peru)
Reserve assistant referee:
Jesús Sánchez (Peru)
Video assistant referee:
Juan Martínez Munuera (Spain)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea (Spain)
Neuza Back (Brazil)
Alejandro Hernández Hernández (Spain)
Stand-by assistant video assistant referee:
Bruno Pires (Brazil)

Discipline

Fair play points would have been used as tiebreakers if the overall and head-to-head records of teams were tied. These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches as follows: [74]

Only one of the above deductions was applied to a player in a single match.

TeamMatch 1Match 2Match 3Points
Yellow card.svgYellow card.svg Yellow-red card.svgRed card.svgYellow card.svg Red card.svgYellow card.svgYellow card.svg Yellow-red card.svgRed card.svgYellow card.svg Red card.svgYellow card.svgYellow card.svg Yellow-red card.svgRed card.svgYellow card.svg Red card.svg
Flag of England.svg  England 0
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 41−5
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 223−7
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 2112−9

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Due to the concussion protocol, both teams were allowed up to six substitutions (rather than five) during the match. [43]
  2. ↑ Hossein Kanaanizadegan was booked on the substitutes' bench, despite not playing any part in the match.

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