IRAN are taking on USA in their final mouth-watering Group B clash RIGHT NOW!
Late goals from Roozbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaeian inspired the Iranians to a dramatic win over Wales.
And as a result, it meant Iran jumped up to second spot in the table - just a point off table-topping England.
However, USA have the opportunity to secure a qualification place with a win over the Iranians.
But both could bizarrely end up missing out if they draw and Wales beat the Three Lions by a four-goal margin.
- Kick-off: 7pm UK
- Group B: LIVE TABLE
- TV channel: BBC 2
- Live stream: BBC iPlayer
- Iran XI: Beiranvand; Mohammadi, Hosseini, Pouraliganji. Rezaeian; Hajsafi, Nourollahi, Ezatolahi, Gholizadeh; Azmoun, Taremi
- USA XI: Turner; Dest, Carter-Vickers, Ream, Robinson; Adams, Musah, McKennie; Weah, Sargent, Pulisic
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From the grounds
SunSport's Jordan Davies reports live from the Al Thumama Stadium:
"The most politically charged game in World Cup history returns. Yup, it’s Iran vs USA.
"As predicted, the build-up has been dominated by off-field matters and needle that has a thorn between these two nations since the mid-late 70s, with the addition of some more modern controversies, such as the scrubbing of the Islamic emblem from the Iranian flag on US social media, as well as former US boss Jurgen Klinsmann’s comments on the “culture” of Iranian players.
"For now though, the talking stops. A place in the Last 16 is up for grabs. USA have to win to reach it, while Iran can afford a draw as long as Wales don’t do anything spectacular against England.
"Kick-off is approaching. This is going to be as tense a nail-biter as they come…"
USA fan 'removed' from stadium for wearing rainbow armband
A fan of the USA has reportedly been removed from the Al Thumama Stadium for wearing a rainbow armband.
The supporter appeared to be escorted out by security.
Why is Sardar Azmoun nicknamed the Iranian Messi?
Sardar Azmoun will be looking to fire his side out of Group B at the World Cup in Qatar.
Despite his 6'1 stature, the Iranian forward has drawn comparisons to Paris Saint-Germain's Lionel Messi.
This is due to the fact that he is widely recognised as the most decorated Iranian player in the European leagues.
His skilful dribbling has seen fans from the Iranian national team hand him the nickname, while his goal scoring record is ever so impressive.
Netting 41 goals in 65 games for his country heading into the World Cup, Iran will be hopeful of the 27-year-old leading them to glory in Qatar.
Live from the Al Thumama Stadium
Both sides are out on the pitch warming up.
Iran TV demand USA are KICKED OUT of World Cup
Iran were left fuming on Sunday after USA scrubbed the symbol of the Islamic Republic off their flag.
The national state television channel are even calling for the Americans to be booted out of the World Cup.
The move by the USA to change the flag came amid nationwide women's rights protests in Iran challenging Tehran’s theocratic government.
USA's official Twitter account posted an image of the World Cup Group B standings but decided to remove the Islamic Republic's "Allah" emblem and the "takbirs" from Iran's three-coloured flag.
The USMNT say the gesture was to show "support for the women in Iran fighting for basic human rights" and they added it was a one-time display and it will restore the symbol moving forward.
This has allegedly breached Fifa guidelines, as pointed out by Iran's state-affiliated media Tasnim News Agency.
They even called on Fifa to kick USA out of the competition.
They tweeted: "According to section 13 of #FIFA rules, any person who offends the dignity or integrity of a country, a person or group of people... shall be sanctioned with a suspension lasting at least ten matches or a specific period, or any other appropriate disciplinary measure.”
A later tweet added: "By posting a distorted image of the flag of the Islamic Republic of #Iran on its official account, the #US football team breached the @FIFAcom charter, for which a 10-game suspension is the appropriate penalty. Team #USA should be kicked out of the #WorldCup2022.”
‘Best team in the group’
During Monday’s press conference, Iran manager Carlos Queiroz hailed the USA as the best team in Group B.
He said: “[Tomorrow we play] against without any doubt, in my opinion, the most consistent and probably the team that made the best two performances in our group, the United States.
“They played very well in the first game against Wales and very well against England. All the other teams, including our team, we're not so consistent.
“So we know the difficulties we have tomorrow. We play a very, very good team, very well organised, with the same dream, with the same goal in mind.
“I can say it like this: They jumped from soccer to football!”
TikTok ‘time traveller’ predicts scoreline
A self-proclaimed time traveller has wildly claimed they know the result of today's crunch clash between Iran and the USA – adding they even have the footage to prove it.
TikTok user @guardian_angel_5 has spent the last week sharing predictions for the tournament, but went one step further in their latest post.
In the bizarre clip, the user claimed they know the result of Group B’s pivotal match on Tuesday evening, including what the score will be.
Sharing footage, which they claimed was taken in the future, they claimed that Iran would beat the USA 3-1.
The clip, shared with their 8,000 followers, shows Iranian fans celebrating, while Christian Pulisic shakes hands with the opposition.
On the screen is the scoreline Iran 3 -1 USA, with the official-looking World Cup screen graphics.
The screen even shows the apparent goalscorers in the match, leaving the self-proclaimed time traveller with very little wiggle room.
According to the clip, the Iran scorers include a brace from prolific hitman Mehdi Taremi and defender Morteza Pouraliganji.
For the USA, the scorer is Chelsea's Pulisic.
In the short video, the TikTok user said: “I’m a time traveller, we are going to lose to Iran 3-1.”
What's the score?
Predict today's scoreline with SunSport's score predictor!
Iran substitutes
Sadegh Moharrami, Shojae Khalilzadeh, Karim Ansarifard, Vahid Amiri, Payam Niazmand, Hossein Kanaanizadegan, Saman Ghoddos, Rouzbeh Cheshimi, Mehdi Torabi, Ali Karimi, Amir Abedzadeh, Hossein Hosseini, Abolfazl Jalali.
Iran starting line-up
Alireza Beiranvand, Ramin Rezaeian, Majid Hosseini, Morteza Pouraliganji, Milad Mohammadi, Ahmad Noorollahi, Saeid Ezatolahi, Ehsan Hajsafi, Ali Gholizadeh, Sardar Azmoun, Mehdi Taremi.
USA substitutes
Walker Zimmerman, Giovanni Reyna, Jesus Ferreira, Brenden Aaronson, Ethan Horvath, Luca de la Torre, Aaron Long, Jordan Morris, Cristian Roldan, Shaquell Moore, Haji Wright, DeAndre Yedlin, Kellyn Acosta, Sean Johnson, Joe Scally.
USA starting line-up
Matt Turner, Sergino Dest, Tyler Adams, Antonee Robinson, Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Tim Ream, Cameron Carter-Vickers Tim Weah, Josh Sargent.
Welcome to Iran vs USA
Good evening and welcome to SunSport’s coverage of Iran vs USA.
Both teams need a win today to secure their place in the World Cup knockout stages.
Anything less, and either side could be on the next flight home.
But, they won’t know their fate in the tournament until full-time as group-toppers England will be taking on fourth-placed Wales at the same time.
Two places in the round-of-16 are up for grabs, but who will take them?
