Wales drew 1-1 with the United States in their opening game thanks to a late Gareth Bale penalty, and their next opponent, Iran, will be looking to win the World Cup for the first time since 1958. However, midfielder Wilson, who participated fully against the USA, anticipates that Iran will put up a far stronger battle than they did against England at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium.
Iran has now dropped seven and tied two of their nine tournament matches against European teams, giving up 20 goals, following their lopsided loss to England. Carlos Queiroz faces an early departure from Qatar 2022 if his team loses to Wales, but the former Manchester United assistant has confidence in his team. The only previous meeting between the teams was in a friendly 44 years ago, which Wales won 1-0. Iran is currently ranked one spot higher than Wales in the FIFA rankings.